Camden, Maine adapts to new climate realities - WCVB Boston

Camden, Maine adapts to new climate realities

Camden, Maine begins to adapt to new climate realities along the coast

This winter, harsh storms and unusual warm weather have both upended the town's mainstays.

Updated: 8:20 PM EST Feb 26, 2024

WITH THE MAINE COAST AT THE TIME. YOLO MEANS YOU ONLY LIVE ONCE AND ESCAPING THE CAMDEN TOBOGGAN CHUTE WAS BUILT IN THE 1930S, AND IT’S STILL THE ONLY ONE IN THE WORLD. THE NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS CAME ALONG IN 1991. IT STARTED AS A LARK, JUST A WAY TO HAVE FUN. IT’S BEEN GOING STRONG, HIGHER AND STRONGER EVERY SINGLE YEAR, ALL THE WAY DOWN AND COME RIGHT BACK. HOLLY ANDERSON, DIRECTOR OF THE CAMDEN SNOW BOWL, THE COMMUNITY OWNED SKI AREA THAT HOSTS THE TOBOGGAN CHAMPIONSHIPS. OVER 50% OF OUR RACERS COME FROM OUT OF STATE, AND THAT IS 400 TEAMS, WHICH EQUATES TO ABOUT 1200 RACERS AND IT’S A HUGE ECONOMIC DRIVER FOR THE COMMUNITY. THAT PUTS THEM FIRMLY IN 75TH PLACE. BUT THE LAST FEW YEARS HAVE BEEN A BUMPY RIDE. FIRST CAME COVID, THEN LAST YEAR WARM WEATHER MADE THE ICE ON HOSMER POND UNSAFE. IN FACT, WEIRD WEATHER IS TOP OF MIND AROUND THESE PARTS LATELY WITH ITS ROCKY COASTLINE AND BOLD CLIFFS, MAINE WOULD SEEM TO BE WELL ARMORED AGAINST THE THREAT OF RISING SEAS. BUT MAINE HAS BEEN WALLOPED BY A SERIES OF RECENT STORMS, A WAKE UP CALL TO THOSE HERE ON THE COAST THAT THERE’S NO SUCH THING ANYMORE AS A SAFE HARBOR. AND I JUST REMEMBER WALKING DOWN HERE, EVERYTHING WAS FROZEN, AND I AND I JUST SAID, YOU KNOW, IT’S A HORROR SHOW THAT BECAUSE THAT’S WHAT IT FELT LIKE. ANOTHER STORMY MORNING ALONG THE MAINE COAST, OCEAN STORMS IN JANUARY RAVAGED THE MAINE COASTLINE. THE STATE’S SECOND FEDERAL DISASTER DECLARATION IN AS MANY MONTHS MARK ENGLISH’S WATERFRONT WRITERS SHACK WAS TOTALLY UPENDED ALONG WITH HIS PLANS FOR THE FUTURE. THIS IS MY WRITING AND ART STUDIO, WHERE I THOUGHT I’D BE SPENDING THE NEXT 20 YEARS DOING MY WORK IN ENGLISH, A GRAPHIC DESIGNER AND FORMER EMPLOYEE AT CHANNEL FIVE HAD JUST ABOUT FINISHED A MULTI YEAR RENOVATION. I DON’T USE THE WORD PERFECT BECAUSE I DON’T REALLY BELIEVE IN PERFECTION, BUT IN A WAY THIS WAS PERFECT. I MEAN, LOOK AT THAT VIEW, IT’S PERFECT. BUT IT’S IT’S CATTYWAMPUS ENGLISH WHO WINTERS IN TEXAS ISN’T SURE WHAT HIS NEXT STEP WILL BE ADAPTING TO THE NEW CLIMATE REALITIES ALONG THE MAINE COAST ARE FOR THE MOMENT, TOO COSTLY. NO ONE HAS FLOOD INSURANCE IN THE COAST OF MAINE. IT’S JUST EXORBITANT IN PRICE. DID IT WIPE OUT SOME DREAMS? ABSOLUTELY. WE IT’S CRUSHING. IT’S HEARTBREAKING. IT’S ALL THE WORDS THAT YOU CAN THINK OF. BUT CERTAINLY FOR MYSELF, I THINK THERE’S GOT TO BE A DEGREE OF STOICISM TO JUST LIKE, OKAY, LET’S MOVE ON. OKAY. MOVING ON TO THE HIGHER GROUND. YOU’RE READY IF YOU’RE READY TO PUT LEGS ON LITTLE SHOULDERS, GO FOR IT. A FULL DRESS REHEARSAL SHOOT, COMPLETE WITH COACH AND SIMULATOR RACING SOUND. WE’VE COME TO THE HEADQUARTERS OF THE CAMDEN COMETS. AN ALL WOMEN’S TOBOGGAN TEAM STARTED BY TAMMY AMADEI. MY INTEREST IN STARTING A TOBOGGAN TEAM HAPPENED WHEN I FIRST MOVED UP HERE AND WANTED TO MEET SOME REALLY COOL WOMEN, A NATIVE OF MONTANA, TAMMY WAS NO STRANGER TO SNOW SPORTS, BUT THIS WAS A NEW ONE FOR HER AND THAT’S WHAT MAKES THIS SO VERY UNIQUE IS WHAT THEY DO UP HERE WITH A TOBOGGAN. DO YOU TELL? WHAT DO THEY DO UP HERE WITH A TOBOGGAN? WELL, THEY RUN THEM DOWN ICY CHUTES AT 40 MILES AN HOUR. FOR STARTERS. AND THAT HAS YOUR REPORTER FEELING A LITTLE NERVOUS ABOUT GIVING IT A TRY. YOU LOOK UP THE HEAVENS AND YOU SMILE. YOU START LAUGHING. THERE’S THIS INSTANT RELEASE AND YOU SAY, OH MY GOSH, REALLY? THIS REALLY HAPPENED. WE DID THIS AND YOU CLIMB BACK UP AND DO IT AGAIN. ARE. THIS YEAR’S CAMDEN COMETS ARE A MIX OF FIRST TIMERS AND SEASONED VETS, RANGING FROM AS FAR AWAY AS SOUTH CAROLINA AND INCLUDING A 70 YEAR OLD LOCAL LOBSTER WOMAN. SO TELL ME ABOUT THIS COATING, THIS SPECIAL WAX. SO THIS IS THE SECRET SAUCE, AND I’M NOT GOING TO TELL YOU ANYTHING ABOUT MY SECRET SAUCE, BECAUSE WHY WOULD I WOULDN’T BE A SECRET ANYMORE. TAMMY SKILLFULLY SIDESTEPS MY QUESTION, BUT LETS SLIP A TELLING DETAIL AND WE HAVE THE FULL SUPPORT OF THE, UH, CHEMICAL ENGINEERING DEPARTMENT AT RICE UNIVERSITY. THEY’RE FOLLOWING US AS WELL. ALL OF THIS EMPHASIS ON SPEED DOES LITTLE TO CALM THIS. FIRST TIMERS NERVES. IT IS GOING TO BE JOYFUL. OH, IT’S GOING TO BE ORGASMIC. THE HEAVENS ARE GOING TO OPEN UP ORGASMIC. BUT BEFORE I KNOW WHAT’S HAPPENED, I’M STRAPPED UP AND WEDGED IN SNUGLY BETWEEN MY BRAND NEW FRIENDS, JOSH AND FRANK. THIS IS QUITE A MY DOWNFALL. IMMINENT. ALL RIGHT, WE’RE READY TO GO. OKAY, SO IT LOOKED LIKE THERE WAS SOME REAL FEAR THERE. THERE WAS REAL FEAR THERE. THAT WAS NO JOKE. THAT WAS THE REAL DEAL. TAMMY KEPT TELLING ME STORIES OF VIOLENT SPINOUTS AND CRASHING INTO ROCKS. AND TO MAKE SURE THAT I WAS PROPERLY HAD THE PROPER GEAR ON ELBOW PADS AND KNEE PADS AND A HELMET. SO PRIOR TO GOING DOWN THE CHUTE, I LITERALLY WAS THINKING, WHAT HAVE I GOTTEN MYSELF INTO? WE’LL SEE. I AM OKAY, AS YOU CAN SEE, BUT YEAH, THERE WAS FEAR MORE TO COME AND THAT WAS REAL. A LITTLE BIT OF SCREAMING TOO. THERE’S A LITTLE BIT OF SCREAMING. YES, COMING UP F

