Articles
Schooner captain sets sights on old shipyard
Captain Jim Sharp isn’t averse to risk. Instead he seems to thrive on it. He has bought old schooners and then brought them back to life as paying windjammers. He helped rescue the Arctic exploration schooner Bowdoin; he gave the schooner Adventure to her homeport of Gloucester. Over the years, this feisty waterfront entrepreneur has
Who gets to lobster from Matinicus Island?
Lavon “Biscuit” Ames is proud of his lobstering heritage, going back to a great-great-grandfather whose sloop is at Old Mystic Seaport Museum in Connecticut. Ames, 46, started fishing at 10, with four traps and a skiff in the harbor. Now his daughter, 10, and son, 7, are fishing a string of traps using the same
Tenants Harbor lobstermen take part in trap density study
At first, Tenants Harbor fishermen resisted the idea of removing lobster traps from two fertile fishing grounds. But multiple meetings and a better understanding of the purpose of a trap density experiment led to what may be a revealing study, sponsors say. And even if the study isn’t helpful, the process of getting fishermen together
Rockland’s ghostly galleon
Is it a movie prop, a barge, an ancient ship dredged from the deep? No, it’s even stranger than that. Rawfaith is one man’s vision of how he can help others, but others aren’t so sure about the fate of this vast, unpainted vessel anchored in Rockland Harbor. Captain George McKay, 52, and his son
Permit banking could help save fishery
Amid rising costs and depleted fish stocks, fishermen are dropping out, quitting their traditional work because it no longer pays to fish. Even as fish stocks begin to recover, independent fishermen are swamped by strict regulations and the high cost of doing business. Glen Libby, president of the Midcoast Fishermen’s Cooperative (MFC) in Port Clyde,
Maine Birding Trail
Bob Duschesne has traipsed into a lot of remote and remarkable areas across our state to assemble an attractive list of some 260 places to watch and hear birds, as well as to enjoy the view. About the only place he writes about that he hasn’t actually been to, he said, is Matinicus, Maine’s outermost
Shooting shocks Matinicus community
Matinicus residents were left reeling in late July by a shooting that appeared to come close to killing an island lobsterman. They struggled to understand how two respected fishermen in this island community-where people all know one another and often are related-let a dispute escalate to a lethal level of violence On July 20, at
Company turns discarded rope into doormats
When new federal rules required fishermen to swap floating rope for sinking rope-to protect endangered right whales-the brightly colored floating line piled up on the dock. But what can you do with a mountain of discarded line? The answer, clearly, is to make doormats. “It’s taken off. We can’t really keep up. They’re flying out
Ralph Stanley, legendary Maine boatbuilder, hands off business to his son
Master boatbuilder Ralph Stanley turned 80 and is feeling a little less chipper than he used to. That’s why son Richard, his lifelong business partner, is taking over the business, helped by Richard’s wife Lorraine. Ralph Stanley, dean of wooden boatbuilders in Maine, once dreamed of working at the United Nations in New York City.
Shrimp season succumbs to sinking economy
Port Clyde fisherman Randy Cushman estimates his income from shrimp this season has been cut in half. Shrimp are abundant at sea but the market on shore has dried up. “It’s not good when you’re sitting on a mooring and the shrimp are out at sea,” said Cushman. This year’s shrimp season is 180 days,