Rowing on the back river - first run

Lightning bolt strikes Statute of Liberty

BREAKING VIDEO: WATCH: Massive lightning bolt strikes Statue of Liberty as storm passes over NYC https://t.co/CAiIVqqO9o pic.twitter.com/5hacFiswg1

— 1010 WINS (@1010WINS) July 23, 2020

Annie T - a Concordia 31

Out for a Sunday afternoon cruise to Georges Harbor with friends Tom and Stacy I spied in the cove behind the old Burnt Island Coast Guard station a wooden mast and a flash of varnished mahogany.  Of course I headed over and found the Annie T .  Its owner Tony Dall was, of course, happy to talk about his boat.  It was more than a day's work to build it even by the legendary Maine boat builders Paul Bryant and son's Riverside Boat Company on the Damariscotta River in Newcastle, Maine .  [You can learn about them from this write-up: Paul Bryant to Talk About Boats in Newcastle - The Lincoln County News]

Double planked mahogany, it was designed by C. Raymond Hunt of the [still in business]  legendary Concordia Company.  You'll find the boat's specs here in a classified ad for another one. - gwc

Small town moment: Lawn man down, EMT finishes the job

Small town moment in Friendship, Maine: Our lawn man toppled from his riding mower on a slope; couldn't get the big man up; called 911; two ambulances arrive. One of the EMTs hops on the mower, finishes cutting the lawn. pic.twitter.com/z5fGd8VrGW

— George Conk (@GeorgeConk) July 20, 2020

1 in 3 Maine lobstermen lands federal pandemic loan - Portland Press Herald

Lobstering in Maine, unlike Canada and New Hampshire, is usually a single boat owned by a single license holder - with the number of licenses limited to 4,600 statewide.  The typical boat is a two man crew (captain and sternman, occasionally a `third nerd') which sells its entire catch to a lobster wholesaler who sells him bait and fuel.  Traps cost about $70 each with an 800 trap limit per boat.  And then there's the boat.  So they are small independent businesses with the Republican politics that generally go with that - including a reluctant embrace/resistance to the federal conservation measures that have shrunken (or conserved) the fisheries.

But the Trump years have been tumultuous - the tariffs imposed on China which reciprocated and the pandemic closure of restaurants have had a huge impact. - gwc

1 in 3 Maine lobstermen lands federal pandemic loan - Portland Press Herald

Maine Lobster: Which lobster fishing towns got the most Paycheck Protection Program money?

Maine lobster fishermen got 1,361 forgivable Paycheck Protection Program loans to offset the economic impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic. The amount of each loan is equal to about eight weeks of last year's wages. For many lobstermen, their wages are what's left over after making boat payments, paying crew and wharf fees and buying bait, fuel, and insurance.

While the PPP participation rate was high, many lobstermen lamented the lack of clear program guidelines. Some got rejected at the start because they were sole proprietors, and the application date for that group was later. Others balked when they were told different things about how they could use the forgivable loan so they wouldn’t have to repay it.

The sternmen and deckhands who work on the boat but do not own the business were initially left out of the PPP program, forced to apply on their own as independent contractors instead of being paid from the captain’s loan. That eventually changed, but only after most of the PPP money was spent. Most sternmen ended up on unemployment, according to banks that processed the loans.

Beyou wins Vendée Globe preview >> Scuttlebutt Sailing News

Beyou wins Vendée Globe preview >> Scuttlebutt Sailing News: Les Sables-d'Olonne, France (July 14, 2020) - After one of the most thrilling battles in the history of the IMOCA Class, Jérémie Beyou at the helm of

The harder they come - Jimmy Cliff

Home » Arctic Spring

Home » Arctic Spring

Exploring Ice Under the Sea Ice

Arctic Voyages of The Healy - the Coast Guard's most advanced, 462 foot ice breaker



Tipped off by my clubmate writer Dallas Murphy.  Check this out,

Cassius Costello Zollo - first sail

The Vendee Arctique - has started

The Vendee Arctique.
A social distancing extravaganza. Twenty boats, twenty sailors, Les Sable D'Olonnes, France to Iceland and back.
Single handed, no outside assistance permitted.  A qualifying race for the Vendee Globe - solo, unassisted, around the world.
Follow them at:
https://www.imoca.org/en/races/imoca-globe-series/vendee-arctique-les-sables-d-olonne

📺 It's been a long time since we've had a #sailing event to get excited about! 🥳

The Vendée-Arctique-Les Sables d'Olonne starts today: 21 solo sailors embarking on a 3,566-mile course aboard @ImocaGS from France 🇫🇷 to Iceland 🇮🇸 and back 😲#VendéeArctique #IMOCA pic.twitter.com/zSiR74QFqd

— World Sailing 🌎⛵️ (@worldsailing) July 4, 2020