Camden, Maine begins to adapt to new climate realities along the coast

This winter, harsh storms and unusual warm weather have both upended the town's mainstays.

Updated: 8:20 PM EST Feb 26, 2024

The last few years at the U.S. National Toboggan Championships have been a bumpy ride. First came COVID-19, and then in 2023, warmer weather made the ice on Hosmer Pond unsafe. In fact, weird weather has been top of mind around Maine lately. Maine has been walloped by a series of recent storms. A wake-up call to those on the coast, there's no such thing as a "safe harbor." Marc English is a graphic design artist based in Texas. He also wears a mean hat. English is no stranger to the recent climate changes - January's ocean storms completely upended his writer's shack, along with his plans for the future. The Camden Comets are an all-women’s toboggan team. They are already working on next year’s toboggans. 2024's Camden Comets are a mix of first-timers and seasoned vets, ranging from as far away as South Carolina and includes a 74-year-old local lobsterwoman.

CAMDEN, Maine —

The last few years at the U.S. National Toboggan Championships have been a bumpy ride. First came COVID-19, and then in 2023, warmer weather made the ice on Hosmer Pond unsafe. In fact, weird weather has been top of mind around Maine lately.

Maine has been walloped by a series of recent storms. A wake-up call to those on the coast, there's no such thing as a "safe harbor." Marc English is a graphic design artist based in Texas. He also wears a mean hat. English is no stranger to the recent climate changes - January's ocean storms completely upended his writer's shack, along with his plans for the future.

The Camden Comets are an all-women’s toboggan team. They are already working on next year’s toboggans. 2024's Camden Comets are a mix of first-timers and seasoned vets, ranging from as far away as South Carolina and includes a 74-year-old local lobsterwoman.