Oceans and Islands #25

Peter Ralston:

Life changed for everybody when we first saw that Apollo image from the moon looking back at the Earth. I mean, here is this little garden planet. It's like an island. There's one island, you know, and that's the one we're sitting on here.

David Turin:

I mean, it's about being out there with the ocean and the peace and the quiet and maybe a couple of your buddies. And I don't know why exactly, but it's really hard to think about much else when, when you're out there doing that.

Kelsy Hartley:

There's something about the waterfront, especially in Maine, that I cannot stay away from. I feel much more balanced here. I feel much more myself here. I go to the ocean for comfort. I go to the ocean for ideas. I don't know what it is exactly, but there is this kind of push and pull to it. I just feel better around it.

Dr. Lisa Belisle:

Good morning. This is Dr. Lisa Belisle and you are listening to the Dr. Lisa Radio Hour and Podcast Show Number 25. Hi Genevieve.

Genevieve Morgan:

Good morning, Lisa.

Dr. Lisa Belisle:

And today we're going to be talking to Peter Ralston of the Ralston Gallery and also the Island Institute, David Turin of David's Restaurant and also owner of a surf camp at Scarborough beach, and Kelsey Hartley of Hartley Marine Services, who does work with the Ms. Society. You were asking me earlier, Genevieve, why are we doing Oceans and Islands? Because it's a health show and I'm sure there are going to be other people who have that same question, but I think we came up with some good reasons.

Genevieve Morgan:

I think we did, too. I think anyone who is thinking about taking an April Break to the beach knows what the power of the ocean, or even of going to an island and lying on a beach and swimming knows how health beneficial it is.

Dr. Lisa Belisle:

And Maine is particularly. Oceans are particularly relevant. Islands are particularly relevant also to the people who live in Maine. I know that when I went to the University of Vermont, there was an enormous. Actually, everybody knows this. There's an enormous lake there. It's called Lake Champlain. I was born in Burlington. My dad went to medical school there. I went to medical school there. And people will say to me, there's a big lake. You know, why is it that you need to live in Maine? Why couldn't you just live in Burlington and be a doctor there? Well, every time I leave the ocean side and I go inland, I can stay there for a period of time, but then I'm always drawn back. I always need that ocean fix. And I suspect there are many people in Maine who feel the same.

Genevieve Morgan:

I do. I think there is a landscape of your heart, and everyone has an internal landscape that draws them. Some people it's the desert, Some people it's the mountains. I think for you and I, it's been the ocean.

Dr. Lisa Belisle:

And this is true. I believe in an earlier show we talked about John o', Donohue, who was. Who had this sort of Celtic mentality, also was a Catholic priest. He died a few years back. And he talked about the landscape of the heart and the landscape of spirituality. So this is. I believe we are all drawn in some way back to the ocean. And for health reasons, we're drawn back to the ocean, in fact, too.

Genevieve Morgan:

Well, we are mostly salt water, isn't that right?

Dr. Lisa Belisle:

We are mostly salt water. When you think about where you come from and sort of the mother's womb and that dark saline sort of atmosphere and sort of floating about, that's where you start. You start. You start primordial sea, right? You start as a little tadpole. And sometimes we look at the ocean and we think we aren't necessarily thinking about life, but the ocean is a place that nourishes life of all different shapes, bigger, smaller, even the seaweed that washes up on the shore. It's full of life. It's sort of a life soup that's out there.

Genevieve Morgan:

Well, you talk often about energy and how health is energy. And the ocean is. And I think David Turin will talk about this. The ocean is just this gigantic source of energy. It's all this potential energy and kinetic energy. And somehow when you are walking beside it or swimming in it, you feel that essential Energy that feels bigger than yourself.

Dr. Lisa Belisle:

This is very true. And this is, I think, one of the reasons why, as much as Lake Champlain is wonderful, and I certainly respect anybody who wants to live next to it and people who love the mountains. This is why, for me, I think I feel pulled back to the ocean, is that there is the shifting and changing, and you can see an enormous distance between the height of the tides and the low tides. And I mean, there is this change that takes place and even in the rivers. And I've had a medical practice seated by a river for many years now, and I think it's been a healing experience for my patients to. To be able to watch the waters flow back to the sea and hear

Genevieve Morgan:

it and to hear it tinkling.

Dr. Lisa Belisle:

Yeah.

Genevieve Morgan:

Well, it seems to me that even if people don't self identify as being particularly religious or spiritual, being around a water source taps into something deeper and connects them with a sense of something larger than themselves. A natural rhythm or a natural cycle that's very elemental, obviously.

Dr. Lisa Belisle:

I would definitely agree with that. I've seen this in my own life, especially in the last few years, where I've undergone a lot of shifting and changing in my medical practice and my family and my relationship with my former husband. And what happens is, if I get too caught up in the day to day, all I need to do is take a run down to the ocean at sunrise or drive to the ocean at sunset. And I live in Yarmouth, right near the ocean. So. And I'm able to sort of reboot. There's a mental and emotional rebooting that takes place. And I know that I'm not the only person who experiences this, because when I'm sitting at the Falmouth Town landing or at Cousins island beach, there are other cars there with other people in there or people walking on the beach, and even this time of year, people going to Scarborough beach and Popham. And I think there's a whole cadre of us that are being drawn back to the ocean for its healing powers.

Genevieve Morgan:

Well, I want to jump to. To the islands part of our show, which is we've now talked about why the ocean is related to wellness. But islands, because our show is about connectivity. And when you think about islands, it's very isolated. And, you know, we think, oh, well, no man is an island. But we're doing a show that's also including islands. Now, how is that related?

