Page 4. MAINE COASTAL NEWS November 2016
Maine Coastal News Winterport, Maine 04496-0710 U.S.A.
P.O. Box 710 (207) 223-8846 E-mail -
igmatats@aol.com Website:
www.mainescoast.com Publisher's Note My savior just disappeared, as the Maine Coastal News is published 12 times a year and is dedicated to covering the news
along the entire coast of Maine, Kittery to Eastport. We cover general marine news, commercial fi shing, yachting (power and sail), boat yard and waterfront news and maritime history. Distribution of Maine Coastal News is from Eastport to Marblehead, MA and is free on
the newsstand. It also can be obtained 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.
T e Maine Coastal News offi ce 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
person who was going to take the SATURN Project over decided that he had too much on his plate. Now it is on to Plan B, which is to list SATURN on YachtWorld and see if there are any takers. Saving her is my main objective, but I am not sure anyone wants a project this involved. SAWSEA, the 34 foot Wheeler, is still waiting for her survey and that sale is in a holding pattern. SATURN not going to a new home and SAWSEA’s sale on hold means I cannot proceed as I would have liked with the website for the Library, but here is to hoping it works out soon. Speaking of the Library, I am still work-
ing in the newspapers. While going through the New Hampshire Gazette for 1800 I came across an advertisement for an auction of fi sh from a shipwreck on Cape Cod to be held in Portsmouth. She was the DOLPHIN and when looking at my database of disasters there was no listing of a DOLPHIN lost on Cape Cod in that year. What is more inter- esting is that they were selling fi sh from the wreck. One can only hope it was salted fi sh otherwise I can just imagine the condition of this cargo. I am still inputting shipwrecks from
Advertising Deadlines: T e deadline for the December issue is November 11. T e deadline for the January issue is December 9.
MCN's Calendar
On-going Exhibits -2 January 2017 Sea Change: Portland on the Edge of the New North Maine Maritime Museum Bath
Info: (207) 443-1316
-22 January 1917 Over East, an Artist’s Journal: Painting by Robert Beck of the Contemporary Maritime Community Maine Maritime Museum Bath
Info: (207) 443-1316 NOVEMBER
15-17 - NEFMC Meeting Hotel Viking Newport, RI
DECEMBER 8 Maine Built Boats Conference Maine Maritime Museum Bath
JANUARY 24-27 NEFMC Meeting Sheraton Harborside Portsmouth, NH
MARCH 2-4 Maine Fishermen’s Forum Samoset Resort Rockport
Info: (207) 442-7700
24-26 Maine Boatbuilder’s Show Portland Sports Complex 512 Warren Ave. Portland, 04103 Info: (207) 774-1067
APRIL 18-20 NEFMC Meeting Hilton Hotel Mystic, CT
JUNE 17 Boothbay Lobster Boat Races Boothbay Harbor Info: Ashley Lowrey (207) 633- 3915
18 Rockland Lobster Boat Races Rockland Harbor @ Breakwater Rockland
Info: Dot Black (207) 975-9690
20-22 NEFMC Meeting Holiday Inn by the Bay Portland
25 Bass Harbor Lobster Boat Races Bass Harbor Info: Wayne Rich (207) 244-9623
JULY 1 Moosabec Lobster Boat Races U. S. Coast Guard Station Jonesport Info: Adrian Rittenhouse (207) 598-6387
9 Stonington Lobster Boat Races Town Dock Stonington Info:
23 Friendship Lobster Boat Races Barge middle of harbor Friendship Info: Wes Lash, Jr. (207) 832-7807
the “List of Merchant Vessels of the United States,” with fi ve years done and 78 or so to go. What started out as a list of New England disasters has expanded slightly to encompass any known disaster around the world. Just getting in the basic known disasters will take a couple of winters to complete. One thing that would be a help is to be able to create some sort of income to defray the costs. I have been thinking about releasing a list of the wrecks with very basic information, but another thought is to create books with write-ups on the more signifi cant disasters. Over the 35 years that I have been
covering the waterfront it is interesting to note the changes that have taken place in the marine industry. I have discussed at length the decline of the transient boaters, especial- ly in the sailing world. During my travels last month I got into a conversation with Mike Richardson at New England Marine in Portsmouth, NH regarding the decline of yacht racing. We both can remember the good turn outs of the 1980s and ‘90s for local around the buoy racing and even some long distance events. As the 1990s progressed one could note the steady decline and now there are a lot less people racing around the buoys and most of the long-distance events are gone. Mike and I tried to determine the reason for the decline and we both agreed that time is a factor as well as many of the younger generation are simply not interest- ed. Most of the major events have disap- peared or their participation is diminished. Another problem is that harbors that used to be fi lled with sailboats you now fi nd mostly powerboats. That same day I talked with Jim Tay-
lor, a yacht designer in Marblehead, and he echoed the same issues and reasons for the decline. He added that Marblehead had seen a decline, but they still had some well attend- ed events, especially in the small boats. He
pointed to the strictly built big racers, over 40 feet, which demand huge crews as part of the problem. He also added that many sports, such as golf, as seen a major drop in participants. He thought that the drop in yacht racing was a normal occurrence and looking back over the last 200 years he has a point. Yachting has had its ups and downs, especially around the World Wars as well as yacht racing. Just looking at the America’s Cup there have been many hiatuses, one 20 years long. The 12-metre era was one the captured the interest of many, especially when we raced off Perth, Australia in 1987. The IACC class did not seem to capture the interest, and the racing catamarans with foils split the interested sailors. Some liked the catamarans, some did not. I am on the side that did because it was exciting and it was over in less than 45 minutes. Today too many people lose interest if any event goes much longer than an hour or two. I am not much of a fan of the America’s Cup anymore. When they went away from a competition between countries it lost my interest. Most of the sailors on these boats are hired hands and they jumped from one country to another depending on the highest bidder. I have al- ways liked the non-stop singlehanded round the world races, like the Vendee Globe, which starts early this November. There is also an American racing, Rich Wilson, in this French dominated event. It will be interesting to see where he fi nishes. When Maine Coastal News fi rst came
out, I covered most of the sailing races on the Maine coast, and even some of the big- ger events around New England. Most of the time I was able to get on a boat and get the real experience, but more importantly I learned what it took to be a great racer. One time I was on board DRAGON FIRE for the Corinthian 200 with John Marshall of North Sails and numerous America’s Cup campaigns. That was where I learned there was a whole other level. Some of my most memorable moments were covering the America’s Cup, the OSTAR or BOC Round the World Challenge in Newport, RI. Newport changed and many of the big races disappeared as well as many of the world- class sailors who stopped into Goat Island and frequented the bar there. It was all an incredible learning experience. In the 1990s with the decline of sailboat
racing here in Maine I switched the focus to lobster boat racing, a decision I certainly do not regret. Many of the sailboat races in Maine are lucky to get 20 boats out on the line, and lobster boat racing brings out 45 boats or more at even the small events, but as many as 120 have been on the line at Stonington and that does not count the spectator fl eet. What would entice more people to get
out onto the water? People learning once again how to smell the roses, but most im- portantly you have to start with the children. There are a number of youth programs all along the coast and this could bring back the interest. It is something that the older boater needs to support if he wants yachting to grew in numbers once again.
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