While Jackie is technically the newest member of the CBL crew, she’s no stranger to the comforting thrum of the terminal on a sunny afternoon. A University of Maine student studying marketing in Orono, Jackie spent three summers working in the Casco Bay Lines ticket office. After graduating in May, she knew she wanted to stay on the waterfront and went to work for a hotel downtown. When she learned about the opening at Casco Bay Lines, she quickly applied. A love for Casco Bay, and an infectious positive attitude, are just a few of the reasons Jackie rose to the top of the applicant pool – and we couldn’t be happier to welcome her back in a new role.

On a day-to-day basis, Jackie is sure to become a Jill-of-all-trades, assisting our crew here at the terminal – helping our sales and marketing team with events, scheduling meetings, ordering office supplies, and supporting the Board of Directors meetings, among (many) other things that will keep our office running smoothly.

“I’m just getting the hang of things right now, but I’m excited to be here,” Jackie told us. “It’s nice being back and seeing familiar faces.”

Jackie’s connection to Casco Bay runs deeper than just her time in our ticket office – her grandfather grew up on Great Diamond Island, and she loves visiting the island during the summer. For Jackie, being on the island is like an escape from reality, and she looks forward to spending time with her family at their cottage. Her favorite thing to do when she is on the island is to go for a run on the waterfront. “Nothing beats an island run,” she says.

While she is only one week into her new gig, Jackie told us that she’s excited to take on this new challenge and grow into her role. If you see her around, be sure to give her a great, big, Casco Bay welcome. As you know, we couldn’t do what we do without our terrific crew.

Welcome (back), Jackie!

The post Meet Our Crew: (Re) Introducing Jackie Harris appeared first on Casco Bay Lines.

It took a few years for him to get back to the area – he attended college at BYU, worked as a flight attendant for United Airlines, traveled the world with a touring dance team, and owned his own hair salon in Salt Lake City.

Rob has been painting since he was 11 years old, and when he was choosing between Maine and Alaska, the rocky coastlines of Casco Bay appealed to his artistic side. He says that working on the waterfront every day inspires him, and his paintings prominently feature familiar sights like Spring Point Lighthouse, lobster boats, and a few yellow, red, and black vessels you might recognize.

Rob has been one of our operations agents for the past 18 years. What does that mean? Our team of seven operations agents are our resident Jacks (and Jills)-of-all-trades – so you’ll often spot a kilt-wearing Rob driving a fork lift, unloading freight, making sure the boats are crewed, supervising the ticket office, and helping out the management team.

“You’re never doing the same thing twice,” Rob says.

When you’re a world-traveler like Rob, it is easy to think you’ve seen it all, but when you work on our team, and transport freight, you learn that there’s always something interesting and cool headed to the islands. Rob said the craziest thing he has seen come through the freight shed was a shipment of poison dart frogs from the Amazon, headed to Peaks Island for someone’s aquarium!

Even though he isn’t from here, over the years, Rob has cultivated a strong bond with the Maine coast and the island residents that call Casco Bay home. Building these connections has become the best, and most rewarding, part of his job.

“The people, the islanders, are my favorite thing,” he says. “I have tons of friends down there, a lot of people I love seeing and talking to every day when they’re coming home from work.”

And we couldn’t agree more with Rob, our customers and co-workers truly are the best part of the job here at Casco Bay Lines! After seeing the world, we’re glad Rob decided Maine (and Casco Bay Lines) was where he wanted to plant his roots!

From time to time on our blog we’ll be featuring stories of our fantastic crew to highlight their different roles, personalities, and connection to Casco Bay, our customers and our ferry line. If you have a particular staff member who you feel should be highlighted here, feel free to reach out to us!

The post Meet Our Crew: Rob Anderson, World Traveler appeared first on Casco Bay Lines.

“This morning in the fog was pretty challenging, visibility and weather is a big challenge,” he tells me as the last of the morning’s fog is burning off. “Safety is our top priority.”

Bill started with Casco Bay Lines 28 years ago as a deckhand. He was trying to stay out of “mischief” while living on Peaks Island as a merchant sailor. Over the years, he worked his way up to Captain – an integral member of our crew. He’s humble though. And even though he’s quiet at first, he’s clearly a funny guy. So instead of taking credit for his accomplishments he describes it like this: when you start as a deck hand, they give you a bunch of marbles, when you’ve lost all of your marbles, you become a captain.

