Rockland Harbor Plan Making Waves

by Steve Cartwright

A plan to expand private yacht service along Rockland’s waterfront is causing concern among local residents who say the project will block views and alter the harbor’s character.

The $2.7 million proposal by Yachting Solutions and partners would relocate some small-boat moorings and add docks serving much bigger yachts. Views of the harbor, breakwater and islands beyond could arguably be blocked by mega-yachts.

“This really is the privatizing of Rockland Harbor,” said Becca Glaser, daughter of former Rockland Harbormaster Ed Glaser. She urged 50 people attending a recent public forum at city hall to be positive: “This is a pivotal moment.” She said the proposal is catering to rich people. “It’s not for us. Don’t be fooled,” she said.

Yachting Solution’s Bill Morong has said he believes the project would boost the local economy. State and federal agencies would have to approve the project before construction could begin. It expands a 2008 plan for the harbor, which included leasing 64,000 square feet of submerged land (harbor) near the former MBNA building on the waterfront.

Morong’s company, along with DiMillo’s Yacht Sales in Portland and Virgil Capital of Darien, Conn., have pledged a reported $737,000 to the Rockland proposal. Yachting Solutions last summer received a $1 million federal BIG (Boating Infrastructure Grant) to help Yachting Solutions handle “transient vessels” up to 250 feet long. More money would need to be raised to meet the $2.7 million price tag.

Over the past 30 years, Rockland has shifted from commercial fishing, sardines and machine tools to restaurants, art galleries and marinas. The harbor, once home to a commercial fishing fleet and no yachts, is now a forest of sailboat masts in the summertime. Rockland has also become a destination for cruise ships and mega-yachts.

“This is what mega-yachts look like,” said Capt. Neal Parker, who has operated a windjammer from Rockland Harbor as he projected a slide showing a boat that blocks most of the view from the city landing. “Personally, I object to a million dollars of federal money going for a project like this,” he said.

Parker echoed Becca Glaser’s argument that the yacht basin benefits the very wealthy, but not ordinary citizens. City officials have acknowledged that the yacht basin’s inner-harbor mooring field would be off-limits to lobstering during the summer months, and that existing moorings for smaller yachts would have be to moved further from shore. Another concern is access to the harbor’s south channel, used by sailors and fishermen alike.

“I row in the harbor and sail in the harbor,” said local resident Shlomit Auciello, who owns a 10-foot sailing dinghy. “I love this city the way it is, and I certainly hope we can stop this project.”

Ron Huber, an environmental activist for Penobscot Bay, recalled that in 2001 and again in 2006, the Samoset Resort proposed a long pier and 40-slip marina right beside the public-access Rockland breakwater. Local lobstermen and others opposed the project, and state agencies rejected the Samoset’s application on the basis that it would adversely affect the fishery, recreation and aesthetics of the area.

Sailor and artist Christos Calivas of Rockland has organized an opposition group called Sensible Harbor Infrastructure Plan, or SHIP, and has circulated a petition opposing the Yachting Solutions marina expansion.

“You’re bringing in the tourist dollars but you’re driving the local people out,” one resident said. An online poll by Village Soup found that among 1,000 responses from readers, 57 percent opposed the yacht basin expansion.