Page 4. MAINE COASTAL NEWS December 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 Winter is fast approaching and I am 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


almost ready even though I know Mother Nature is not going to wait for me. Sorry, but I am looking forward to some great snow storms where I can just sit and read all day and if I am lucky two or three days. That pile of books next to the couch has grown sig- nifi cantly and in reality there is no way that I could ever fi nish them all, even if all I did was read the rest of my life. They should be called books for insomniacs as most people would instantly fall asleep if they tried to read one. Most of them are maritime histo- ry and right now I am reading a lot on the American Revolution up through the War of 1812.


So far the weather has been pretty good


and fi nally was able to get the shingling done on the workshop. I still need to get the woodstove hooked up so I can work in there when it gets cold. I would love to get back building half-hulls, which I fi nd therapeutic. I am also hoping the weather holds off a bit longer as I still need to get some outside work down, especially in the apple orchard. Every month when I do my southern


Advertising Deadlines: T e deadline for the January issue is December 9. T e deadline for the Febtuary issue is January 13.


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


10


Christmas on the Monitor 6:00PM-9:00PM Mariners’ Museum and Park Newport News, VA www.marinersmuseum.org


31 New Years Eve Fireworks 5:00 PM-7:00PM


Free with museum admission Independence Seaport Museum Philadelphia, PA www.phillyseaport.org


JANUARY 24-27 NEFMC Meeting Sheraton Harborside Portsmouth, NH


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: A. 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 Reach Lobster Boat Races


U. S. Coast Guard Station Jonesport Info: Adrian Rittenhouse (207) 598-6387


I always like stopping at BlueJacket Shipcrafters in Searsport. They are working on two new models. This is a photograph of the prototype of the ironclad river gunboat CAIRO. She was designed by Samuel Hart Pook, and built by James Eads & Co. of Mound City, IL in Decem- ber 1862 while clearing mines on the Yazoo River she struck a torpedo and was sunk.


MARCH 2-4 Maine Fishermen’s Forum Samoset Resort Rockport


Info: (207) 442-7700


run between Freeport and Marblehead, Massachusetts I try to spend a whole day at Gloucester’s Public Library where I am documenting the maritime articles in the Gloucester Telegraph. I missed going in September and October, but got there in November and was able to fi nish 1827 and start 1828. One interesting article was this man who got caught with six wives. When asked by the judge ‘why,’ the man responded by saying he was just trying to fi nd a good one. One can bet that the judge did not show much of a since of humour at that response. Winter also allows me to get the articles


in these newspapers I have copied out and transcribe them into the computer. When in Gloucester I was asked how much work would it take to document the vessels built and homeported on Cape Ann and the people who crewed on them. The vessel part would not be diffi cult, but it would take some time, however, fi nding any references to the crew would be diffi cult, if not impossible. This has made me focus more on getting the Glouces- ter paper done as fast as I can. Gloucester was a very busy port and has an incredible history and much of it is commercial fi shing related. The sad aspect of this is document- ing the vessels and crew members lost, which in some years was staggering leaving whole families without a bread-winner and forced to fi nd a way to make ends meet. Every four years, I look forward to the


Vendee Globe, which is a singlehanded non- stop race around the world, which started in France early in November. This race is an incredible challenge, but I am also interested


in the technology. This year there are several boats using foils and so far they have done very well. It will be interesting to see how they hold up, as one already has struck an unidentifi ed object in the water breaking off one of his foils. With the technology we have today we can instantly receive updates as these boats race around the world. It took them less than 10 days to make the Equator from France and the fi rst boat should round the Cape of Good Hope in less than 25 days. If you ever get a chance to get on one of these boats do not miss the opportunity as you will be amazed as to how little room there is. I was on GREAT AMERICAN IV and you cannot stand up inside. This is a race dominated by the French, but so far the race is being led by a Brit, however he is the one with the broken foil. The election caused a little conversation


and no matter who won there was going to be a lot of mad people. I am surprised that the economy rebounded as well as it did, and is now higher than it has been before. It will be interesting to see where we are going and hopefully there is not too big of a problem that it causes the markets to crash. Recreational boating is extremely sensitive to the economy and one could wonder if we would see a drop off after the elections and how would that eff ect the boating industry? So far, the economy seems to be stable and going through the boat shops I am amazed at the amount of work being done, both new construction and repairs. Some of the boatbuilders have a signifi cant back-log, which is great, but we all know a down turn on Wall Street or with lobster prices and many of these orders would disappear. It is great to see the four wooden boats under construction: Peter Buxton and Richard Stanley with one and John’s Bay Boat Co. with two. All of these should be in the water next Summer. I love going through the boat shops and over the years I have jotted down notes when I did boat yard news. However, I think this may have been a mistake. When I interviewed J. B. Turner on what was going at Front Street Shipyard I recorded it. Too many times I have a hard time trying to fi gure out what I wrote and many times the notes are not complete. I think recording every- one would be much easier, not counting the transcribing, and I am sure more accurate. I really like the digital recorders compared to the micro-cassette recorders and I am trying to do more interviews, but again it take a lot of time transcribing an interview, but in the end it is worth the eff ort. I wish more interviews had been done years ago, but it was not easy back 50 years. Just think of the history that could have been saved.


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