Dr. Lisa Belisle:

I think that speaks to a slightly different connectivity. And we had an individual from the Main Island Institute on a show a few weeks back. He described this sense that you can go to an island and feel as if you are the first person ever to have set foot there. And this is something that we all need to have in our lives, is the ability to connect back to something

Genevieve Morgan:

bigger, absent of other people, like an adventurous explorer. That's right side of our personality.

Dr. Lisa Belisle:

That's right. And I think in Maine there's this interesting thing that happens on islands as well, that they foster a sense of community that really is unique to our state. Actually, northern Maine has this too. And they have little pockets of land which are essentially sort of population islands and people work together. I mean, people.

Genevieve Morgan:

Well, you can't survive unless you work together.

Dr. Lisa Belisle:

That's right. You can't survive. You can't function as an individual unless you function within the group. And this is something that is lost in other parts of other parts of the country, other parts of the world.

Genevieve Morgan:

So what you're saying is perhaps someone living in a high rise city apartment in the midst of population of millions might be more isolated than an individual living on an island with a population of 50?

Dr. Lisa Belisle:

Yeah, I think islands connect us, whether they're empty or whether they have a few people on them. I think they do cause us to really reflect on what it means to be connected in a bigger way.

Genevieve Morgan:

It's an interesting theme because it means that there's a sense of interiority and aloneness that really feeds into connectivity, both in coming and looking at the water and walking by the ocean and connecting to something larger. And then also that idea of going and visiting an island or living on an island and feeling that kind of insular sense, but then needing everybody else.

Dr. Lisa Belisle:

I agree. I don't think we're going to need to say too much more about this. People just listen to our show. Most people who live in Maine, and even if you don't live in Maine, if you've been to Maine, you're going to resonate with the people who come on and they talk about oceans and islands. So just give us a listen, be inspired and maybe let us know what you think. The Dr. Lisa Radio Hour and Podcast is pleased to have our Wellness Innovation segment each week sponsored by the University of New England. This week, our Oceans and islands themed show, we feature sea urchins as a wellness innovation. Researchers are using the sea urchins to study and understand diseases like cancer, Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease and muscular dystrophy. Although they are invertebrates, the creatures share a common ancestor with humans and have more than 7,000 of the same genesis With a complete map of their DNA, scientists can learn how to treat and prevent diseases in humans better. For more information on the University of New England, go to une.edu.

Dr. Lisa Belisle:

Today's theme, as we mentioned previously, is oceans and islands. And we are fortunate to have Peter Ralston from the Ralston Gallery in Rockport, co founder of the Island Institute, here with us in the studio today. Hello, Peter.

Peter Ralston:

Good morning.

Dr. Lisa Belisle:

Why were you so interested in islands? Why did you found something called the Island Institute?

Peter Ralston:

Okay, great question. I grew up in Chadds Ford, Pennsylvania on the Brandywine River. And right in front of our house, the Wyeth family, Andy and Betsy Wyeth, owned a mill there. And the dams that dammed up the river to provide water to the mill made islands. These islands are 150 years old, artificial islands in the river, but they were magical places as kids. So as a kid and then in Florida with my grandparents, we would poke around on boats. Islands have always been really, really magical places to me. I mean, there is that line who wrote the poem, but once you have slept on an island, your life has changed forever. Once you've slept on an island, you will never be the same again. And there's so much truth to it. So I fetch up in Maine in 1978, totally from Hawaii. And because of the friends who invited me here, they had islands. And it was, they knew exactly what they were doing. They knew they were baiting me in. They knew about my island thing. And you know, I got to see some really extraordinary islands, you know, up close and personal. And it all took me back to, I mean, here I am, you know, from away in my late 20s and you know, the arrogance or the, the spirit, the energy of youth and so forth. But I was seeing a place, having traveled a lot as a photojournalist, seeing a place that wasn't really destroyed yet. I was seeing a place that wasn't so irreparably changed like so many other places that I've seen. I mean, we've all seen beautiful places that have been ruined, that the community, the heart, the pulse, the mojo is gone. And it's all been suburbanized and homogenized and, and I had the, I don't know, maybe the naivete, but certainly the optimism and the hope. And Philip Conkling. The two of us started the institute. We met, he was from Nyack, New York and like me, had seen his natal home totally trashed. You go over the Tappan Zee bridge, there's Nyack. I mean, so here we are in Maine and you know, back in real community. And to me it was a homecoming. It was really a homecoming. And we got together over island work and it really took off from there. It was going from one island where we had very specific interest, this is off of Port Clyde, and then starting to see other islands and then going to these uninhabited islands where you'd find cellar holes and you'd find rock walls, beautiful walls in the middle of 70, 80, 100 year old spruce forest. The question inevitably becomes who was there? What were these communities? And then we learned that there were once 300 year round island communities off the coast of Maine. And Today there are 14 or 15, depending on how you count them. And if there had been that sort of loss in any natural community, you know, snail darters or spotted owls, whatever, you know, millions of millions of federal dollars to protect that community and so forth, human communities certainly out of sight, out of mind communities don't get that kind of aid, don't typically engender. And that's the economic reality, you know, that's the way it goes. So all of that, if this makes any sense, all of that comes together with us thinking maybe we can actually do something. So what we saw happen elsewhere and you know, not just our hometowns, but all along the Atlantic coast of the United States. I mean there are very, very, very. There really are no other places like left like we've got here in Maine where there's a coast wide maritime culture still very much intact.

