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The sailboat’s owner notes the challenges of trucking boats around the Maine coast and recalls a time when boats could be stored right on the shore.

ROCKPORT — An incident in Rockport this week draws attention to the challenges involved in trucking large boats around the coast, especially on small-town roads not designed for either tall or wide loads.

The 43-foot sailing vessel, Moxie, was being moved up Pascal Ave. in Rockport Tuesday, Aug. 30, in the afternoon when the bimini, or canvas top, of the vessel snagged a power line and stretched it.

The incident did some damage to the vessel. The mast for the sail had been taken down, but there are solar panels on the top of the bimini that made it taller. It is possible the lines were already hanging too low. Police and a crew from Spectrum were on the scene this week to ensure safety of motorists and repair the lines.

Dan Rogowski of Spectrum works to repair lines in Rockport. Sgt. James Moore of the Rockport Police Department directs traffic. Photo by Daniel Dunkle

The boat belongs to Travis and Jen Julia of Telluride, Colo., who spent the summer sailing in Maine. They previously took the boat on an extended 3½-year trip to South America, the Caribbean and beyond with their two kids and their dog.

“We sailed five or six thousand miles and never came across any powerlines,” Travis Julia said Sept. 1.

The Moxie. Photo from Instagram.

Julia grew up in Winslow and learned to sail on his godparents’ boat out of Castine. In 2015, his family decided to buy the vessel, sell some of their goods, rent out their home and take the trip of a lifetime. He said he works in property management.

They named it Moxie in part for Moxie Pond, where his grandfather had a camp, and part for the quality of having moxie or chutzpah. Asked about the beverage, he said, “You gotta have a little salt to drink a Moxie!”

The Moxie. Photo from Instagram

More recently, they were in the process of making the tough decision of whether to sell the boat.

He noted the massive expenses of maintaining such a vessel. Storage alone, which means having the boat pulled out of the water, using a crane to remove the mast and loading it onto a truck for transit, costs thousands and that is if nothing goes wrong.

Travis and Jen Julia. Photo courtesy of the Julias.

He said he remembers a time when many more boats were stored along the waterfront, but now, since people no longer want to look at the boats lined up in winter, they are trucked to other locations.

“When you lose the boatyards, you lose some of the flavor of Maine,” he said.

He said the problem is also likely to become more widespread with so many more boats in the water. He said while sailing vessels were once the norm, now many more are buying Picnic Boats or Cabin Cruisers to motor around the coast, vehicles that require much less skill to maneuver.

The vessel was being moved by Johanson Boatworks of Rockland.

He said he has been in communication with the Boatworks about the incident and he trusts the situation will be resolved. “Accidents happen,” he concluded.

The Moxie. Photo courtesy of Jen Julia

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