Julie E. Blount, VP, Blount Boats, and Builder of the New Wabanaki Ferry

Long Island Students in the Bow of the Wabanaki Ferry

By Carol  McCracken  (Post # 1,713)

Nothing, not even a major snowstorm attacking the East Coast,  could delay the Christening of the Wabanaki, the latest addition to the Casco Bay Ferry fleet this afternoon on the Portland waterfront.  Despite the wild weather, the Christening went ahead on the dock next to the gleaming white ferry at the Ferry Terminal.  Remarks were followed by the Christening and a brief tour of Portland Harbor due to poor visibility caused by the weather.  Over 200 people were invited, but many did not show as evidenced by the number of name tags left at the registration table inside the waiting room at the Casco Bay Ferry terminal.

The 110 ft. Wabanaki, powered by Caterpillar diesel engines, replaces the 41-year-old Island Romance ferry, both built by Blount Boats Inc., Warren, Rhode Island.  The Wabanaki is almost double the size of the ferry she is replacing and the capacity is 399 people.  The usual life of a ferry is 30 years, so this replacement is none too soon.  Construction was financed through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act; a/k/a stimulus money from the Obama administration.

In his introductory remarks, Hank Berg, General Manager, Casco Bay Lines, said:  “We rarely stop service to the Islands, so we decided to have this show go on,” to the laughter of those on the dock. Another speaker, Mayor Michael Brennan assured the crowd that his remarks would be brief because he’d parked in a 5 minute parking slot and he’d already been there for four minutes, which also brought chuckles from the guests at the ceremony.  Students from Long Island public schools, who’d picked the winning name, took part in the Christening in the ship’s bow, as a bottle of bubbly something, although not Champagne, was broken across the bow.  Father Jeff Monroe blessed the ship.  He formerly served as Director of the Portand Port and Transporation.That was followed by an abbreviated tour of Portland Harbor aboard the Wabanaki because of the poor visibility.

Julie E. Blount, Vice President of Blount Boats, said this ferry is the tenth her shipyard has built for Casco Bay Lines over the years. Blount normally employs 60, but right now that number is up to 80 because the yard has a lot of contracts to fill.  It makes ships up to 250 ft. long and depending on the size of the ship and other factors, the yard can construct up to three vessels simultaneously.  “We are small,” Blount said. Blount builds steel and aluminium commercial vessels. Todays Christening was actually the second for the Wabanaki.  When a vessel is launched at Blount, it is automatically Christened using red, white and blue streamers. That happened last fall in Warren.   “Actually, we’ve been waiting for this ship to leave the dock.  We play musical boats at our docks all the time,” she said laughing.

Luther Blount, Julie’s father, started the company in the late 40’s.  When he died, she and her sister took over its ownership. blountboats.com