Page 8. MAINE COASTAL NEWS April 2014


Waterfront News Ask any lobstermen, and they are likely


to express the same frustration with the ongoing issue of losing buoys due to weather or being cut by propellers. Often the buoys wind up on islands, either wedged between rocks on remote ledges or hung up like ornaments on shoreline tree branches. There is a slight chance that they land where they can be seen from the water, but not likely in any location where anyone would want to bring a boat in to shore. Even if you could get to them, who has time to chase down all these lost buoys?


It turns out there is already a dedicated corps of folks who spend time cleaning the shorelines of these places that are hard to access by larger boats. Every year, the Maine Island Trail Association (MITA) hosts cleanups that bring over 200 volunteers out to clean the shorelines of islands along the Trail. These volunteers inevitably come across lobster buoys, but due to lobster gear molestation laws, have traditionally left behind any buoys that they fi nd. Of the ones they fi nd, some buoys are mangled beyond repair, but many are salvageable. It can be disheartening for the volunteers, who care deeply about the work they are doing, to leave buoys in places where they know they are unlikely to ever be retrieved. While the volunteers are primarily not fi shermen themselves, they recognize the challenges that lost buoys present to lobstermen, including the fi nancial burden. In an effort to engage this volunteer


Maine Coastal News


is now entirely online: www.mainescoast.com


force in assisting with recovering lost lobster buoys, MITA began implementing a buoy return program in the fall of 2012. MITA’s Stewardship Manager, Maria Jenness, has worked with Marine Patrol to obtain permission to remove buoys during island cleanups. In order to gain this permission, they have worked to develop a system to return salvageable buoys to their rightful owners. In conjunction with local Harbormasters, locations were identifi ed where buoys could be left for retrieval. These were primarily at fi sh piers or outside Harbormasters’ offi ces. It was essential that they be central locations where lobstermen would fi nd and take the buoys, and also where the property owner wouldn’t mind a pile of buoys for a few days. On a single cleanup, for example, volunteers may fi nd as many as 80 salvageable buoys from a handful of islands.


LOST BUOY RETURN PROGRAM How you can help


Contact MITA to let them know what you think of these efforts- they want to know if lobstermen are on board with the idea, and get feedback on how to improve the system. You can talk to your local Harbormaster or fi sh pier manager to fi nd out if MITA has been in contact with them, and if so if there is a local drop-off spot. In some locations


KENSINGTON—Gordon H. (Swifty) Swift, 89, of Kensington died peacefully at his home on Wednesday, Feb 26, 2014 where he and his wife, Doris have lived for 67 years.


He was born Jan. 7, 1925 in West Hart- ford, Conn., son of the late John Elliot and Lillian May Hale.


There have been some great success stories resulting from these efforts. In Stonington, MITA volunteers met lobstermen at the dock when they were dropping off buoys. The lobstermen immediately started sorting the buoys by owner, and all expressed their appreciation for the work the cleanup volunteers were doing. Some even asked if volunteers could bring in broken buoys too so they could make toggles out of them.


A call for participation


While MITA is continuing to build relationships with Marine Patrol and Harbormasters, they are seeking to connect with lobstermen directly. The success of the program relies not only on volunteers bringing buoys in, but the lobstermen retrieving them. MITA is looking for assistance in spreading the word throughout the fi shing community about their efforts. If lobstermen don’t know that buoys are being brought in or where they are being left, they are unlikely to get them back. That retrieval piece is critical to the program’s success.


