The Independence under construction at Washburn & Doughty Associates in East Boothbay. From left are the CTC's Matt Ridgway

Working Waterfront

Chebeague Island to get new ferry

The Chebeague Transportation Company’s new ferry, scheduled for delivery by May 1, now has a name: Independence. A community-wide naming contest, which attracted 475 votes, chose the name from a short list of five. The ferry, now under construction at Washburn & Doughty Associates, Inc., in East Boothbay, will replace the 34-year-old Islander, also… 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

One winter day in January

By Barbara Fernald Summer visitors often ask what it’s like to live here in the winter. For many of us, this is a much slower and quieter time of year, affording us the time to travel, to catch up on some projects or take a class. I dedicate the month… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Childhood memories, and valuable land, preserved

By Phil Crossman When I was a Vinalhaven youngster, I lived on the western side of Armbrust Hill. It seemed enormous. A little pond, the Trolley Puddle, was nestled under granite cliffs in a natural amphitheater on its northwest flank. It assumed magnificent proportions and fairies lived in and around… 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

North Haven town administrator Rick Lattimer.

Working Waterfront

North Haven administrator returns to ancestral roots

By Courtney Naliboff Community engagement and the opportunity to be “out and about” on the job have made new North Haven Town Administrator Rick Lattimer’s transition from federal service to small town life a happy one. “I went to college, joined the Marine Corps, then got picked up on a… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

The ‘City Island Fellow’ finds new roots (and garlic)

Reflections is written by Island Fellows, recent college grads who do community service work on Maine islands and in remote coastal communities through the Island Institute, publisher of The Working Waterfront. By Nell Houde “Miss Nell, Miss Nell!” Two of my students were running towards me, yelling my name. “Miss Nell,… SEE MORE