“We used to say around here if you can’t get a girl, get a Bowdoin boy” a successful Harpswell lobsterman says to me as we motor toward his next string of traps. It’s early afternoon in mid June and the sky is stubbornly blue despite forecasted rain. I’m feeling very lucky to have the opportunity
Building Ferries
To the editor: I read with interest the article in your November issue concerning the Islesboro ferry and the inability to find a shipyard to respond. I am presently working on a project for the State of Washington Ferry Service and thought one of their unusual purchasing practices might be of interest. While Washington has
Building Liberty Ships
To the editor: What a surprise to see a picture of the Liberty Ship JOHN W. BROWN, built in Baltimore, in the Sept. 2007 issue of Working Waterfront. My dad, Fred Knight, was a lead-man on the USS F. SCOTT FITZGERALD, built in South Portland Shipyard. His bosses gave him a choice of having a
Building Wind Turbines
To the editor: “Benefits of Wind Power” (WWF Oct. 2007 letter) suggests that Islesboro would be a much better place if two wind turbines were sited on the north and south extremities, justifying the proposal “because the cost of delivering electricity to the islands…..(is exorbitant).” Fortunately, Turtle Head is owned by Islesboro Island Trust and
Journal of an Island Kitchen: The Kitchen in Winter
Sounds cozy, doesn’t it? Kitchen, winter, a stove, the smell of something warm and comforting simmering away, early darkness, family and friends around the table. Well, some days it is actually like that at our house. We have a combination gas and wood cook stove that in the cool season radiates warmth as long as
Visa debate creates labor shortage in seafood, tourist industries
Geddy’s Pub in Bar Harbor has an international flair in summer, but not because of the menu. Eastern European workers make up 40 to 50 percent of the summer workforce, said manager Sam Richardson. “We have a very international staff,” Richardson said. His workers come through a visa program known as H-2B, which provides temporary
Deer Isle couple volunteers in Mississippi
“They think it’s going to be another five years before the houses will be rebuilt in Biloxi,” said Deer Isle lobsterman David Heanssler as he played a video of the continuing rebuilding effort, one of many following in the wake of destruction left by hurricane Katrina. In other words, there is still time and opportunity
Low U.S. dollar hits Canadian lobstermen in the pocket
The increasing value of Canada’s currency is good news for some in the neighboring North, but it’s just another headache facing Maritime lobster harvesters this season. The loonie (so named for the loon illustration on the one-dollar coin) is on a par with the U.S. dollar these days. Maritime lobstermen sell roughly 70 percent of
Christmas in Rockland
Harbor Park, Rockland gets a jump on the season with its wire trap tree.
50 years ago, wire traps were a hard sell. How things have changed!
James Milne Knott Sr. has accomplished many things in his life, from proudly serving in the U.S. Army to successfully challenging the Environmental Protection Agency — but he is best known over the range of the lobster resource for singlehandedly converting the industry from wooden to wire traps. A lobsterman himself since the age of