Fishing boat adrift in Boothbay Harbor

Nine years ago, a man who had no background or any interest in creating art became an artist. Swimming along the bottom of Wiscasset harbor, 30 feet under water, bottle hunter Rick Carney was hit with an idea that would lead him down an unimagined path.

The $1.1 million property, for which the town has paid $810,000 for a purchase option, includes a wharf, two-story building, launch ramp and more than a half acre of harbor-front land in the heart of the village, just beyond the Port Clyde General Store.

My relationship with Chandler "Blackie" Blackington began about a decade ago when I traveled to Vinalhaven to visit the community's medical center and eldercare home, exploring the possibilities for Swan's Island. Blackie was my tour guide.