2013 LOBSTER BOAT RACE CD


Swifty attended the American Youth Hostel School in Meredith, NH and then graduated with an associate’s degree from the Thompson School of Applied Science at UNH in Durham, NH. During college Swifty was the head herdsman at the live- stock department and “milked [his] way through college.” While in college, he met the love of his life, Doris Pierce. They mar- ried during their senior year living above the stallion barn on campus and then moved to Shaws Hill Farm in Kensington in 1947. After farming for a few years, Swifty fell in love with boats and boat building and began his career by working for David C. (Bud) McIntosh at the McIntosh Boat Yard in Dover, NH. to learn the craft of boat


BATH — Friends of Seguin Island Light Station are pleased to announce that they have been awarded a $5000 project grant. The project will enable the replacement of the fascia, gutters and soffi ts on the Se- guin Island Light Station Keeper’s House. F.O.S.I.L.S. will conduct all aspects of the project in accordance with the Secretary of the Interior’s Standards for the Treatment of Historic Properties and will complete the project this year. This Project has been made possible in


part by a grant through the Belvedere Fund Historic Preservation Grants Program of the Maine Community Foundation in coopera- tion with the Maine Historic Preservation Commission.


About 1,800 photographs from all eleven 2013 lobster boat races. $12.50, which includes postage.


To order send to: Maine Coastal News, P.O. Box 710, Winterport, ME, 04496 or call (207) 223-8846 and charge to your credit card.


KUSTOM STEEL


along the coast, MITA has struggled to fi nd good places to leave the buoys for pick- up, and could use input. You can also talk to your fellow lobstermen, to help make sure they know about the program too. To provide feedback, ask questions or discuss the program, contact Maria Jenness, MITA’s Stewardship Manager, at 207-761-8225 or stewards@mita.org.


NH Boat Builder Gordon Swift Passes Over Bar


building. In 1965, Swifty left boat building to be the operations manager at Great Bay Marina in Newington, NH.for 11 years. In 1976 he established Swift Custom Boats and for the next 30 years he built many beauti- ful wooden cruising boats. Swifty taught boat building at the WoodenBoat School in Brooklin, ME for 10 summers. He loved to mentor young boat builders and keep wood- en boat building alive.


Swifty was active in the town of Kens- ington, NH as a member of the volunteer Fire Department for 50 years as well as serving on the planning board and board of appeals. He was also a member of the Kensington Congregational Church.


Surviving family members include his wife Doris, daughters, Diana McLeod of Burlington, VT. and Laurie McIntosh of Dover, NH. Grandsons Alex and Douglas McIntosh of Dover NH. Services: The family will be having a celebration of Swifty’s life in May. Dona- tions can be made to the Kensington Con- gregational Church.


Grant to Friends of Seguin Island Light Station F.O.S.I.L.S. is very thankful and hon-


ored to be recognized by the Maine Com- munity Foundation. Their donation will help preserve F.O.S.I.L.S. mission: to distinguish Seguin Island Light as part of Maine’s her- itage, fostering connections with our area’s history for generations to come. Keep the light shining...


Spring Workshops at The Apprenticeshop


The Apprenticeshop, the school for traditional boatbuilding and seamanship in Rockland, invites the public for two new workshops in April. In Hand Tool Use and Joinery, on Sat-


urday, April 5, Andy Glen, a professional fi ne woodworker and furniture maker based in Rockport, will teach basic techniques for using hand planes and chisels safely, includ- ing laying-out, marking and cutting basic joints. Participants should bring a working plane and chisel (if they have them) and any other basic tools for making simple joints. Two separate weekend workshops in Oar Making, led by Tim Jacobus, an Apprenticeshop graduate who works as a boatbuilder and fi ne woodworker, on April 5/6 or May 3/4 demonstrate the basics of patterning, cutting, shaping and fi nishing a pair of oars, mostly with hand tools. Each participant will take home a fi nished pair of oars to use for many years to come. Tools and materials supplied.


Looking to have metal work done at a reasonable cost? Welding a specialty!


Also marina slips with lots of parking and storage available. Call: (207) 991-1953


South Main Street, Brewer, Maine 04412


Both workshops provide an opportu- nity to experience working in a traditional wooden boatbuilding shop. Every workshop offered by The Apprenticeshop offers a unique glimpse into the world of Traditional Wooden boatbuilding through the use of hand tools to craft small, useful and beautiful pieces. For more information and to register --- (207) 594-1800 or visit www.apprentice- shop.org.


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32