When a small fishing boat floods and sinks, the survivors often describe the event as occurring in seconds or minutes, rather than hours. Flooding, even from what begins as a small crack or hole, can occur so quickly that some survivors recall donning survival suits in the drink — and feeling lucky to have had
What isn’t – thunderstorm the feeling in the air beforehand
I don’t know about you, but I can feel that storm coming, that adrenalin-rush we feel at different moments in our lives: the tension as you emerge on stage, the feeling before you meet someone you value. Yet you must bring that emotion to the surface. The poem doesn’t say anything directly about such feelings.
The Long View – The Past is Prologue
Back in the dim recesses of history – in the early 1990s in this case – Portland undertook a citywide property revaluation that resulted in a secession fever that spread from Peaks to Long to Cliff and Chebeague islands and back to Great Diamond and even Cushings Island before it finally ran its course. When
Cranberry Report – Birds at the Feeder
On April 21, the afternoon temperature was 72 degrees and the FOUR Philbrook boys were shirtless, enjoying a water gun fight in their yard. Dandelions came up earlier than last year and perennials around the islands look strong and healthy after losing their protective blanket of winter snow. Barbara Stainton sold the general store, on
Beaching out SUMMERTIME – An all-volunteer crew takes on a schooner’s yearly maintenance
Bill Brown’s SUMMERTIME exemplifies the term: a labor of love. This love affair goes back to 1974, when then-52-year-old Brooklin boatbuilder George Allen first asked then-25-year-old ship’s carpenter and sailor Brown, “Wouldn’t it be fun to build a pinky schooner?” Brown had never considered building anything larger than a peapod; but he recalled later, “This
Portland firm offers “marinized” computers
People everywhere are relying more on computers for everything from communications to entertainment, and it’s no different in the world of boats, not even in the world of commercial fishing vessels. That’s why Mike Whitten and Jeff Sawyer decided to create computers designed to endure the rigors of life at sea, including lots of vibrations
Getting an edge – Young lobstermen compete, strive and thrive in the fishery
The 2004 graduates of the Marine Technology program at Deer Isle-Stonington High School have been fishing full time for the past season, and the students from the class that will graduate this month fished all last summer and weekends till the end of the season. They are now putting their traps overboard for the 2005
The CAT casts its eye on Portland
In the world of leisure travel, as minutes become precious and hours essential, a high-speed ferry service between Portland, Maine and Yarmouth, Nova Scotia seems to be an imminent necessity to 21st century vacationers. With cautious optimism, Bay Ferries plans to dip into this potentially lucrative market. While their CAT is an amazing aluminum catamaran
Store for All Seasons – Among other things, the Winter Harbor 5
“I can buy in onesies: I can order one item,” declared owner Peter Drinkwater of the merchandise he sells at the Winter Harbor 5 & 10. It’s not that he doesn’t carry a whole lot, it’s that he doesn’t have room to stock everything his customers want. And those customers range from local fishermen and
Journal Of An Island Kitchen – Taking Stock
Two sure signs that summer is coming: the storage container drawer is filling up and the potatoes are sprouting in the cellar. I just did an inventory of the freezer – counted all my pork chops and mooseburger packages, sized up the frozen corn situation and asked myself if I seriously thought I would actually