The connections from shore to water are all hauled up – mostly. Some folks leave their docks in through the winter months. If you are a working lobster fishing person this time of year, and want to work from a home office base, your dock may still be in. Otherwise, perhaps, boats can be docked at local piers, which I guess makes more sense. On average, boats tied up in bunches at protected locations are safer. But, on the other hand, most who own and use boats seasonally opt for dock and run removal to higher ground.

This week’s adventure reflects a partial image of the structural components involved – the gallows and run. Hauling is a pretty neat operation. To get the runway onto the shore is generally helped by a nice series of high tides.

Some folks who do this kind of work have many customers requiring many high tides over a good stretch of time. It’s a process dependent upon weather, winds and schedules. Some folks I know pull as many as 75 docks after the boating season for winter storage. Some actually manage more. The process begins as soon as seasonal residents decide to give up on their annual boating. This can be as early as September and may be influenced by impending poor weather. An anticipated big storm can send a flurry of haulers out to area properties resulting in long strings of floats be towed to safer locations. I’m sure many have seen giant stacks of of floats stored here and there around the region.

Today’s image shows the results of a completed process. The run is stowed on shore generally out of harm’s way, sometimes lashed to immovable objects in case of big storms combined with high tides and challenging winds. I’ve seen some unfortunate items afloat over the years. I am reminded of the bad storm of February 1978. For those among us who recall, more than runs and floats got hauled! It was a damaging major storm which hit the shores of Maine hard.

The above scene shows no sign of impending doom. I think its calm is what appealed to me.

A sign of less activity and of peace. And, of course, the afterglow of sunset is a nice touch provided by Mother Nature. I admit that I am a sucker for such scenes and, over the years, have made an overabundance of similar photographs. It beats abandoned coal tipples hands down!