Like all Casco Bay Lines captains, he can pilot every boat, so he travels all over Casco Bay throughout the week on our different runs and cruises, meeting islanders and visitors from all over the place. It’s the people—young and old—he says who make Casco Bay such a special place to live and work.

Bill married an island girl and tells me that, even though he loves all of the islands for their totally unique identities, he’s especially partial to Great Diamond because that’s where she’s from.

Over the years, he’s seen a lot of island kids grow up, get married, move away, and, in some cases, come back to Casco Bay. He jokes that Parker, a Casco Bay Lines deckhand who grew up on Great Diamond Island, was a “terrible pain when he was a kid, a bundle of energy,” but he’s turned into a great adult. Young people, like Parker, make the place happen, Bill says.

“There are a lot of moments,” he answers with a chuckle when asked what makes Casco Bay Lines special. And based on his stories, he has seen it all—from couples getting married on the Bay Mist to families heading to say their final goodbyes to loved ones.

For Bill—and for a lot of us here at Casco Bay Lines—the best part of the job is getting to be part of these moments and part of the Casco Bay Lines community —seeing families come back year after year, watching kids grow up, and building connections with our riders.

While you can’t always see Bill, or our other captains, as they steer the ship, you can rest assured that while you’re headed down the bay with your family, or hopping over to Peaks for a picnic lunch, he’s got everything under control. And you can focus on creating new memories and enjoying some of those moments that Bill takes such pride in.

From time to time on our blog we’ll be featuring stories of our fantastic crew to highlight their different roles, personalities, and connection to Casco Bay, our customers and our ferry line. If you have a particular staff member who you feel should be highlighted here, feel free to reach out to us!

The post Meet Our Crew – Captain Bill Wanzer, a Man of the People appeared first on Casco Bay Lines.

So, we suppose, it’s not all that surprising, when we fast forward to today, that Caity has made a career out of helping others experience some of the joy she did, standing right where she stood, on a Casco Bay Lines ferry.

After college, Caity found herself in Portland. She started at Casco Bay Lines the same way most do – during the summer, selling tickets and loading freight. She met an adventurous (and handsome) guy named Andy who also worked at CBL, and shared her love for Portland’s Casco Bay, and they were hitched. After leaving for a brief stint to try out athletic training, she was lured back by an exciting opportunity. CBL was seeking a Sales and Marketing Director. And she was a natural fit.

In this role, her job description reads like four jobs crammed into one. Her primary responsibilities include overseeing charters, tours, lobster bakes, group commuter service, marketing and sales. Primary, people!  She also oversees management of all the operations agents, ticket agents and freight agents. She’s quick to mention that her team is self-sufficient, running itself like a “well-oiled machine”. And while we agree that we’ve got one heck of a team, we’re sure there’s an old adage somewhere about teams and leaders that would explain the importance of her role perfectly.

No two days look the same. One day she may be helping in the freight shed. The next she might be helping set up for a 200-person wedding complete with a caterer and a band. Casco Bay Lines’ charter business has grown tremendously since Caity took over. Corporate events for the area’s largest businesses, weddings of all shapes and sizes, springtime prom events, surprise birthday parties, school group trips, you name it – she sells it and then makes it happen.

And every year, more and more people looking for a unique venue discover the ferries. Sales in the “shoulder seasons” of April, May, October and November continue to grow. Recently, the Bay Mist (heated and available year-round) was used to host a gorgeous winter wedding. The reduced rate for off-season charters is an added bonus.

But, in spite of all the change and growth, there is one thing that has remained constant for Caity. Ever since she was that little girl on her way over to Peaks Island, she has been captivated by the sea. And when you ask her to name her favorite part of the job? “Easy. There is nothing more beautiful than Casco Bay. I get to talk to people every day and help them. They’re trying to figure out how to have a waterfront event, how to wow their guests, many of whom have never been to Maine, with something unique that captures the essence of the sea. And, as it turns out, it doesn’t get any more waterfront than having your event on our boat.”

