The Machigonne II underway for Peaks Island.

Working Waterfront

New Peaks Island ferry stirs stormy waters

By William Hall The trip from the Portland waterfront to Peaks Island is short—less than three miles due east. The Machigonne II, a 399-passenger ferry operated by Casco Bay Lines, makes the 17-minute crossing over a dozen times a day. But plans to replace that vessel are following a more tortuous… SEE MORE

Tom Werner and his children on the Peaks Island shore

Working Waterfront

Fishing, islander family takes helm of Peaks restaurant

KELLI PARK Tom and Katie Werner and their children on the deck of what will be their new business on Peaks Island, the Island Lobster Company. Story and Photos by Kelli Park When it came time to sell their Peaks Island House Restaurant, Joe and Nancy Wright knew the… SEE MORE

A December evening image from Boothbay Harbor.

Working Waterfront

Boothbay Harbor debate misrepresented in newspaper’s coverage

By Patty Minerich The Working Waterfront’s analysis of Boothbay Harbor’s recent planning conflicts by Edgar Allen Beem (“The last fisherman?” February/March issue) fails to understand that the situation is more complicated than anyone who isn’t living it could believe. As one selectman said at a recent meeting, people aren’t lining up to… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Bait shortage could hit lobster fishery hard

PEACH FREDERICK A bait bin being lifted at Rockland's Fish Pier. By Susie Arnold There is no question that herring is going to be in short supply in 2019 and the years to come. Based on the recent poor stock assessment of the Atlantic herring population, the New England Fisheries… SEE MORE

Rockland's Snow Marine Park on a spring morning.

Working Waterfront

Welcome home, Rockland

By David Wylie Down East magazine chose Rockland in 2018 as the best place to live in Maine. We have come a long way. From the plywood windows on Main Street of 25 years ago amid a stagnating fishing industry, Rockland has come into its own as a major tourist destination… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Southern Maine real estate market heating up

By Wanda Curtis Escalating listing prices, bidding wars, and low inventory characterized Maine’s coastal real estate market in 2018. This year, predicts Pete Harrington, president of the Maine Real Estate Association, listing prices and sales volume will begin to level off. One of the most active coastal towns last year was… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Luke’s Lobster to enter Portland market

By Stephanie Bouchard In the last weeks of 2018, Luke’s Lobster, a restaurant group with Maine roots, announced it is opening its first Portland-based restaurant. It will be the second Luke’s Lobster restaurant in Maine. A restaurant in Tenants Harbor has been open seasonally since 2016. Co-founded by Luke Holden,… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

‘Hello Sailor’ finds homeport in Newcastle

Hello Sailor T-shirt By Sally Noble//Photos by Michele Stapleton A happily married couple, they packed their memories of long, lazy summer vacations—like that of their first meeting, in 2003, at campcamp.com, a free-spirited gay camp in the Maine woods. Weary of their frenetic life in the Washington D.C. area, filled… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Can both sides win in the battle over the waterfront?

By Tom Groening Now that I have six years under my belt here at the Island Institute, I’ve begun—cautiously—to accept a few speaking engagements, holding forth on the topic of the working waterfront. My presentation is very much a work in progress, and I begin by disclosing that I am… SEE MORE

An aerial view of the business location.

Working Waterfront

Vessel Services: Where fishing boats go to shop

By William Hall Despite its three-story ice-making plant at the seaward end of the Portland Fish Pier, Vessel Services Inc. is almost invisible to passers-by at the other end, along bustling Commercial Street. But for crews of the two dozen groundfishing craft and 100 or so lobster boats that operate… SEE MORE