Dr. Lisa Belisle:

And so the Island Institute was founded. To do what?

Peter Ralston:

Help sustain the year round working island and inevitably the island communities, but also those communities ashore that are tied to the communities that sustain the communities. That's a pretty broad. And we didn't want to, we didn't constrain ourselves too much. We're not a land preservation organization, we're not a recreation organization. But it was about helping these little communities that have been here for, you know, a long time. But that now more than ever are really. Of course we were saying this back in 83 and it's just as true today, now more than ever, and certainly now more than even in 83, the pressure is just so intense. The pressure that would wash away these communities, you know, where people have lived, you know, for 13, I mean, there are families that have fished off the same shoreside, you know, the same wharves and so forth for 13 generations in some places.

Genevieve Morgan:

Well, this brings us to the oceans part of our show, which is that the health of the oceans helps sustain some of these economies, these small island economies.

Peter Ralston:

Absolutely.

Genevieve Morgan:

And that the overfishing and the pollutants in the ocean are slowly degrading their livelihoods.

Peter Ralston:

Well, we're lucky. Here in Maine, pollution with a few hot spots is not a major issue. It's management of the fisheries and governance of fisheries. And what has been called the tragedy of the commons. I mean, here's the ocean, it's sort of a. That's the commons. It's sort of a common resource. And if you look at the Maine lobster fishery, which is one of the most successful self regulated fisheries in the world, it's great. I mean, these guys, and not to be gender inappropriate, but it's mostly guys who are out there doing the fishing. These communities have been really smart about regulating and making it work. Inevitably, state regulations, federal regulations come in. But the lobster fishery is very much a success story. You talked to a fisherman last year, I mean, it was absolutely a year of record landings. They never had landings like that. At the same time, bait is way up and there are environmental and fishing regulatory reasons for that. Salt's way up, diesel's way up. And that's beyond anybody's control. So the lobster fish, I mean, that is what holds these shore, the working harbors together. If the lobster fishery were to go south here in Maine, I mean, it would be a true tragedy. It would be a game changer. The offshore fisheries, that's a whole different story. That's much more of a management issue. And overfishing, overfishing, including extra national, other countries, fleets coming in and very complex stuff. And indeed, fisheries was one of the things the Institute has become very, very involved with here in Maine and then almost by default elsewhere. I mean, what we've learned here is what can be applied to islands here. There are lessons we can learn and share. And I mean that's what community is. You're learning and sharing. Shelley Pingree, who of course is from North Haven, Shelley's great line years ago when we, we're starting the Institute, Shelley and I are pretty tight. Shelley's great line then. And it's been sort of a mantra throughout. Islands are really laboratories of community, models of community.

Dr. Lisa Belisle:

So it's the microcosm Representing the macrocosm. It's this whole sense that something smaller can represent something bigger and useful to be studied.

Peter Ralston:

Yeah, I mean, if you really look at it, I mean, who was it that Joni Mitchell sang? You know, this little green garden planet in the darkness of space. I mean, here is, you know, life change for everybody. When we first saw that Apollo image, you know, from the moon looking back at the Earth, I mean, here is this little garden planet. It's like an island.

Dr. Lisa Belisle:

And you're talking about a lot of things that are very. You're talking about financial, economic, sustainability. You're talking about a lot of really big issues. But one of the things that fascinates me about your interaction with the Island Institute is how you have drawn people in to support the Island Institute. And that comes from your background in photojournalism.

Peter Ralston:

Well, I think there are a lot of reasons that people have. I think what's really drawn people to the Institute's work is passion for place.

Dr. Lisa Belisle:

But some of this passion for place, I mean, you can't deny the impact of your photography and the photography of the islands in bringing people to, to support your organization that has been part of it.

Peter Ralston:

We were really lucky when we started the Institute, Philip and I thought, well, we'll publish. I mean, Philip's a wonderful writer. And I knew, you remember film? I used to know what to do with film. And we thought we would publish. It was Betsy Wyeth, Andrew Wyeth's wife, who really encouraged us. And it was a brilliant, brilliant moment for us. She said, look, if you're going to publish, if you're going to spread the word and so forth, don't just do some mimeograph, self congratulatory thing. She said, really, really do it right. Philip, you're a wonderful writer. Peter, you know what you're doing with the camera. Do it first rate. And thus was born, like that moment was born. The Island Journal. And we used that, you know, year one, we had like zero members. We had two contributors and we were off and running. And we did think that combining stories, telling stories and sharing information, sharing lessons would grow awareness. When we first went to Augusta, there was actually, so help me God, there was a state legislator in Maine, here we are. And they remarked to Philip, you mean there are people that live on those islands all year, truly out of sight, out of mind. You know, the year round population is something like 5,000 now. Wicked independence and ultimately, ineluctably has to be interdependence. And it's a great mix which is why these communities are so intense and everybody does know everybody and everything about everybody. If I were to drop this bottle now on an island, they'd know about it on the other side of the island before it hit the ground. And I mean, that completely freaks out some people, but others, I mean, I'm a small town boy, I love it close and intimate like that.

Genevieve Morgan:

I have two relatives who live on an island, different islands. But I've grown accustomed now to their habit of stopping by. They just stop by, no warning, but the door's open, the doors should be open because that's what it's like in their community. And so it doesn't matter. They don't expect you to look a certain way or have food on the table or anything like that. But it's just social and it's a time to be together. And that's a really interesting part of community there that here in the city we go out to meet our friends and we make a plan. But on the islands you can just stop by at any time, you have a problem, you have a celebration, you just share it.