So the next time you need to plan a Bat Mitzvah, or you’re trying to find something for all the visiting members of the American Chestnut Foundation to do, I would recommend reaching out to this member of our crew. She’s down on the water even on her days off (yes, that’s where she spends them), and she’s more than happy to work her magic and help you host the perfect event on Casco Bay.

From time to time on our blog we’ll be featuring stories of our fantastic crew to highlight their different roles, personalities, and connection to Casco Bay, our customers and our ferry line. If you have a particular staff member who you feel should be highlighted here, feel free to reach out to us!

The post Meet Our Crew – Caity Gildart Works Her CBL Event Magic appeared first on Casco Bay Lines.

Larry has. He started working at Casco Bay Lines in June of 1973 as a deckhand. Four years later he had earned his Captains license, and he ran the boats full time until 1981. “I semi-retired then, went back to school and worked on deep sea tankers. It was funny though, whatever I was doing, I still found my way to Casco Bay Lines for whatever they needed me do to, tickets, maintenance, you name it.”

By 1990 Larry was back on board full time. He currently works as an Operations Agent in the pivotal role of shore side supervisor.  One such team member has to be on duty at all times, from 4:45 in the morning to after midnight, 365 days a year. Customer service is the name of the game. They oversee operations, put out fires, greet people and serve as the front line on the shore. It’s a job perfect for someone who knows the ins and outs as well as Larry.  “There’s a lot of experience between our team. There are a bunch of us have been here for a long time. We’re like a big family.”

In Larry’s case, it truly has been a family affair. His dad and all of his uncles worked at Casco Bay Lines growing up during WWII. In 1960, Larry’s dad returned to moonlight as a Captain and he would bring his son with him. Larry quickly grew to love it. As soon as he was old enough, he followed in his dad’s footsteps.

And the legacy continues. All three of Larry’s daughters worked at Casco Bay Lines while also working their way through high school and college.  “My middle one, Casey, met her future husband while working here,” Larry explains proudly. “This place taught them how to work hard, how to act around people, and how to treat to people.”

Larry has always loved getting to know our customers, generously sharing the rich history and his love for Casco Bay and the ferry line.  While he’s captained them all, he would most look forward to bringing people to Bailey Island every summer when the weather warmed up and the days got longer.  “I always enjoyed talking to these people from away who had never been out on the bay.” It’s a trip Larry’s dad also enjoyed back during the war.

And after all of these years, how would he describe it to someone? “It’s just a wonderful boat ride,” he says. “I’ve been all over the world on ships, and there are very few places as beautiful as Casco Bay. It’s unique. And I never get tired of going out on it. So I tell people that they have to experience it to understand.”

And he still sells cruises to visitors he chats with in the terminal. “People ask me all of the time what I recommend. I always tell them to take the Mailboat. Pick a beautiful day, any season, and go. We’re running on Christmas day, on Thanksgiving. And it’s beautiful then too.” Over the years, Larry looked forward to working on Thanksgiving, describing it as his own tradition of sorts, when he would get to see friends that would pass through just that once each year, on their way to visit their family on the island. “They expect to see me here. And I liked helping them get to be with their families.”

Somewhere along the way, Larry began collecting photos of the steamboats, reading everything he could get his hands on, making a point to talk to islanders and passengers older than him to soak up all of the history that he could. And, recently, he began making models of the old steamboats in his spare time.  One such model now lives at Maine Maritime Museum and another at the Long Island Historical Society.

And this week, after 44 years, Larry is retiring.

His plan? “I want to build more models. The last one I built took five winters. Now I’ll have more free time,” he says with a hearty and warm chuckle. And he’s excited to spend more time with his daughters and his wife (a former island girl he met while working at Casco Bay Lines). “I have so many good memories. If people here move on to other jobs, they always miss it and they come back – they stay part of the family.”

To us, Larry, you will always be part of this family. And we hope you can’t stay away completely. Fair winds and following seas!

From time to time on our blog we’ll be featuring stories of our fantastic crew to highlight their different roles, personalities, and connection to Casco Bay, our customers and our ferry line. If you have a particular staff member who you feel should be highlighted here, feel free to reach out to us!

The post Meet Our Crew: Larry Legere’s 44 Years on Casco Bay Lines appeared first on Casco Bay Lines.