The photograph for this week’s adventure shows Jackie Branch with her pup Sushi in a rare moment of idle time. I say this is a rare moment because Jackie is seldom without a project. She is a busy young lady. I wish I had half her energy and motivation. Perhaps the fact that she is 12 years old and I am 75 helps to explain the difference. However, what I can recall from my time as a 12-year-old does not compare to Jackie’s long list of accomplishments. I was busy, but generally not very productive. My energy and activity were quite probably the result of what is now known as attention deficit accompanied by fairly regular consumption of Orange Crush with a Zagnut candy bar chaser. It was a wild ride and a challenging distraction for my parents and sisters.
Read moreTugs
My first Maine water tour was on the Argo with Captain Eliot Winslow. It was a glimpse of things from a different perspective which included loads of wit and wisdom, with a few odd-ball comments thrown in for good measure. Anyone who ever crossed paths with Captain Winslow, be it on the Argo, on tugs, or in the Robinson’s Wharf parking lot, knows what I am talking about. Eliot had some stories and some rather unique points of view! You never quite knew when the next curve ball might arrive!
My next most interesting interaction with Captain Winslow occurred during a visit with Eliot at home for a “portrait” session. He and his much loved Irish setter were quite a chore to organize, but we managed to salvage a few frames for safe keeping. It was the start of a long relationship with the Winslow family. I would be called upon for future photographic adventures, one of which I have chosen to share this week.
I am not at all reluctant to say that I have limited nautical experience, especially during my early years here on the peninsula. So when Eliot decided that he wanted to have some photographs made of the tugs to help promote the business, I got a call. At the time, the Winslow tugs were helping to move frigates around at Bath Iron Works. That project provided an opportunity to capture all the then Winslow fleet at work with a backdrop of multiple BIW ships. It seemed like a good setting to show off the tugs at work. Coordinating such an adventure, however, was another matter. Imagine, if you can, trying to get five tugs organized in the Kennebec River on a blustery winter day!
The photograph I have shared today is from a postcard we made back in the 80s, but not the composition I had in mind to help promote the Winslow organization. I wanted all the tugs to be closely aligned with the Iron Works in the background. Easier said than done.
I was transferred to the small boat BIW used for around the yard waterfront work. It was cold and windy and I, with radio in hand, tried to suggest to all tug captains how I would like them to move in order to get the image I had envisioned. We struggled to get everyone lined up, but in the wind, the currents and with large, not easily maneuvered tugs, it was taking some time. Through my radio chatter and instructions came the abrupt announcement from Captain Eliot: “All right, that’s enough! Do you know what this is costing me? We’re done!”
During my various visits with the Winslow organization I met some wonderful tug personnel who I will now try to recall because they were very kind and helpful to me anytime I worked with the boats. Here we go. And please understand that my memory from those days is subject to review, but I will always be grateful for the kindness and consideration. My recollections include David and Eliot Winslow, Jeff Lozier, Pete Ripley, Bob Goodspeed, Ed Mitchell, Greg Hartley, John Smith, Phil Roberts, Glenn Hodgdon, and I am certain there are others. Over the years and more recently when David was running the company, Mark Stover, Bill Sherman and Hugh Thompson come to mind. I do also recall that Earl Walker of Southport was often heard over the radio during ship movements at BIW
Appreciation
From my earliest time in Maine, I have been fascinated by the seas around us. Where I grew up, in the central Appalachians of Pennsylvania coal country, nothing compared to the magnificence that surrounds us here on the Boothbay peninsula. We had a few lakes and the West branch of the Susquehanna River, but there was not a view that compared to the endless waters of the Atlantic.
Read moreSpring
Well, we finally made it! After grinding through from the eight and three quarter hour shortest day in December, we arrive, this week, at about 12 hours of daylight! The sunset is almost at 7 p.m. This is so helpful for those of us who are challenged by the lack of daylight. It's a good sign of things to come.
Read moreSigns
Back in the early ’70s, I was teaching in a fairly large public high school in New Jersey, just outside New York City. The school had a growing new population from diverse backgrounds, notably Haitian. These young people, and their families, in many cases, were fleeing the tyrannical rule of Papa Doc Duvalier. Their English language skills were quite limited. In most instances they spoke French and the more common and universal language of their native country, Haitian Creole. Faculty and administration needed help as we tried to integrate concepts and skills that would help the new students adjust and communicate. This, as you might imagine, was not an easy task and one for which there had been little planning.
Read moreBrigid
I have photographed with folks at Bigelow Lab from the very early days with the Yentsch founders.
Over the years, from time to time, I would be called upon to record new developments and expanding services for a variety of scientific subjects. The opportunity to meet and work with extraordinary individuals came with the territory. It was a great pleasure to be invited to help showcase some of the research projects which, for the most part, were way above my pay grade and totally fascinating. The collection of talented individuals from all over the world was, and is, amazing.
Read moreDoug and Harry
It was probably not one of my better decisions!
In the early 80s, approximately, being a bit more adventuresome at the time, I decided to visit Monhegan Island for the Jan. 1 “Trap Day.” As you may well imagine, January anytime on an island off the coast of Maine is not the “Vacationland” we are now promoted to be! At that time in my photo career, this was a challenge I could not resist. And, truth be known, I had been offered an open invitation by Doug and Harry Odom to visit anytime.