Peter Ralston:

I, I was a little in the last minute mode when I was calling some of these people and I had been told, well, you'll probably want to visit so and so. And I knew some of them, but some were first time for me and as you know, I'm chatty and I show up with, you know, cameras and all this stuff. But been around long enough that I feel pretty comfortable talking to anybody. So I called and one 80 year old woman, she would kill me. 78 year old woman down there who's had quite a tough life, quite a tough life. And I was told she's not going to be altogether comfortable about this. I've got a new friend for life. This little piece of porcelain that I now carry, I mean, she gave this to me and she believes that God leads her to everything she finds on the beaches. And her line. So I'm talking to her, I'm halfway to the ferry saying, by the way, I'm coming and can I see you and might I call on you and I promise it won't be too painful. Her line was come aboard. It was just so beautiful. I thought that's it, you know, come aboard.

Genevieve Morgan:

You own a gallery and as you know, for centuries, Maine islands have inspired great artists, great American artists all around, including the Wyeths. Do you think that that has something to do with it, that feeling, that spiritual? Why are main islands so inspiring to the nation's artists?

Peter Ralston:

Yeah, well, that's a great question. Well, certainly the first, the duff factor on that one is the they're just so beautiful. But I really think that's the half of it. I mean, speaking for myself and yeah, if you do even scratch American art history, they've all been here. I mean, it really is amazing. There's the light. I mean, the light is flat out different. Always been very keenly aware of light. I mean, light was my first word. Light is how I make my living. I write in light, you know, photography. The light is different, it's unique. And we get the old wait five minutes, the weather's going to change. So there are all these fluctuations and that's dramatic and exciting and edgy and wonderful and thank God we have the winners. We do. Quite partial to the winners, but it's the people too. And I think it's the culture. Whereas, I mean, we can say today it's all gone everywhere else. Well, back in the 50s, things had changed dramatically. Culture, resource driven cultures are very disadvantaged. I mean, the world doesn't. You can't hold back the tide of agribusiness and big business and sort of the homogenization, the box stores and all that. There's just no going back on that in America. But, you know, there is. There really is. And I say this, you know, almost nervously because one wants at all costs to avoid caricatures or stereotyping. But there is an independence. There is a spirit and an ethic and a mojo and a community. I mean, these are not easy places. There is danger, you know, anytime, you know, you're fooling around on boats and going back and forth and there's fog and there's night and there's winter and there's ice, you know, all of it, not to mention those pesky ledges. It adds something, you know, and I think There really is a quality in these communities that you simply don't find in other places. That's true today. Now, what artists of 100 years ago were finding, I think if you go back and look at what some of the great ones were painting then, even then, 100 years ago, they were onto that. They got it. It was present.

Dr. Lisa Belisle:

Well, you've spoken to us about a lot of very profound themes, and I know we could spend a lot of time talking to you, a lot more time talking to you. But we appreciate your coming in and spending time with us today. Maybe we'll have you back again in the future.

Peter Ralston:

My arm is very easily twisted by the pair of you, if anybody's interested. I told you before, my initials aren't prc.

Dr. Lisa Belisle:

Well, yes, I was going to ask, how can people find out more about you, what you do and the Island Institute?

Peter Ralston:

It's easy. And of course, we all have our little iPads and smartphones and computers. And the Institute really has a fascinating mission and website, which is islandinstitute.org and then the almost as fascinating and interesting Ralston gallery site is ralstongallery.com and I've got lots and lots of pictures there. I'm now doing a thing. I'm finally coming out of my shy mode.

Dr. Lisa Belisle:

Yes, I can tell you're very shy.

Peter Ralston:

I am. And I'm now actually, I don't know if you guys have seen it, but I'm telling you one story a week. I decided for a year I would tell the story behind images primarily driven by the fact that everybody. I get tired of hearing, so what are the sheep doing in the boat? You know that one?

Dr. Lisa Belisle:

So now you're just going to preempt that by telling people what the sheep are doing in the boat.

Peter Ralston:

So there will end up with 52 stories.

Dr. Lisa Belisle:

And this is on your website.

Peter Ralston:

Yeah. Print of the week.

Dr. Lisa Belisle:

Very good. Well, thank you so much for coming in and talking to us.

Peter Ralston:

Truly my pleasure.

Dr. Lisa Belisle:

Our next guest is an individual who, along with his wife, has come to be a friend. This individual is a big supporter of the events that go on through Maine Magazine. This is David Turin, and I'm going to allow Genevieve Morgan to interview him for Maine Magazine minutes.

Genevieve Morgan:

Thanks, Lisa. David, we had a great interview about six months ago. For me, super fun. It was super fun for Maine Magazine, and you have a great career as a restaurateur. But the thing that actually gets your heart going in the morning is surfing.

David Turin:

Yeah, I like to joke that the restaurant's my hobby, you know, and the surfing thing is my real job. But, you know, reality would catch up with me probably, if I said that.

Genevieve Morgan:

Well, we're on this show now, Oceans and Islands. So let's talk a little bit about the oceans, because you weren't born near an ocean.

David Turin:

Well, I was born near Lake Erie, which is. Until you really see the ocean, you think that's a big body of water. And then you got. I mean, Lake Erie's green, so. Or mud brown, depending on your vantage point, I guess. But no, I grew up pretty far from the ocean. Didn't really see it until I was about 16, and then started surfing as soon as I had the chance.

