Some weeks things fall out of my head more easily. This past week has been complicated by some losses of old friends. It’s difficult enough for me to come up with weekly adventures, but this time around I just had to throw in the towel and punt. So, as a fall back, I have dredged up a favorite image from the past. I hope it will be OK. It’s an image from a long time ago.

When we first moved to Southport in 2001, one of the first things I did was run to the town office to see if it would be possible to get a mooring in Cozy Harbor, just down the road, conveniently, from our house. I was told by the then harbor master, with a bit of a chuckle, that I was 21st on the list! Pretty popular spot.

But, we waited, as we were happy to do. Then about seven years ago I inquired about a mooring that was not being used. It turned out to be the longtime mooring for Edward Tibbetts. It had Army Corps of Engineer registrations with satellite coordinates. An officially registered mooring. Turned out to be Andy Hawke’s Uncle Edward’s mooring. Therein lies a story. Captain Edward was quite a chap. He would not be impressed with a Pennsylvania coal miners skiff on his mooring, which I understood perfectly. But, after waiting so long, I figured it would be OK to pursue this new chapter.

I did not realize it at the time, but the photograph I have shared here was made a long time before we ever lived on Southport. I can’t even tell you when I made the photo, but I’m sure someone who knew Mr. Tibbetts could tell me. This is one of my all-time favorite photographs recalling another time along the coast of Maine. If I were to hazard a guess, I’d suspect it might have been in the early 80s.

The area around the lobster boat might offer some hints of a more exact time. I know that the Hawke family has managed to restore parts of the waterfront and there are people (possibly Tibbetts family) fishing off the dock nearby. It remains one of my favorite spots in the region which I still visit often and recall the honor I feel to share Captain Edward’s mooring in Cozy Harbor.