Working Waterfront

A theory about those who visit islands

If you want to meet islanders, go to an island. Now before you send a letter to the editor complaining about the dumbest sentence you’ve ever read in your life, let me explain. I had that admittedly room-temperature insight recently, on the barnacle-crusted shore of West Gosling, one of a… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Nothing more expensive than a free boat

Last summer I finally succumbed to sailboat ownership after decades of heroic resistance. I’ve sailed my whole life, but always on boats owned by other people, which is the best kind of boat. I had just returned to the island after months hiking the Appalachian Trail in the claustrophobically forested… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

The fear across the bay

It’s been an old-fashioned winter so far. Outside it’s all snow, cold. My phone is full of videos from Minneapolis that look like they could just as well be from Portland. Snowbanks line the roads, plumes of breath blend with clouds of tear gas. The zipper on my winter coat… SEE MORE