Genevieve Morgan:

And then how did surfing change your life?

David Turin:

Well, I guess it relaxed me, and I found out that going surfing every day is a phenomenal way to just sort of be active and in your environment. And so probably saved my life, truthfully, honestly. So that's a pretty big change, right? Staying alive.

Dr. Lisa Belisle:

Yeah, well. And you have a uniquely stressful work environment.

David Turin:

Well, that's what people say. Being in the restaurant business, I'm coming up on 29 years this year as a restaurant owner.

Dr. Lisa Belisle:

And your restaurants are.

David Turin:

I own David's Restaurant in Portland and David's street eight in South Portland now. So numbers eight and nine in my restaurant career. I only own two now. But, yeah, it's a busy job. There's always a lot of moving parts and there's a lot of people involved. And so it requires a lot of time. And I've heard people say that it's a very stressful job. So having pretty much only been involved in that career for a long time, I don't know by comparison, but I'd take that as true.

Genevieve Morgan:

You also have a surf camp? I do, and it's one of the oldest in Maine.

David Turin:

I think it is the. I think we started the concept in Maine, which was really an idea that I stole from California because they were running surf camps for kids out there for a long time. But I actually went to a surf camp in San Clemente. She's probably, I don't know, 17, 18 years ago or something like that. And they had surfing camp for kids, and then they had one session a summer for adults. And I went and slept on the beach in San Clemente State park and went surfing every day and lived in a tent, and we went to and from different breaks in. What do they call it? One of those travel trailer things. And it was fantastic. And I met a bunch of people. I've been surfing around the world with one of them. Been to Fiji And South Africa and Costa Rica and all these places. And I made some friends. And so after doing that a couple times, I thought I could do this. And it really sort of started by accident. I had a couple of restaurants in Massachusetts and I sold them. And honestly, because the stress really was getting to me. I was driving back and forth and almost drove my car off the road one night about 2:30 in the morning after doing a late, late party. And I said, you know what, I gotta get rid of this. I'm gonna die on the road here. Those rumble strips saved my life. So anyway, I thought, oh, I'll teach a little surfing after I sold the restaurant. And then next thing you know, the camp just evolved and we ended up with a real business out of the.

Genevieve Morgan:

And the great thing about surfing is it actually gets you into the water in Maine, which can be cold and off putting to some people, but water, especially ocean swimming, is very therapeutic. So can anyone surf? Can anyone learn how to surf?

David Turin:

Well, I'd say that the range of people who we've had as candidates have ranged from kids as small as 5 and 6 years old who we don't really take in our camp, but we've taught some lessons for really little kids. We've had actually quite a number of autistic kids come and I think that the reason they bring them is because for some reason people with autism, they find that the water is a very soothing place. I don't know a lot about this, so I could be completely wrong, but I understand that autistic kids like to swim, they like to be in the water. And so we've had a number of autistic kids who are relatively high functioning and then sort of through the age groups. I think the oldest surf candidate we had was my stepmother who was 79. I think the last time that she.

Dr. Lisa Belisle:

I'm sure she's thrilled that you just outed her on radio with her age there.

David Turin:

Oh, actually she's quite proud of it because she gets a discount for skiing as a senior citizen and she gets carted. And now she's 83 and she's really happy to lay down. I really am 83 because most of the ski areas will give you a free ticket when you're over 75. So she's like, oh yeah, sign me up.

Genevieve Morgan:

let's go back a little bit to this idea of surfing, saving your life because that's not, you're not the first person I've heard tell me that.

David Turin:

It's so trite. I mean, yeah, come on, dude, man, it'll change your life. Try surfing. But it's really.

Genevieve Morgan:

Yeah. I actually think you are somebody who can articulate why that is the case because you, you go out there almost every day now, right? Still to this day, and you get on your board and I know that you've said to me before in the interview that sometimes in Maine, sometimes it's flat even. You're not catching the waves. That's not actually what it's about.

David Turin:

Well, I mean, it's awfully nice when you go out there and the surf is perfect, but it doesn't really matter where you go. The surf is not perfect all the time. I mean, if you follow the contest circuit, I mean most surf contests are run in really pretty bad surf, honestly. So when there's great surf, it's even, even in the best places. It's not the common fact. So I mean it's about being out there with the ocean and the peace and the quiet and maybe a couple of your buddies and it's, it's. I don't know why exactly, but it's really hard to think about much else when you're out there doing that. And sometimes a lot of times, especially in the summers, not our big surf season in terms of the size of the waves. There's a lot of times when you go out and there are knee high waves or smaller and you're just out on a board and you're paddling around and now stand up. Paddle boarding has really caught on and that really doesn't require any surf at all. Most people really just want to paddle in flat water and there's, I don't know, maybe an acupuncturistically. So you could explain that. There's got to be some energy that flows, ions that come up through your. I don't know why, but it really washes you. It's the RIN cycle. It really is.

Dr. Lisa Belisle:

Well, and you're right. You're absolutely right. And we've actually talked about this and there's this kidney energy and the kidney is associated with the element of water. And water can simultaneously be a source of fear and a source of wisdom. So if you're surfing and you're learning to sort of interact with the water, then it becomes a source of wisdom and nourishment and less of source of fear. So you're absolutely right that this RIN cycle, it's not anything you've imagined.

David Turin:

Yeah, well, I mean, I don't know how to articulate it, but you just struck on something that I think is really interesting because you say it's a source of fear and energy.

