The conditions were magically right for taking portraits of fishing vessels yesterday in Naskeag Harbor. The tide was going out and rain clouds were gathering, drawing most of the color out of the day.
There was virtually no wind and, where the water was still, it seemed like a polished black onyx table. Where the tide and current rolled slowly, the water seemed to turn into hammered silver chasing. The white vessels began to glow almost angelically in the fading light and orange mooring buoys seemed to have been turned on at the flip of a hidden switch.
Above you see FV “Dear Abbie:” and, below, you’ll see FV “Tarrfish.”
They soon will be stripped of their masts and booms and allowed to rest a while before the lobster season. The Atlantic sea scallop “dragging” (dredging) season ends this month and the scallop diving season ends in April. (Images taken in Brooklin, Maine, on March 8, 2024.)