WHEEL WATCH: Saltwater-soaked thoughts for graduates

‘Keep the deck clean and clear when it’s flat calm and you’ll have a lot better footing when it gets rough’

Brian Robbins.

May 26, 2026

By Brian Robbins

I’ve long thought that spending time on (or at least around) the water would do any young person some good.

Of course, I’ve also advised any young person (who actually wanted my opinion) not to do things the way I did: I traded my graduation gown and cap for a barvel and hip boots (oil pants and knee boots were yet to come; I grew up with the old-fashioned waterproof skirt and Red Ball hip boots) when I walked out of the then-brand-new Deer Isle-Stonington High School gym in June of 1976. Though my grades were good, I had no interest in going on to college; I was going to go lobstering with my brother Stevie, jumping into the stern of his wooden Campobello-built 37-footer with plans of heading offshore the following year with the new Stanley 44 he was having finished by Joel White and the crew at Brooklin Boat Yard.

I had no Plan B.

While we’re at it, I need to be clear about something: you know who the biggest proponent of me going on to college was back then?  My brother Stevie – my hero; my captain; the best teacher I could ever have when it came to learning how to work. We had a lot – a lot – of discussions (which might have closely resembled arguments) over the same theme: Stevie wanted me to go on to college; I wanted to go lobstering.

We were a good team aboard a boat, but my brother wanted me to have some options.

I didn’t see where I needed any.

I didn’t even bother to take my SATs during high school. I did take them a couple years later, when I managed to bust both hands aboard the boat and was shoreside for a while (I could hold a pencil). 

I aced the tests at that point – and there were numerous ways the finances could’ve worked for me to go to college if I’d wanted to ... but as soon as the cast was off my left hand (I’d only cracked a bone in my right, so that didn’t take as long), I was back on the boat and any thoughts of college were left behind.

Later on, I got lucky. A published letter to the editor of Commercial Fisheries News while I was still fishing led to an opportunity to do some freelance writing for CFN when I had the time. (I remember the first feature I wrote: an interview with Everett Billings of Stonington, talking about his lifetime on the water – including years on the 40 Fathoms Fisheries redfish fleet out of Rockland.)  

And when I finally came ashore to stay, Robin Alden – then owner/publisher of CFN – saw something in me that I didn’t and gave me a job. 

And, basically, a life.

But, as I say, don’t try this at home, kids – I got lucky.

So I’m not necessarily promoting (or not promoting) a fishing career for younger people; I’m just saying that any time you can spend around the ocean – in any manner, shape, or form – can only serve to do you some good with the lessons it’ll offer. Even if it’s a purely recreational situation, the ocean challenges you and makes you think. 

And if you apply that thinking to other situations, you’ll come out ahead.

I promise.

Take, for instance, keeping your feet clear of the rope on the deck of a lobster boat – or, in the case of a sailboat, clear of the main sheet. That simple rule of thumb promotes an overall sense of awareness that can be applied to just about anything.

Here’s another one for you – first bestowed on me by my brother when I was tall enough to pick the lobsters and whatever else out of a trap on my own: “Use both hands; if you’re so tired that you have to lean on one arm, then go below and lay down!”

Stevie had a point: I did have two hands; I wasn’t that tired; and if I was doing something, I should do it like I meant it.

Think about that, be it boat, wharf, office ... or a relationship.

Drawing by Brian Robbins.

Speaking of which, here’s another saltwater-themed thought for you: if you’re going to tie a knot, tie it like you mean it. Be it the painter of a skiff at the float, a rope over the top of a stack of traps on the stern of a lobster boat headed offshore, or any sort of relationship – heart, business, you name it: a knot tied half-heartedly is bound to fail when tested.

Another proven Stevie-ism: when the roll of paper towels falls off the bulkhead on a choppy day, don’t put it back in the same place. Unless you like bending over and picking it up. Again. And again.

Here’s one that came from early-morning coffee down at the shore (of which Stevie was not a big proponent; back when we were inshore, if we were going to haul, we were going to haul – not socialize): any story that begins with the phrase “Somebody said ...” shouldn’t be repeated unless you know it to be a fact yourself.

And it’s better if you don’t find out firsthand that it’s not a good idea to pee into the wind. If all our actions resulted in as immediate consequences as that will, we’d be better humans for it.

One more: keep the deck clean and clear when it’s flat calm and you’ll have a lot better footing when it gets rough.

That’s really what I wish for all of this year’s graduates – including granddaughter Lydia Carter (love you, Lyd!) over in Bucksport: good footing for when it gets rough.

My best to you all.

—Robbins, who grew up in Stonington and now lives in Nobleboro, writes his monthly column “Wheel Watch” for The Rising Tide.