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Photo by Muffy Aldrich
Muffy Aldrich's SALT WATER NEW ENGLAND
Muffy Aldrich
Muffy Aldrich, Editor of Salt Water New England: The Thing Before Preppy, since 2010. And a 12th Generation New Englander.
- Original Photographs.
- Timeless, Preppy/Sloane Clothing.
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Great question. Three cheers for salt water boat towns. And three cheers for big fresh water lake boat towns like Wolfeboro NH Rangeley Maine Charlotte VT and any place in the Saint Regis Chain in the Adirondack Mountains of Upstate New York. There’s nothing like bouncing along in fresh clean water with that fresh clean spray.
ReplyDeleteI've lived in Annapolis for most of my life (except college, grad school, and a few years in DC) and a few things are different being here, though I’m not sure how well they represent other "boat towns" across the country.
ReplyDeleteThere is an emphasis on utility for clothing, cars, and items that have been absorbed into what might otherwise be called "lifestyle" fashion. Boat shoes, canvas totes, and rain gear are tools first and style a distant second. Straps keep your sunglasses out of the water, rubber mats in your trunk keep your car from smelling like the marina, and bronze and brass hardware doesn't rust.
Summers are busy with tourists and locals alike getting out on the water but fall and spring have a rhythm too. Whether it's winterizing, maintenance, buying/selling, or the boat shows, the boat town calendar extends well beyond Memorial Day to Labor Day. We also have challenges common to other coastal communities, including flooding, storm risk, and limited real estate that drives cost of living higher.
I did most of my growing up in a boat town on the Texas coast and there were major differences from cities elsewhere in the state.. My topsiders were beaten up and stained with fish blood. I knew how to handle a fairly large boat in the Gulf of Mexico. I caught all kinds of fish in all kinds of places. I still crave salt air.
ReplyDeleteThe town was full of gulf and bay shrimpers, crabbers, oystermen, flounder-giggers, and oil and gas roughnecks. There were guides and amateur anglers who were skilled at bringing in fish in the bay and/or offshore. There was a boat building company that crafted steel-hull, 100-foot fishing boats that sailed the world.
Most of the guys who grew up inland had no idea what living in such an environment was like. They'd never gawked at a 12-foot hammerhead swimming a few feet below their boat, heard the sudden squawk of a blue heron at night, or seen an oyster shell driven into a wall by 150-mile-an-hour winds. They weren't of the culture.
The late, great Guy Clark could tell you all about it in about 3:30 minutes: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pfp2l65eHBQ
I don’t think we truly appreciate living in or near a boat town until we move away. Sure, there are aspects of life elsewhere to enjoy and appreciate but there is always something missing. Thankful for SWNE to take me back for occasional visits.
ReplyDeleteA truly magical place to call home!
ReplyDeleteWaiting for the draw bridge to either go up or down.
ReplyDeleteYes! Or changing your route to avoid a bridge or two.
DeleteGreat photo of Black Star. How sailing used to be with classic boats with lovely lines. A view of the past.
ReplyDeleteBoat towns have their own rhythm. Some have disappeared as metropolis's expand, while some retain their traditions. Regardless, the memories remain as everyone fortune enough to live in Boat Towns are near the Sea.
ReplyDeleteBLACK STAR was designed and built for friends in Rockport but moors here in Boothbay Harbor. They live aboard for a good part of the summer and cruise the coast widely. I'm guessing the photo is on the main street of Damariscotta and wonder why it's being trucked through that town center. We've always lived in coastal towns on the water (Maine, Charleston and Savannah) except for a stint in Charlottesville. We missed the water badly when there so I got a summer job between years working for a sardine company in Maine while living on an island. That was a different kind of life with ferries and no cars on the island.
ReplyDeleteI love it but it can be trying during the on season. The town comes alive and you can get out and do things that close during the winter, but that also means everyone else comes out or into town. Half the time I cant even park at home cause tourists have decided that my little yard/driveway is public parking. Getting to the marina becomes its own hell. Its hilarious to see people come in who wear the popular yachty clothes and try to look the part, but they stick out because everything is just too clean.
ReplyDeleteIts really neat seeing so many different types of ships or personal crafts. There is some real artistry in sailboat making, even better if you get a tall ships festival in town. The water is amazing in the spring and fall before the weather leaves us but after the main season. ....And then there are the unqualified captains. The water gets flooded with people operating their boats poorly, creating dangerous situations. Lance in his 30 ft wake boat with speakers that shake the paint off the dock just has to have the right of way because hes got more outboards that you.
Sorry for the mild rant, the season is starting here. Anyways, its a mixed bag but the good parts outweigh the bad or I wouldnt still live here. Cant beat getting fresh seafood when you make friends with the local fishermen.
there is very much a "foreplay" element to spring, where everyone talks about boats ("did you get a new one?", "how is she?" (your vessel), and the weighty "when do you launch her?" which brings its own stories of "that SOB at the yacht yard says I need this or that before I can launch"). That pre-season chitchat in boat towns - and I have lived in a handful from the Chesapeake to New England - is ever-present and identical in every single town. During the season, though, those conversations change to "did you make it out today?" and "she is a beauty" and so on. The season itself is magical indeed - every boat owner seems overly ambitious to squeeze every moment of on the water time out of the season ("i took a conference call topsides near the Hull gut" or "I am fortunate cell reception Monomoy is decent"). After the season, the town exhales as if both exhausted and sad. And in the fall, watching the boats leaves the harbor is almost like watching leaves fall...
ReplyDelete"that SOB at the yacht yard says I need this or that before I can launch" - they love customers like you at the boat yard, said no one ever.
DeleteCoastal Hancock County, Maine here. The hauling of the boats took place in May and June, but it coincided with the hauling of everything else, and boats on land and road are common. People are frantically getting set up for the season, so land yachts go unnoticed.
ReplyDeleteJust a smidge of cruise ship traffic in Bar Harbor this year, and the Cat is running to Nova Scotia. We'll see a lot more boatage in July and August.
Still recovering from the winter storms of 2024 in this Maine coastal town. So much damage to waterfronts (seawalls), piers, floats, etc. Many 'people
ReplyDeletefrom away' bought homes and boats during the pandemic. The boatyards are slammed and struggle to find good, dependable help at the lower end of the wage scale (likewise contractors and restaurants except for those that are all family members.)
The struggle to find good, dependable help seems to be New England wide. I don’t know about the rest of the country. Here in Conn’s northwest corner we couldn’t do without, and admire the work ethic, of recent arrivals from south of the border. In conversation recently I asked a local landscaper, “where do your workers come from?” He said, “they’re all local.” “You don’t have any Ecuadorians,” I asked. “Nope, I wish we did.” he said.
ReplyDelete