Dr. Lisa Belisle:

And wisdom.

David Turin:

And wisdom. All right, that's what you said, wisdom. Because as a surfer, I mean, most surfers who've spent any time surfing will tell you a story about when they get really scared because the ocean's tremendously powerful. And it's sad and shocking when you hear stories about every now and then some real expert pro surfer will die. Clearly not doing what we do at our camp. I mean, it's a different element of the sport than obviously what we're doing with 12 year old kids. But there's a power and there's an unknown factor. And every surfer I know will talk about a time when the adrenaline was flowing and they're scared. But there's also this tremendous comfort in it and it's very, very hard to describe.

Genevieve Morgan:

Well, we start out as aquatic creatures before we're born in the womb. And so coming out and then going back, I've always thought, was the water

David Turin:

warmer in that environment? That's the one thing.

Genevieve Morgan:

There's 98.9.

David Turin:

Yeah, there you go. That's one of the things we have to get used to with what we're doing here is the water's colder, the gear is important. So that's one thing.

Dr. Lisa Belisle:

And do you think that this whole having to deal with the fear and gaining the wisdom and the rinse cycle, do you think this goes back to the saving your life element that you're describing?

David Turin:

That's a really interesting question because thinking back, and I think it's sort of a scary thing that every young surfer seems to go through because you get a sense of invincibility, you start to catch waves and you start to get a little bit good at it and you're starting to get proficient and you think there's nothing you can't do until the ocean slaps you around a little bit and then you have that. Almost every surfer I know will tell A story about when they were learning and they thought they were Superman. Nothing stopped me. And then they get knocked down and teared, get held under or whatever. Um, so, yeah, I think there's probably something. There's a connection between, you know, the water and maybe a little bit of fear and the pleasure and then this just sense. I mean, the thing about surfing, people haven't surfed that don't get. And I'm a skier. The reason that it's. And snowboarders particularly talk about this. Well, surfing and snowboarding are a lot alike.

Peter Ralston:

Right.

David Turin:

Well, the thing is that the mountain doesn't move. You know, it, it's static. So when, when you go out and you're skiing or you're snowboarding, the terrain is there and you're moving around it and the ocean is such a dynamic environment. And every single ride that you ever take will be different than any other one. I mean, and I suppose it's true to a lesser degree with the downhill sport, but having that thing move around you and being part of it, and then there's an interaction that happens between you and the wave where you change the wave, the wave change you, it changes you, and you're. I don't know, there's something that's, that's really kind of beautiful and poetic and, you know, sometimes it's, it's beautiful, sometimes it's scary, sometimes it's, it's, you know, a lot of senses going on.

Genevieve Morgan:

And the little bit of surfing that I've done when I was doing research for the article, there's a lot of effort and then there's a moment of no effort. Yeah, when the wave energy blends with your own. And for me, it was a nanosecond.

David Turin:

Well, you know, it's funny because talking about surfing, people always say, oh, it must be great for your legs. And you say, well, the amount of time you actually spend standing up on a surfboard is really small compared to the amount of time that you spend paddling. So surfing is really great for your arms. And unless it's funny because now there's the whole sport of stand up paddling, which you're standing up all the time. And people report very quickly, it's like, oh my gosh, my core, it was really so hard. My leg. Because you're, you're standing on a moving object, so all these little micro muscles and fibers are firing to sort of keep your balance. And you do that for an hour or so and you come back and people are like, they're all stiff in Here and they're core at the top of their thighs and all that. I'm like, how did that happen? You didn't do anything. It's like, yes, you did. But when you're wave surfing, it's a whole different thing. Because all that work to get out there and you're paddling, you got to put yourself in the right place. And then this burst of energy to match the speed of the wave so you can catch the wave and. And then you get this incredible moment or a few moments of effortless where the wave is projecting you and you're riding that energy. The thing is, the wave isn't the water moving, it's something that's below the surface of the water. It's moving through the water. And that's a really hard notion to get across to people when you're teaching them to ride away. Because they want to surf in the white water where the wave is already broken, because that's the obvious place where the energy is present. But that's not really where you surf. You really surf on the unbroken wave. So you're on the unbroken surface of the water. So you're surfing on the wave energy itself. And there you've probably heard of Lyrd Hamilton. You're doing all your research here. You know, he comes up in every book that has anything to do. Well, he created this thing where they ride a. It's basically a dolphin wave that they put on this. It's a metal fin that they put in the water and they ride it in the open ocean and they can ride it for like 15, 20 miles between islands in Hawaii. And it's just the force of the wave moving through the water. And they figured out a way to harness that with this, with this sort of wing fin shaped device that's in the water and you're standing up above it. And that really demonstrates how the wave is this force that moves through the water. Not, you know, it's not the water. It's kind of an interesting.

Genevieve Morgan:

Well, it's March in Maine and the water is still very cold. So you need a what, a 5 level 5 thickness wetsuit if you're gonna get out there.

David Turin:

Now that's kind of the beginning of our season is March. The water's the coldest. February, March.

Genevieve Morgan:

But summer's coming.

David Turin:

Yeah, summer's coming quickly.

Genevieve Morgan:

So how can people get in touch with you and join the surf camp or sign their kids up for the surf camp?

David Turin:

We have a website which is pretty active, surfcampme.com and that's the best way to reach us is to go there and shoot us an email through our contact page.

Genevieve Morgan:

And it's a week camp, so you can go for week segments.

David Turin:

Well, we do a week camp for kids from ages 9 to 15, and then we do lessons for any age over 8, really. And so adults usually want to come for a day or a couple of days, and then that's just a lesson, so we do that as well.

