OceansWide

It’s hard to see scale here, but Pauline’s backbone assembly is getting newer and newer and it’s a sight to see for its size and beauty. You might have seen our post a little while back about the stem replacement, which is at the front of the boat, and here’s the stern assembly, as you’ve guessed, at the back of the boat. Quite a piece of sculpture there by Clark & Eisele Traditional Boatbuilding.

Matt Louis and Elizabeth Foretek getting it done! Plenty of diving this week in Boothbay as we continue to survey the bottom of Townsend Gut for ghost traps. To give you an idea of what lies beneath the surface, 63 traps have been located within one quarter-mile stretch. What we find and record now in the spring will be removed this fall when we return to begin cleanup. In addition to the benefit of improvement in the fishery, some of the traps will be repairable, and will be returned to their owners. Traps that can’t be repaired will be crushed and hopefully recycled.

For me, it’s how can we help to give fishermen back the bottom space, to give fish back the bottom space. These are kind of jaggedy, pointy traps that are taking up real estate on the bottom, lead diver Matt Louis said. We're doing work in Boothbay harbor to improve the fishery for all. Traps 2 Treasure, our marine debris cleanup program, is surveying this spring to reclaim fishable traps, to return them to fishermen, and to crush/recycle those that are beyond repair. Thanks for coming to see our work, WMTW-TV. Learn more about Traps 2 Treasure and our recycling facility at Gouldsboro at our website. We're looking for space in the Boothbay area to set up a similar recycling facility, either for short-term use or in perpetuity. If you know of or could offer such a location, please get in touch.

Pauline's on the newsstands! WoodenBoat Magazine's current issue has her front and center this month in Currents. Click below to read about her restoration. We need more shipwrights and lumberthere's a long road for this boat but we're on our way. Consider supporting Pauline's restoration by way of a donation. Support our talented neighbors at WoodenBoatwho keep the flame for boats like thisby subscribing to their wonderful magazine full of interesting boatbuilders, boats, places, and history. #woodenboat #restoration #fishing #maine

A beautiful online lecture we're sure you'll enjoy, available through Blue Hill Public Library. "During the global pandemic, Schmidt Ocean Institute was able to operate its research vessel Falkor in new ways. Their sea-going expeditions presented opportunities for innovation and remained one of the only research vessels in the world to operate throughout the year, leading to many notable discoveries. Among them were newsworthy sightings of the world’s longest sea creature, a 45-meter siphonophore; a new coral reef standing taller than the Empire State Building; more than 50 new potential species; and a rare video recording of the Ram’s Horn Squid. Join us for a deep dive into some of these discoveries and what it is like to explore waters never seen before."

A report from Boothbay:

Thanks to the hard work of the paint crew at Billings the Pauline is ready for her next step!!

Please Check out https://www.oceanswide.org/the-pauline-project to learn more!!

Went to check on the Pauline today! The Billings crew are hard at work preping for paint!!

Part 2 for those who were asking!

PAULINE IS IN THE NEWS!!