Read moreBlank
Every once in a while, my brain goes on sabbatical. It seems to have a mind of its own which is a bit unsettling when trying to prepare a regularly scheduled column for the newspaper, among other things. I’m not sure if this is caused by some neurological short circuit or if it has to do with too many other things floating about in my head. Let’s hope it is the latter please.
Read morePermission
Please know that I do not judge. I try, as best I can, to not criticize. I know that no one is perfect. Being right all the time is clearly not possible. But, three to five inches, or four to six inches were predicted for our recent snowfall. Without any axes to grind or truths to be altered, the snow pile at the end of our driveway tells a slightly different story.
Read moreView
Back in the late '70s when George McEvoy, Clem Brewer and Dan DeRepentigny owned the Tugboat Inn, I worked as the night cleanup person for the kitchen and the dining room. At that time, the dining room, which is now all guest rooms, stretched the length of the big building that extends out over the water. It was a pretty big space that could seat a lot of people and, at the same time, create significant mess for my vacuum. The waitstaff who managed that space were an extraordinary group of women who served food and turned tables with superior finesse.
Read moreBugs
It was so warm on Sunday, Jan. 19, that there were bugs swarming outside the living room window. The sunlight was strong and there was no wind at all so it seemed even warmer than the 40 degree reading on the kitchen wall digital thermometer that warns us of water freeze ups!
Read moreNPD
Let’s say you’ve been a nurse in Minot, North Dakota, long enough and seek to enjoy the balmy mid-winter experience of Midcoast Maine. And you respond to an interesting position as advertised by one of our notable area hospitals. But you can’t just walk in the door of one of these facilities and declare your willingness to take the job. Somebody needs to review your skills and confirm that you are in fact qualified. Have I got a deal for you!
Read moreCold
A couple years ago, there was an ad in the local “Marketplace” for firewood end cuts. When wood processors cut logs to a specific size like 12”, 16” or 24” there is often a small chunk of the log that is left over. Sometimes these smaller pieces of wood are discarded into a pile of random lengths which are perfectly good, just not ideally fitted to a specific length. Many times, these piles of “nubbins” sit around for a long time doing nothing but drying and being in the way. Frequently, to clean up and make room for more logs, these piles of discarded shorts are available for sale, often at a very reasonable price.
Read moreMaddy
Maddy Faulkingham is off to a new adventure. She has begun an accelerated three and a half year program at Ross University of Veterinary Medicine in St. Kitts. Her childhood fascination and love for animals is more real. It is an ambitious undertaking but Maddy is no stranger to challenges, and this is a dream come true, which is a big motivator.
Read moreMoosey Brick
“Moosey Brick,” a new fiction novel written by East Boothbay resident Matt Hurley, is available at Sherman’s bookstore and at Amazon and Barnes and Noble online. It is Matt’s first book, largely set in Maine with lots of interesting references to the state’s people, places and things.
Read moreWinter
With our crazy, mixed-up weather at the moment, I figured I’d take a flyer and guess that full heavy snowfall may be absent from our near future. And, of course, as always, I could be wrong. But as I sit writing this week’s adventure story, it’s cold and clear with a light dusting of overnight snow, only a few days after temperatures reached nearly 50 degrees. There has been some horrendous snows in other areas of the country, namely Buffalo, New York area, where I once had to tunnel out of the house due to massive drifting. We, here in the area seem to have been overlooked (a temporary condition, perhaps) by big storms. The path of significant snowfalls seems to be off to the north of us and to the south and west. I have guessed in the past that our location next to the ocean may have something to do with that. Time will tell.
Read moreLight
I was putting the tractor back in the shed the other evening (by evening I mean, 4:30!) after hauling some firewood and noticed a bright light in the eastern sky. I thought perhaps one of the New Jersey drones had gone astray and was scoping out our stock of foreign imports.
Read moreThanks
This is one of my most favorite times of year, but not for the reason one might think.
For 24 years, we have published our “Around Boothbay Harbor” calendar. In that time, we have sold, shipped and donated over 40,000 copies to lovers of this paradise.
Read moreDon
Give Don Viens a cocktail napkin and a ballpoint pen and he can sketch an idea for just about anything. In fact, I’d put money on a Don plan that doesn’t even require hard copy. Need a piece of furniture or an ornate item for your roof peak, a garden shed, or an entire house? Don can make it happen. And, quite possibly, he can make it happen in a way that you may never have envisioned using unusual materials from a 150-year-old barn stored under a tarp next to his shop. It’s as if wood has been waiting for Don’s next unique project, waiting for it to arrive. The more irregular, in many cases, the wood, the more uses revealed. Recycling is part of the genetic fabric of Don’s vision. Ideas present themselves in a karmic fashion. Wood offers reuse and Don finds a way to create new from old. It’s almost surreal.
Read moreEleanor
Eleanor is in town!
The Boston Tea Party vessel made a significant 17-hour trip from Boston with tugboat help, landing at the Bristol Marine pier on Wednesday morning last week. The Eleanor is already in the hands of the exceptional Bristol Marine crew which is very focused on a substantial checklist of work. The same day the ship arrived in the Harbor it was floated onto the awaiting car and transported up the main railway, properly managed by a dozen yard workers, a tender boat and skilled diver who confirmed proper blocking support. The process of moving the ship out of the water is tedious and well thought out. A blocking plan had been in place for two weeks anticipating Eleanor's arrival but weather delayed the trip from Boston.
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