Articles
Bananas to Beer – Airborne groceries fill island stomachs
Older readers may remember when neighborhood grocery stores delivered your order to your door. For some Penobscot Bay islanders, that service is still available. Residents of Matinicus, North Haven and Vinalhaven regularly place orders to Shaw’s Supermarket at Harbor Plaza in Rockland, and their food is boxed, put on a flight at the county airport
Passenger trains roll from Brunswick to Rockland
Forty-five years after the last passenger train left town, limited rail service resumed Aug. 5 in the form of a an excursion run from Brunswick to Rockland with a stop in Bath. The run by Maine Eastern Railroad coincided with the Lobster Festival in Rockland, August 5-8, and the railroad plans weekend excursions after that,
Once a pilot boat, ROSEWAY prepares for sea again
The former Camden cruise schooner ROSEWAY was re-launched this spring in Boothbay Harbor after a deck-to-keel rebuild at Sample’s shipyard. The 137-foot ROSEWAY is set to begin taking students to sea this summer under the flag of the fledgling World Ocean School of Camden. Further fitting out of the old schooner will continue at dockside.
Two Maine firms build recreational rowing shells
You’ve seen those classic rowing shells – Oxford students on the Thames, Harvard squads on the Charles. But now shells have migrated to the coast of Maine, evolving – along the way – into a fairly seaworthy craft a novice can handle. Leading the transition are two southern Maine companies located in hailing distance of
Alewives Need Equal Rights, Activist Says
The alewife is a much-misunderstood fish, and some of its life is still a mystery. Each spring, alewives migrate upstream from the sea, in great numbers, to spawn. It’s a huge orgy, “the fish version of creation,” said Naomi Shalit of Alna, an alewife advocate head of a group called Maine Rivers. At a recent
Maritime Artist Loretta Krupinski Colors Rockland’s Past
Classic wooden boats under sail, snug harbors, the open sea – Loretta Krupinski has painted marine scenes for a quarter century. But in the past year, she has discovered a particular focus: Rockland’s once-bustling waterfront. She has painted Maine for years, but began to be bored by ubiquitous renderings of the rocky coast. “I thought,
Pope Sails, Rockland: It Takes Teamwork (and Music) to Stitch a Good Sail
Custom sailmaking is an old but growing business in midcoast Maine, and it’s also something of an art. Sails must be functional yet beautiful; lightweight, tough and versatile. Sailmakers – like the crew of a sailboat – must use teamwork to get the job done. It’s no coincidence that Doug Pope was a sailor first,
Harbormasters: Heavy on Tact, No Suits or Ties Required
The job of harbormaster has been transformed in many towns from very part-time to very full-time. “I do a little bit of everything,” said Kathy Messier, harbormaster in Belfast. In 11 years on the job, things have gotten busier and busier. “I do slip rentals, mooring rentals, emergency work, mooring permits, cruise ships,” she said.
Yacht Designer Turns to Marine Art But Keeps Day Job
Chuck Paine’s name is synonymous with classic yacht design. Now there is another association, that of artist. In T-shirt and jeans, with longish hair, Payne seems to fill the artist’s role with ease. But after five years – since wife Debbie gave him a set of paints – painting has remained a sideline to his
At Riverside Boat, Past is Present
At the foot of a steep dirt driveway on the Newcastle shore of the Damariscotta River sits a cluster of graying sheds, surrounded by shapely boats in cradles. This is Riverside Boat Company, where graceful wooden sailboats and the skills to build and repair them are the rule. It’s where customers are so regular, so