Genevieve Morgan:

That's great. Well, I would encourage anybody out there who's listening to contact David and go get wet this summer.

David Turin:

And, Genevieve, you're going to come this summer to increase that time on the wave from nanoseconds to seconds.

Genevieve Morgan:

Absolutely. It was a great experience. I wouldn't miss it.

David Turin:

Yeah.

Genevieve Morgan:

Thank you so much for being here.

David Turin:

Oh, it's my pleasure. Thanks for having me in.

Genevieve Morgan:

To read more about David Turin and his passion for surfing and the sea, Visit us@themainmag.com to read more about David's restaurant, pick up a current issue of the Maine magazine, our special food edition at a local newsstand near you.

Peter Ralston:

For.

Dr. Lisa Belisle:

as part of our Give Back segment on the Dr. Lisa Radio Hour and Podcast, for our oceans and islands themed show, we've invited Kelsey Hartley of Hartley Marine Services. She is the president and at age 28 and a female is in a very unique position. So we thought, not only does she do this, but there is the Ms. Harborfest that takes place in August every year, and there's a tugboat muster that I happened to be privileged to be part of last year on her tugboat. This is the reason we have Kelsey in here today.

Kelsy Hartley:

Thanks for having me.

Dr. Lisa Belisle:

Genevieve Morgan is sitting next to me.

Genevieve Morgan:

Hi, Kelsey. It's a pleasure.

Kelsy Hartley:

Nice to meet you, Dylan.

Dr. Lisa Belisle:

Kelsey, you are. Well, as I said, you're young, you're female. We had a conversation before we came on air about how relevant that is because not that many women do what you do. I mean, you're the president of a tugboat service operation.

Kelsy Hartley:

Yeah, my situation's, you know, Quite unique. I kind of fell into it, but, you know, chose to become part of this. But my. My dad started this company back in 1984. He passed away in 2007, and, you know, that was. That was a crazy summer for us. I didn't really know what I was doing at the time, so I jumped back into the company to be closer to him, to find a way to connect with him and realized that I loved it, and I loved all the people that were involved with it and have just been, you know, found a lot of satisfaction in being part of it.

Dr. Lisa Belisle:

We've been talking about the healing power of the ocean and the fact that this is one of the reasons we wanted to have this show. There's a few different reasons. I mean, we heal the ocean by being good to it from an environmental standpoint, but it also heals us. Did you find that to be so in your case?

Kelsy Hartley:

Yeah. I've traveled all over the place, and in my years of going to college and coming back, there's something about the waterfront, especially in Maine, that I cannot stay away from. I feel much more balanced here. I feel much more myself here. I go to the ocean for comfort. I go to the ocean for ideas. I don't know what it is exactly, but there is this kind of push and pull to it. I just feel better around it.

Dr. Lisa Belisle:

And your dad passed away suddenly?

Kelsy Hartley:

Yeah, he. He was a pilot. He had a Cherokee 6, and he was going to New York to. I think he was looking for an engine or a couple engines for one of our boats, and they hit a microburst, a huge storm, and didn't make it.

Dr. Lisa Belisle:

He was how old?

Kelsy Hartley:

He was 54, 53 at the time.

Dr. Lisa Belisle:

And you have a couple of younger sisters?

Kelsy Hartley:

Yes, I have two younger sisters. One is in college, and the other one has just recently moved back to Maine. So we're all back in Maine together.

Dr. Lisa Belisle:

So this must have been really challenging for your mother, who I think is a teacher.

Kelsy Hartley:

Yes, she's a teacher. She's an elementary school teacher. And, yeah, it was super challenging for everybody. We kind of have. Our family has a really strong work ethic, and so one of the ways we dealt with it was just to go right to work. And. And it's been interesting because just recently, I think we've started to kind of open up about how it affected us, which is, you know, four years later. So it's kind of a way that we're reconnecting as a family, too, is kind of looking at our experiences around the accident and how we've changed how it's changed us, how it's changed our path in life, and how it's brought us back together in a way.

Dr. Lisa Belisle:

Do you think that the people that work on the waterfront, in addition to the ocean being healing, do you think that the people that work with you and up and down the coast of Maine had an impact on your healing?

Kelsy Hartley:

Oh, yeah, definitely. That's one of the reasons that I think I'm really, really involved with the company is that there's a huge network of amazing people that are attached to it, and I've gone to them for strength just as much as I've gone to the end ocean, I think, and I think that the reason that they work in this industry. I don't know what the reason they work in this industry is, but I think there's something that's kind of all connected between working on the waterfront. You know, the types of characters that you see that do that. That's, you know, that's. That's where I find all my strength.

Dr. Lisa Belisle:

Now tell us about tugboats.

Kelsy Hartley:

Okay. Tugboats are awesome. When I started going to tug musters back in 2000.

Genevieve Morgan:

Kelsey, can you explain exactly what a tug muster is? Because I've never been to one.

Kelsy Hartley:

Oh, you'll have to go.

Genevieve Morgan:

They're lots of fun, and I didn't

Dr. Lisa Belisle:

know what they were until I went last year. Yeah, they are a lot of fun.

Kelsy Hartley:

They're a good time. Tug muster is part of the Ms. Society Harborfest, which will happen at the end of August. I think it's the third weekend, and it's in a few parts. There's a sailboat regatta, a poker run, and tug muster. Tug muster is for the tugboats. It's a day where they get together and play, which, you know, they're usually hardworking.

