Page 4. MAINE COASTAL NEWS March 2011
Maine Coastal News P.O. Box 710
(207) 223-8846
Winterport, Maine 04496-0710 U.S.A. E-mail -
igmatats@aol.com
Web site:
www.mainescoast.com Fax (207) 223-9004 Publisher's Note
Maine Coastal News is dedicated to covering the waterfront of State of Maine. It covers commercial fishing, yachting (power and sail), boat yard and waterfront news and maritime history. Maine Coastal News is published 12 times per year. The distribution of Maine Coastal News is from Eastport to Kittery and is free on the newsstand. It also can be by subscription. A year subscription, 12 issues, is $20.00. A single copy is $2.00, which covers the postage. Foreign rates for subscriptions are $40.00 per year. The Maine Coastal News office is located at 966 North Main Street, Winterport, Maine. Comments or additional information write: Maine Coastal News, P.O. Box 710, Winterport,
Maine 04496. Publisher Editor-in-Chief
Jon B. Johansen Rachel Elward
Advertising Deadlines: The deadline for the April issue is 11 March. The deadline for the May issue is 15 April.
As you know we offer subscriptions, but if you only knew the hoops that we have had to jump through to do this I would bet you would wonder why we still offer this service. Obviously after we went free several years ago the number of subscribers dropped, but we still send out more than 400 pieces. Over the years we have tried to streamline the mailing process. The first change was the purchase of a software package for doing the mailing list. Due to the massive amount of changes made by the post office this soft- ware is updated every two months for a cost of $50. Not only did this software bar code the address, it also told you if the address was good or bad. This put us in the automated class and allowed us a discount. The post office then instituted a new machine for auto- matically sorting the mail. Periodically they randomly test a mailing and in January we were chosen and failed. This meant that the mailing would be tested next time too. Rachel went up and tried to find out the problem, but the workers at the post office in the bulk mailing department really did not have a con- clusive answer. They suggested calling someone else, which Rachel did and the con- clusion seemed to be that the labels were not put on straight and thus were not being read. Rachel tried to make sure that the next mailing would not have a problem. She even went another step ordering bigger labels and then modifying the barcode on them. When she did the mailing she was extremely careful to make sure that the labels were on straight. The amount of hours Rachel spent trying to make this right was staggering. Well, guess what, it failed again. When asked why, the post office did not know what the problem
was. One of the workers blamed the machine for grabbing the paper and twisting it, which was certainly part of the problem. However, the supervisor did not agree totally. I was not happy and really thought about stopping subscriptions all together. That was not real- istic since many of the people receiving sub- scriptions are from far away. Out of frustra- tion, the next thought to call the press and seeing if they would be willing to do the mailing and what it was going to cost. Oh, I should have done this in the beginning, be- cause in the end I think it is going to be less expensive and timelier.
Over the last several years we have heard that the U. S. Post Office can not make money. Its first strike is that it is government operation, secondly they are union, and if you deal with them you will certainly know why they are a failure. The first problem I had came years ago when they changed the hours of operation to four hours, 1200 to 1600 hours daily. That was not convenient, but that did not matter.
Running a business is hard enough, but when you failed to service the needs of your customers you will fail, well, unless you are being funded by the American people. Go into your favourite box store and see if ser- vice is a prime consideration. It is dead in a lot of businesses and in the end it could cost them as customers find some company that truly cares about service. What I am im- pressed with is in the marine business service is the key and most owners do their best to please their customers. The marine business is extremely difficult and very easy to lose money at and you have to do all you can to make our customers happy.
MCN's Calendar of Coastal Events
Exhibit – Cross Currents: Visual Arts Distilled from the Maritime World On View through February 6, 2011 Daily 9:30 am - 5 pm
Maine Maritime Museum, 243 Washington St., Bath
Admission: Free for members and children under 4; $12-adult; $11-senior/ students; $9-children
The exhibit explores how diversely maritime life has been captured by four artists working in different mediums, displaying works by Carroll Thayer Berry (printmaking), Loretta Krupinski (painting), Claudio Cambon (photography) and Christy Georg (sculpture). FMI: Visit
www.MaineMaritimeMuseum.org.
FEBRUARY 14
Red Algal Genomics and Ecology
Dr. Nic Blouin, University of Rhode Island
1500 hrs.
Alumni Lecture Room Leavitt Hall
Maine Maritime Academy Castine
17-21 Miami Boat Show Miami, FL
26- Mar 6 55th annual New England Boat Show
The New England Boat Show cruises into Boston as the area’s oldest and most respected boating marketplace in New England. The nine- day event offers an ideal escape from the winter chill to prepare for boating season. The show will host the region’s
largest selection of the newest boats, gear and gadgets, with exhibitors offering the season’s best sales. From sport fishers and luxury cruisers to sailboats and jet skis, the New England Boat Show offers something for every lifestyle, activity and budget, plus fun attractions for boaters of all ages.
Saturdays, 10:00a.m.-8:00p.m. Sunday, February 27, 11:00a.m.-
6:00p.m.
Monday, February 28-Friday, March 4, Noon-8:00p.m. Sunday, March 6, 11:00a.m.- 5:30p.m.
Boston Convention & Exhibition Center
415 Summer St. Boston, MA 02210 Info: 800.225.1577
MARCH 3-5 Maine Fishermen’s Forum Samoset Resort Rockport
11-13 Augusta Boat Show Augusta Civic Centre Augusta
18-20 Maine Boatbuilder’s Show Portland Yacht Service 58 Fore Street Portland
Info: (207) 774-1067 18-20 Maine Boat Show
Cumberland County Civic Centre Portland
20-22 Boston Seafood Show Boston Convention Center
Boston, MA
21 The Role of Foundational Plant Species in the Community Genetics of North American Estuaries
Dr. Steven Travis, University of New England 1500 hrs.
Alumni Lecture Room Leavitt Hall
Maine Maritime Academy Castine
21-24 ASMFC Meeting Week Crowne Plaza Old Town Alexandria, VA
APRIL 4 “Finding Whales in a Changing Ocean”
Dr. Andrew Pershing, Gulf of Maine Research Institute 1500 hrs.
Alumni Lecture Room Leavitt Hall
Maine Maritime Academy Castine
26-28 New England Council Meeting Hilton Hotel Mystic, CT
JUNE 4 SailMaine Shakedown Regatta Portland Yacht Services Portland
11 Centreboard Regatta Centreboard Yacht Club South Portland
18 Boothbay Lobster Boat Races Brown’s Wharf Boothbay, Harbor
Info: M. Farnham (207) 380-5295 N. Page (207) 380-5892
18-19 Pilot Race
Portland Yacht Club Falmouth
19 Rockland Lobster Boat Races O’Hara’s North Facility Rockland, Harbor
Info: S. Brooks (207) 354-8763
21-23 New England Council Meeting Holiday Inn by the Bay Portland
25 Harraseeket Regatta Harraseeket Yacht Club South Freeport
JULY 2 Moosebec Reach Lobster Boat Races U. S. Coast Guard Station Beals Island/Jonesport
Info: E. Blackwood (207) 598-6681
9 Searsport Lobster Boat Races Searsport Town Dock Searsport
Info: Otis’ (207) 548-6362 9-10 Rockland to Castine
10 Stonington Lobster Boat Races Town Dock Stonington
Info: N. Wiberg (207) 348-2375
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