An image from the Boat School's early days.

Working Waterfront

Downeast boat school sees revival

To fund the first phase, the Friends won a $675,000 grant from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and a $120,000 grant from the Maine Department of Environmental Protection, both of which enabled the replacement of the main building’s roof and asbestos removal, work that began in late spring. SEE MORE

Humpback whale breaching. PHOTO: TOM FERNALD

Working Waterfront

Research highlights whale movement

A major study of humpback whale movement patterns across the North Atlantic basin is illuminating the behavior of at least one endangered species of whale. “Ocean basin-wide movement patterns of North Atlantic humpback whales, Megaptera novaeangliae,” published by the International Whaling Commission’s Journal of Conservation Research and Management, provides an… SEE MORE

Maine Maritime Academy's waterfront. PHOTO: JACK SULLIVAN

Working Waterfront

Maine Maritime Academy names president

Following a national search, the Maine Maritime Academy board of trustees selected Craig Johnson, an MMA graduate of the class of 1991, as its new president. SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

The making of a captain, by intention

The making-of-a-fisherman myth we often subscribe to has him growing up on a boat, eventually making captain, and then inherently knowing how to succeed as he takes the helm. In this scenario, the fishing fleet is continuously reinvigorated by the children of fishermen. In reality, the New England fishing fleet… SEE MORE

The Fifth Maine gathers for a reunion in 1912. PHOTO: COURTESY FIFTH MAINE MUSEUM

Working Waterfront

Where Civil War veterans once gathered, their service is preserved

The artifacts are varied and evocative. There is a piece of hardtack, a food staple for soldiers; relics from the battle at Gettysburg; hand-colored “lantern slides,” which were projected onto screens; and shackles that had been used on a slave. SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Of books and boats—Brooklin library to host maritime research center

Serendipitous timing and a simple request have combined to keep a large collection of nautical publications in Brooklin, preserving the library’s local roots. Last June, Jon Wilson gave visitors a tour of the WoodenBoat Library—a 6,700-volume “labor of love” he put together over decades of book and periodical collecting. Wilson… SEE MORE

The Portland Marine Hospital at Martin’s Point, photographed in 1900.

Working Waterfront

Our social insurance has maritime origins

Social welfare programs are subject to frequent criticism on the national and local levels and are usually associated with numerous 1930s policies enacted to respond to social hardships highlighted by the Great Depression. In actuality, the first government-managed social insurance program dates all the way back to the 18th century… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

What sports should be

Over my two decades at North Haven Community School, I've developed a fondness for basketball. Not televised basketball (although I, too, was swept up in the women's NCAA excitement last year) or any basketball where I haven't known the players since birth, or at least kindergarten. Just the North Haven… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Twice to the island for Jon Bolduc

Islesboro has a personal and professional hold on Jon Bolduc, and for good reason, as he explains. Bolduc, 31, moved with his family to the Penobscot Bay island when he was a child. “My mom and dad were both teachers,” he explains. “They got positions the same year,” at the… SEE MORE

A shipwreck on the Passagassawakeag River invited archeological field work in September. PHOTO: COURTESY BELFAST MARINE INSTITUTE

Working Waterfront

Belfast school launches Marine Institute

That academic year saw the acquisition of an on-campus wet lab with a 500-gallon water tanker and kelp-growing materials, as well as a limited-purpose aquaculture license… SEE MORE