Local residents build community through Castine rowing

WRITTEN BY CASEY BERNARD

Mornings on the water in Castine Harbor are serene and picturesque. The still, glassy waters are interrupted only by the bobbing head of a harbor seal peeking from below or a gull diving for breakfast. Since the summer of 2025, residents and visitors have been able to experience these breathtaking moments under the guidance of a coxswain leading a small crew of rowers into the harbor with the newly formed nonprofit, Castine Rowing.

In 2024, after taking a day trip to experience Belfast Rowing Club’s open row, a few Castine residents asked, “Why doesn’t Castine have a rowing group?” Within months of discussing the idea among locals, a volunteer board was formed and fundraising began. By November, the group had secured a borrowed heated barn and kit to begin building The Baron, a Cornish pilot gig that seats six rowers and a coxswain.

Soon, word traveled through the local rowing community, and Castine Rowing board members heard of a St. Ayles skiff at a high school in Rhode Island that was built as part of a technical boat-building program but never saw the water. With some creative planning, they were able to transport the skiff back to Castine. The skiff is named Beverly after Beverly Bishop, the Castine resident who helped get Castine Rowing off the ground. Bishop died in May 2025 before the organization saw its first summer season on the water.

With two seaworthy boats, Castine Rowing began recruiting rowers and training coxswains. By the end of the summer, regular rows launched every Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday morning, with occasional Friday afternoons followed by happy hour at the local pub, Danny Murphy’s.

Although new to the rowing scene, the Castine crew trained to compete in the Belfast Regatta in August. With only two weeks of training, The Baron crew came in a close second to the Belfast women’s team.

The mission of Castine Rowing is to introduce rowing and make it accessible to anyone who wants to get out on the water. Rowers sign up for a seat and, after signing a waiver and receiving brief training, become part of the crew. The only limitation on opening more rows is the availability of coxswains. Recruiting more coxswains is a main goal for the 2026 season, as well as hosting other rowing clubs for a “Fun Row” to Holbrook Island, directly across the bay from Castine. Adding boats to the fleet is not a priority, as the organization is limited by available places to store boats during the winter and where to dock them in the summer when not in use.

“Castine Rowing has been such a great community builder,” said Kate Pilotte, president of Castine Rowing’s board of directors. “We have summer residents who have been coming to Castine for years and full-time residents who have lived here for 20 years who never met. We had Maine Maritime Academy students and staff join as well.”

“There is something cathartic and connecting in working with other people in a boat,” Pilotte continued. “It’s one of those unique experiences that you can’t do alone. You only get the experience by working with the group.”

To learn more about Castine Rowing and sign up for a row, visit CastineRowing.org.