Genevieve Morgan:

Shoot the fire hoses at each other, essentially.

Kelsy Hartley:

Yeah, all of it. All of it. They do different demos of, you know, the capabilities, the tugs, and then they have things like tugboat races, pushing contests. There's a parade, and then there's just lots of barbecuing and kind of reminiscing of old tugboat stories. And it's a really good way to kind of bring the maritime community together for a day and, you know, play with all your competition and for a good cause. So we have a lot of fun.

Dr. Lisa Belisle:

Yeah, it was impressive to watch the tugboats kind of push up against each other. I mean, those are mammoth boats that are out there on the water.

Kelsy Hartley:

That's thousands and thousands of horsepower. So you'll see Portland harbor will just get churned up. The mud from the bottom is all over the harbor. It's great, but it's just. It's amazing to see that type of machinery play like that.

Dr. Lisa Belisle:

It's like.

Kelsy Hartley:

I don't.

Genevieve Morgan:

I don't know.

Dr. Lisa Belisle:

And it is nice to have that play element, because aren't the tugboats sort of the workhorses?

Kelsy Hartley:

Yeah, they really are. I mean, yeah, they get everything done. They're huge to industry. You know, they move a lot of product up and down the coast.

Dr. Lisa Belisle:

Now, I know that one of the things that has been important is to continue on the family tradition as far as just the company, but is this also the case with the Ms. Harborfest? Did you. You can keep doing this because this was something that was started before your dad passed it.

Kelsy Hartley:

Yeah, yeah, my dad started it. And for me, it's become kind of a celebration every year. You know, first of all, it's a great cause, and I love all the dynamics that's going on. It's bringing the maritime community together. It's fundraising for a horrible disease which everyone would love to see a cure for. But one part of it for me is to celebrate. We've gone through another year through bad economy and ups and downs, and. And it's just kind of like a, you know, a statement of, we're here, we're going to stay here, and we're going to get better and better every year.

Genevieve Morgan:

How can people come to Harborfest?

Kelsy Hartley:

So it's set up right in the harbor. The lobster boat races and tug muster and even this, you know, the sailboat regatta is going to be right in Portland harbor for the tugboat muster. The best place to see it is on the eastern promenade. So if you go set up, there's gonna be tents, and I think they're gonna have food. I know there's gonna be a 5k race this year. So essentially, draw everyone up the hill, and you can just kind of watch from there. And then right downtown in the harbor, too, you'll be able to kind of sneak out onto the piers and check things out.

Dr. Lisa Belisle:

And it's. The people who get to actually be on the tugboats are pretty special. I mean, I had to wear, like, a T shirt.

Kelsy Hartley:

Yeah, yeah, we have. My dad started a tradition with T shirts. He always loved T shirts. So for our crew, we tend to make up brightly colored shirts to kind of unify everyone. So for the day, everybody's part of Hartley Marine and, you know, part of the event, we've had turquoise and orange and green and pink one year, pink was the year that I decided to celebrate. You know, this is woman owned company. That was my statement and I don't think some of our guys appreciate it very much. They were good sports though. So I said no more paint. We'll do maybe like a salmon color sometime.

Dr. Lisa Belisle:

Well, I think this is a great thing that you continue to do in honor of your dad and also continue to work through. Well, work all the things that you need to do to run a company.

Kelsy Hartley:

Yeah, I learn every day. It's an amazing experience. It's such a rush every day. And yeah, I have a lot of great people helping me out and we

Dr. Lisa Belisle:

know that it's also the Ms. Harborfest people also appreciate what you do and you're an inspiration to me. When I heard your story last year and I had been on the tugboat, I didn't know that much about you and I heard your story and I thought, oh my gosh, this is a woman that people need to know more about. Which is why we invited you to be on the show. Thanks. Thank you very much.

Dr. Lisa Belisle:

This is Dr. Lisa Belisle. You have been listening to the Dr. Lisa Radio Hour and podcast show number 25, Oceans and Islands, airing for the first time on Sunday, March 4, 2012. Our show included Peter Ralston of the Ralston Gallery and formerly of the Island Institute, David Turin of David's Restaurant and owner of a local surf camp, and Kelsey Hartley of Hartley Marine services representing also the Ms. Harborfest. As we discussed living in Maine, we have the unique opportunity to be healed by a vast resource with which is the ocean. The ocean heals us in many ways. Not only does it have a saline content which is similar to our own blood plasma, but it provides an endless vista by which we may sit and observe things like sunrises. In addition, we find ourselves drawn to the people who walk along and work along the ocean waterfront. As Kelsey Hartley described. There's an entire population of people that we may not even realize exist working out there on the waters off the coast of Maine. Anyone who lives in Maine or has ever visited this state realizes how healing this big ocean is. And as one who has lived in Maine almost all of her life. I can certainly attest to this fact. We the Dr. Lisa Radio Hour and Podcast hope that you are inspired to visit the ocean on a regular basis and also to listen to more of our shows. We hope that you are downloading our show on itunes so that you may have it delivered to your inbox weekly. We hope that you'll give us feedback through our drlisabelisle.com website and that you will subscribe to our E newsletter through that same website. We'd really like to know what you think. We'd like to know how you are inspired and how you are healed. We'd like to know what future topics we may present for you. Thank you so much for listening to the Dr. Lisa Radio Hour and Podcast. This is Dr. Lisa Belisle. Thank you for being part of our world. May you have a bountiful life.

Peter Ralston:

Sam sa.