Cost: Free

Join author Jonathan White as he explores sea level rise, tide-generated electricity, the relation of sea- and land-creatures (including humans) to the tides and the moon, how tides are slowing the earth’s rotation and making the day longer, and why scientists have been maddened by the problem of explaining the tides for thousands of years.

Cost: $5 for members, $8 for non-members

In 2018, we commemorate the 100th Anniversary of the end of the “Great War”. Historian Paul Biddle provides insights into what led the United States to enter the war and how that influenced the outcome of the war.

Thursday, May 30, 6pm
$5 for members, $8 for non-members

Drugs, armed conflict, and free trade. Sound familiar? The First Opium War of the early 1840s, with British and Chinese fighting over the opium trade and Chinese sovereignty, opened up Chinese ports to the world. Maine's merchant mariners aboard Maine-built ships soon thereafter entered the Chinese import and export trade. The trade aboard Maine-built ships lasted into the turn of the 20th Century. In the meantime, Maine sea captains and their families brought back souvenirs, stories, and an economic understanding of China.

Thursday, June 27, 6pm
$8/person, $5/PMM member

Capt. Daniel S. Parrott, Professor of Marine Transportation at Maine Maritime Academy will discuss weather phenomena relating to the operation of tall ships, both from a historical perspective and from personal experience.

Sponsored by Hamilton Marine

Thursday, July 18, 6pm Rescheduled
Thursday, July 25, 6pm
$8/person, $5/PMM member

The Northeastern Regional Association of Coastal Ocean Observing Systems (NERACOOS) spans coastal waters from the Canadian Maritime Provinces to the New York Bight. NERACOOS provides weather and ocean data to fishers and commercial shippers determining if conditions are safe for passage and to emergency managers issuing storm warnings. Tom Shyka, Product and Engagement Manager at NERACOOS will talk about weather reporting to ships and interesting weather patterns observed through the NERACOOS buoy data.

Sponsored by Hamilton Marine

Thursday, August 1, 6pm
$8/person, $5/PMM member

Ralph Stanley, legendary boat builder and local historian, will share exciting stories about shipwrecks and disasters of Mount Desert Island vessels and shipwrecks at Mount Desert Island.

Sponsored by Hamilton Marine

Thursday, August 8, 6pm
$8/person, $5/PMM member

Dr. Sean Birkel, Maine State Climatologist, will speak on how the Penobscot Bay froze during the most severe winters of the late 1700s, 1800s, and early 1900s. He will also discuss past storms and relate the talk to the current and future climate in Maine.

Sponsored by Hamilton Marine

Thursday, August 15, 6pm
$8/person, $5/PMM member

Baldwin launched Educational Passages as a project to spread ocean and environmental literacy. Their GPS-equipped MiniBoats follow ocean currents and winds, allowing students of all ages to explore oceanic phenomena while we develop transoceanic classrooms. Dick's talk will include photos and video from his most recent MiniBoat launch from the University of Maine Marine Science Club and the United Center of Technologies in Bangor off the Cape of Good Hope.

Sponsored by Hamilton Marine

Thursday, October 3
6:00pm
$8/person, $5/PMM member
PMM Old Vestry

Anne Hayden, Senior Fisheries Program Manager at Manomet, will share a presentation including what fisheries in Maine used to look like, where things stand today, why the lobster fishery is thriving but the groundfishery isn’t, and an outlook on the future. In addition to developing a market for green crabs, this presentation also covers other projects Manomet is working on including shellfish aquaculture and river herring restoration.

Thursday, October 10
6:00pm
$8/person, $5/PMM member
PMM Old Vestry

Bill Anderson will discuss groundfishing out of Tenant's Harbor from 1949 to 2000.