An Omen, The Sloops, Lobster Collection

The Omen

Omens are what you make of them. Like the proverbial tree in the forest, if nobody notices, it really doesn't qualify to be an omen.

On this day, we had what I consider a beautiful omen arrive at our house to suggest the beauty that is possible for us in Friendship. Liam found this moth sitting by our back door, and brought it in to show it to us. It was about 4" across, and had a nice visit with us then went on it's way.

It was the beginning of a week long visit for Liam, and we had lots of fun while he was here. We cruised up the Meduncook River, aka the Friendship River, stopping at one of the small islands in the bay and another in the river. We went to the Friendship Scoop for ice cream and to play skee ball a couple times. We played soccer, wiffle ball, and blew bubbles in the back yard. We went to Rockland to have lunch at Burger King, and to the toy stores to buy a birthday present. And we went to Waldoboro so Liam could talk to his Mom and Dad on the phone. He did get homesick a few times, but overall had a great time.














The Sloops

The few remaining Friendship Sloops (about 180)that are still on the water are easy to sail and beautiful to look at. Even fewer of the owners (about 20) gathered in Rockland Harbor to share life and their experiences with these hardy boats at the annual Regatta held by the Friendship Sloop Society. We went to the breakwater on Saturday to watch the sloop parade and the beginning of the races.

The boats range in age from 1902 Gladiator to a fiberglass version built in the 1990's. The lengths range from 25 to 35 feet. All have minimal overnight accommodations.

Later in the day we tripped b ack to Rockland to view and visit the boats at the dock. We had a chance to talk with some of the skippers, and I donated a small collection of Regatta programs from 1961-1969 that I had found at a lawn sale in Friendship. I tried to wrangle a day trip on one of these fine boats, but we'll see if that turns out or not.







Lobster Collection

As we were watching the sloops, one of the many lobstermen was cruising around near the breakwater checking his traps and collecting his lobsters. In talking with on of these fine fellows, I discovered that most of the commercial lobstermen in Maine put out 800 traps, which cost about $25-50 each these days. All of the newer traps are made of coated wire, like the one here on the side of the boat. The largest expenses are fuel and bait.