CAPE ELIZABETH, Maine — On the morning of Dec. 23, as rain poured down, tides climbed to their highest levels in years, and wind gusts topped out around 65 miles per hour, Dave Dostie and Ben Williamson were out taking pictures. It had been years since the Maine coast had seen a winter storm like this one.
“The raindrops hurt. They hit the face,” Dostie said. But he wasn’t about to give up and go home. “You just have to go with the flow and see what’s out there, what opportunities come up.”
As professional photographers who love shooting Maine landscapes and seascapes, Dostie and Williamson know that wretched weather can make for great pictures.
Although each has their own photography business, they’re friends, and on that day, they decided to meet along the shore in South Portland and Cape Elizabeth to see what the storm would offer them.
What they didn’t expect to see was a fishing boat riding out the huge waves and slowly making its way to Portland Harbor. At times, the seas were so big that the vessel, dropping down into the trough of the waves, was barely visible. Dostie realized he was seeing something extraordinary, and started shooting.
From the shore, it looked as though the vessel might not make it. So, was the captain afraid for his life and the lives of his crew?
“It really wasn’t that bad aboard the boat,” Captain Gene Frey told 207.
Maine fishermen, it’s worth noting, have a reputation for understatement. Frey is a master of the art. “[Dave and Ben] were getting tortured more than I was,” Frey said.
In the end, the boat made it ashore, and Dostie and Williamson ended up with some amazing photos. But, please, don’t take my word for it (even though it’s true) — watch the 207 interview with the three guys as they tell the story of a day they’ll never forget.