Current Events

Good morning everyone. I have returned from sailing in Texas and hit the ground with both feet running. New deckhand Johanne was waiting at the airport when our flight landed and Katie was already back from a few weeks off. I should mention that sailing the barque Elissa in Texas was pretty darn cool. The ship, her many volunteers and the staff at the Galveston Historical Foundation are all wonderful. The devastation of Hurricane Ike can still be seen. The high water mark in one store front was proudly displayed two feet above my head. Recovery will take years but the island was very busy with “spring breakers” everywhere. Hotels and restaurants in the Strand district were very full. People are amazing.

Speaking of amazing… Jim Dugan stopped by the schooner yesterday to say Hi and welcome back the crew. He and I were admiring the tenacity of life as exhibited by the elvers. With the recent heavy rains the waterfall at the harbor is just ripping with a big head of water and the sluice gate wide open. At high tide the three windjammers at the head of the harbor strain on their bow lines as the rip current slams them right sideways.

Each year the baby eels, elvers, return from the Sargasso Sea to the brackish and freshwaters of Maine. Since this life cycle leads from freshwater to salt water spawning areas it is termed catadromous, unlike species like salmon which migrate back to freshwater to breed. Salmon exhibit an anadromous life cycle.

And with the elvers come the elver fisherman with fyke nets that capture the “glass eels”. The glass eels are then shipped to the Far East to be raised as food fish. How elevers are able to get up any stream against this tremendous current is nothing short of a miracle. Some eels will even cross damp marshes to get where they are going. May we all possess the same fortitude as the eel.

The forecast for the next few days is sun, sun, sun. Let the games begin and let the paint flow freely!

Have a great day. Be well, Do good.

I kinda like this picture of the church steeple in Camden. That Capt Artsy is at it again!

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