Celebrating Working Waterfront

Dinghies in Cundy's Harbor

 The heritage of Maine is it's natural resources, including the sea.  For generations, people have carved a living from the Gulf of Maine; moving ice, timber, and stone; fishing, lobstering, clamming; bringing in the "rusticators" for the summer.  Today, still, the people of Maine and the US share our oceans; they are a public resource.  Unfortunately, the land around them is not, and like so many places, it's getting harder and harder to access the ocean in the Pinetree State.

This is an inconvenience for most of us.  For others, it's a matter of life and death -- or at least making a decent living.  Imagine having no way to get from your home to your office  -- leaving your house one morning to find all the roads to your work place were suddenly "private", "no trespassing", "residents only".  That's more and more common in coastal communities.  In Maine, where there are ~5,300 miles of coastline, only about 20 continue to be available as working waterfront.  Only 81 points represent truly great working waterfront -- with fuel available, all-tide access, and adequate parking, and of those, only 62 directly support commercial activities.  Working waterfront is in short order.

So let's celebrate the working waterfront we have!  It's one of the things that makes Maine unique.  This amazing state was built on places like Stonington and Portland and Port Clyde.  To do my part, I'm sharing some of my favorite working waterfront photos from last year.  If you want more information on working waterfront, I recommend Mapping Maine's Working Waterfront, from the Island Institute, or check out Maine Sea Grant's website.  

This peaceful afternoon made photographing boats in Wiscasset a pleasure.  Angelina is ready to set her pots.

Sunrise in Lamoine; burning off the fog at Lamoine State Park.

This old wooden boat really caught my fancy in Ogunquit.  Lucky Lizzie!

This is a favorite of mine.  A dead-still day in Boothbay, after a thunderstorm, brought me Two Cousins.

Nestled at the dinghy dock, this plywood green boat is all utility.

For those with long "commutes" to their moorings, a Johnson (old or new) does the trick.

This pot buoy in Southport brought some color to the grey day.

Just think what came out of this old boat shed in Camden.

Everything a boater could need in Castine.

Mooring pennants were being put away here on a fall day.

Sunset in Five Islands

Molds await the boat builder in Lamoine.

Working waterfront comes in many forms, including this huge boat building facility in East Boothbay.

A foggy morning at New Harbor.

I imagine this is what working waterfront must have looked like a century ago.