Readers may remember that this column/blog began during summer cruise of 2013 from Maine Maritime Academy. It’s only February, but we are already preparing for the summer semester at sea. Why do we do these summer cruises and internships with cargo ships and tugboats and tankers? Why is so much of our school year devoted
Buoy tending meant going where other captains wouldn’t
Note: This remembrance was submitted by Sam Smith, editor of the Progressive Review (prorev.com), after he read The Working Waterfront’s recent story, “Tales of the ‘Buoy Snatchers.’” The Spar was 180 feet long. Unlike most Coast Guard cutters that were painted barn-siding white, the buoy tenders had black hulls and white superstructures. We sometimes referred
It’s OK not to know what’s next
I’ve never been comfortable without a plan. I live for to-do lists and enjoy crossing things off one by one. My Google Calendar is updated meticulously; I lay out my workdays by the hour. My fellowship with the Island Institute and AmeriCorps will not end until this August, but I have already started networking and
Maine lobstermen: not ‘reality’ enough?
One of the articles that has been floating around my Facebook newsfeed this past week involves a call to Maine lobstermen for a potential Deadliest Catch-type show. My boyfriend brought this up to my father, who is a lobsterman, at dinner on Saturday night, suggesting he might want to get in on the action. “He’s
How much natural gas is enough?
Oh, to be in the fuel oil or propane business these days (!), I think to myself every time I hear the boiler in the basement ignite with a shudder or listen to the whoosh of the blue enamel propane heater in our drafty kitchen. Of course, I realize it is no fun delivering fossil
Hitting our stride as course work narrows
“They say that here at MMA the chicken’s mighty fine; well, mine jumped off the table and began to march in time.” I’ve said before that food is the first most important morale factor on a ship. Our food service department here at Maine Maritime Academy is a very hard working group. Before Christmas vacation
North Haven student wins prize to produce original play
NORTH HAVEN — Tom Emerson has won the Virginia B. Toulmin Prize with his original, full-length play, “House of Broken Ships.” The work, selected by a panel of judges, will be produced this summer, the North Haven Arts & Enrichment at Waterman’s Community Center announced. Emerson, 25, is a North Haven Community School and Hampshire
Small (island) town talk–separating truth from fiction
I had a fairly difficult time keeping things straight when I moved to Isle au Haut. I felt like every man I met was named Bill. I couldn’t get a grasp on some of the family histories (as the joke goes: we don’t have a family tree on the island, it’s a family wreath). But the
Maine Marine Patrol promotes two officers
AUGUSTA — The Maine Marine Patrol has announced the promotion of Matthew Talbot, a 12-year veteran of the bureau, and Tom Hale, a 16-year veteran, each to the rank of sergeant. “These two marine patrol leaders are deserving of this honor and bring with them a track record of success in their career as well
Urchin project explores seaweed as feed
Sea urchins have been successfully raised in tanks and in open-water farms, but the product could become even more valuable if the shellfish could be fattened up before harvested. That’s where Nick Brown and Steve Eddy come in. Brown is director of the University of Maine’s Center for Cooperative Aquaculture Research and Eddy is one