Thanks to Michael Pollard for writing this column and keeping Southport news flowing this past week and condolences to him and to Penny on losing their dog, Bailey.  

If you are reading this paper before 10:00 a.m. on Thursday, July 26, get thyself to the Southport Memorial Library to hear Dr. Jack Bauman talk about Portland, Maine and his new book, “Gateway to Vacation Land.”

Having survived a computer crash and a week away from Southport, I am now trying to put our home back together after a week’s occupancy by three little ones four years old and under with two sets of parents and a grandmother.  Thanks to Bruce and Edee Crosby, our next door neighbors, who gave shelter to our aging dachshund, Mitzy, who found all those little feet and faces a bit too much.

Our trip away can best be described as a week at adult church camp with an excellent symphony orchestra, opera, ballet, and theater added.  The theme for our week at Chautauqua Institution in southwestern New York was “Water:  Life Source/ Life Force.”  All speakers and music focused on water in some form.  One of the most interesting ideas I heard was that just as we have established a system of national parks on land, so should we establish similar parks under the sea, protected spaces where coral and sea life could rejuvenate and divers could enjoy the beauty.  

One lecture consisted of a streamed, live interview with a National Geographic scientist, Sylvia Earle, in her underwater laboratory, Aquarius, submerged off the coast of Key Largo, Florida.  Since I will probably never scuba dive, viewing the fish swimming past the port hole as she talked, and then seeing the views outside the lab are the closest I will come to being there.

I heard that around the island during the week we were away, plans were being made to enjoy the spillover from the Coulombe wedding party.  Boating near Pratts Island to catch a glimpse of the preparations and gathering on neighboring properties to listen to the music of Lionel Richie were popular.  Kathy Bugbee tells me Hendricks Head Beach drew many people to watch the fireworks as darkness fell. At our house on the east side of Southport, where we had just arrived home after a 13- hour car trip, we could only hear the booms.  I wish for the married couple that the fireworks within their marriage will be as spectacular as the fireworks that marked the beginning of their marriage.  

No fireworks, but plenty of exercise, challenge, and fun are again coming to Southport on August 11 during the 19th Annual Southport Rowgatta sponsored by the Boothbay Region YMCA.  Rowgatta founder and co-chair Susan Quinby is calling all rowers and paddlers to meet at 8:30 a.m. at the Town Landing in Newagen. As always, any person-powered craft is welcome, and participants can paddle as intrepid individuals or in trusty teams of up to six members. The 12-nautical-mile course begins and ends in Newagen, with checkpoints at Cozy Harbor and Robinson's Wharf. For those who are boatless but would like to join the throng, please call Susan at 633-4753; and for further info and for registration forms, please contact the Y at 633-2855 or go online to boothbayregionymca.org. We hope to see all Southporters come out on August 11 whether as participants or spectators – or indeed both!  

And folks, 12 nautical miles is not all that far.  One of the speakers we heard at Chautauqua, Katie Spotz, is a lovely young woman who, after running a marathon and riding her bike across the United States, decided to row across the Atlantic Ocean, which she did, rowing 3,038 miles in 70 days, five hours, and 22 minutes to raise of $100,000 for Blue Planet Network.

With the Arts and Craft Show over, the Southport Memorial Library is now working on their annual Book and Bake Sale on Friday, August 3, from 9 a.m. until 1 p.m. The selection of home baked goods is always good and a great help if you have houseguests. Blueberry season is in full swing providing a choice of muffins, desserts and other delectable treats. The Library always has a choice selection of used books from recent best sellers to non-fiction. This sale is a favorite for book lovers, whether shopping for themselves or for others.

For anyone wishing to donate books for this benefit, the Library is open on Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, and Saturday from 9 a.m. until 4 p.m.  Please note that the sale only goes until 1 p.m. this year. In order to get the best food and book choices stop by early. The library is located at the southern tip of the island. Please call the library for any questions 633-2741.

Happy Birthday wishes to Sylvia and Peter Posever, who were nine years old on Tuesday, July 24.  Both sailors now at the Southport Yacht Club, they are also grandchildren of Mimi and Jan Havinga and the son and daughter of Anne Havinga Posever and Dr. Tom Posever.