Summer comes slowly to Midcoast Maine. As someone not raised in this part of the world, I doubt I will ever be fully comfortable with the fits and starts that herald the change from winter to summer, nor cease to bemoan the lack of spring.

This year has been typical.

In mid-April I went south on a trip and imagined that on my return, just nine days later, spring would have arrived. It had not, of course. Yes, the daytime temperatures had risen, slightly, but the evenings and nights were still cold and I lost track of how often I turned the central heating off, then on, then off, then on. Beyond the windows, the world was still sadly monotone: emergent leaves remained curled up in their brown sheaths, grass was a dull yellow, burned by all the winter’s snow, and stark gray branches reached high to a blanket of equally stark gray sky. Even the dark green of the native pine trees seemed dull and lackluster.

Jenny Bennett

In the last week of May, when summer seems a long way off, many of Maine’s harbors still have unoccupied moorings and docks that lead to nowhere.

In the harbor, the dock floats were yet to be put in, the mooring balls were still empty, the fishing boats were largely still on land. And for those of us with boats in the driveway, summer seemed a long way off.

Then, in mid-May, everything changed…in the space of one week we went from a maximum daytime temperature of 52°F all the way up to 90°F. Each day the temperature rose another 5 to 10 degrees, and each day I tapped the thermometer, watched the forecast, and chatted with friends about the strangeness of it all. We discussed, at length, whether we should risk uncovering boats and getting out the varnish cans, but shook our collective heads, decided it was a flash in the pan that would surely not last, and let the sleeping boats lie. On day seven, I bucked the trend. Under the knowing gaze of a neighbor, I pulled the tarp off the sailboat, and got organized for prepping the wood for varnish. On day eight it rained.

Since those heady days of a couple of weeks back the weather has settled into a normal routine for this time of year—one day mild and sunny, the next gray and chill, the next heavy rain. There is hope: the monotones of late April have been replaced by vibrant greens, gardens are bursting at the seams, and every day welcomes another flower, another leaf, another migrant bird last seen in the fall. But still summer evades us. The boat remains buttoned up in the driveway, and instead of enjoying my own lazy days on the water, I am making do with reading about other people’s adventures, and smiling at the picture of Bob Van Putten on the contents page of this issue, where he dozes in the stern of his flatiron skiff as if to assure me that summer really is just around the corner.

And in the meantime…

Courtesy of Alex Walker

Jasmine Thomas coxing a 15′ Banks Dory in the 2024 Mighty Merrimack Rowing Race hosted annually since 1983 by Lowell’s Boat Shop in Amesbury, Massachusetts.

Fair winds and thank you

In any business, staff members come and go; some remain for many years, others come for a season and move on. Some, like WoodenBoat Editorial Assistant, Jasmine Thomas, come for a short while but make such an impact that it’s tough to remember they haven’t been there forever.

For Small Boats, Jasmine has been the voice on the phone with subscribers since January 2024, and for our editorial staff, she has been the person behind the scenes making sure everything is running smoothly, that contributors are getting what they need, and that readers are able to access their subscriptions and can reach a friendly human being if things go wrong. Even farther behind the scenes, Jasmine has worked diligently on the backend of our website, fixing errors and improving the user experience. She may only have been here for two-and-a-half years but her positive impact has been mighty.

Courtesy of Richard Thomas

Jasmine on the foredeck of ADVENTURESS, the Sparkman & Stephens–designed Gulf Stream 30 she recently restored.

Sadly, this issue of Small Boats will be Jasmine’s last. She is staying in the marine industry but stepping out from behind her desk. Her new job as a sales rep for Modern Recreational Technologies (MRT), makers of Pettit Marine Paint, will see her visiting boatyards large and small across northeast U.S. and into Canada. When she’s home, she’ll be sailing ADVENTURESS, the Sparkman & Stephens–designed Gulf Stream 30 she restored, and sharing her seamanship skills with others in the Rockport, Maine, area. And, we hope, she’ll be writing articles for future issues of Small Boats. She will be missed by staff and readers alike and we wish her well in her new endeavors.