The latest news about Maine lakes and ponds.

Tourism Drying Up - Summer One of the Wettest Ever.

August 06, 2008 - This is the summer that Portland Schooner Co. was supposed to break even, allowing the owners to draw a salary for the first time since the company started seven years ago.

Day after day of dreary weather, pounding rain and menacing clouds put an end to that plan. Even on the rare day when weather is good enough for a sail, people don't believe that it will stay that way, said Scott Reischmann, one of the company owners.

"They aren't even thinking about sailing. It's not even part of the conversation," he said. "The mood is very down."

A few blocks away on Congress Square, it's another story. About 3,000 paying customers walked through the doors of the Portland Museum of Art last weekend.

Museums often have trouble sorting out whether the weather helps or hurts attendance, said Tom Denenberg, the museum's acting director and chief curator.

"Here it is quite clear: Rain is good for business," he said.

Up and down the Maine coast this summer, the weather has produced both winners and losers in the tourist trade.

Campground owners, boardwalk vendors and outdoor guides are finding that Maine loses some appeal when a rain poncho is the standard apparel.

Museums, outlet stores and movie theaters, however, are reaping the rewards that go along with having a roof.

"Everybody likes to shop when it's raining," said Carolyn Beem, a spokesperson at L.L. Bean. She reports that the Freeport store has been busy this summer despite a slow economy.

Of course, people who have put down a deposit on a hotel or summer home aren't about to change their plans. Hotels on the water, such as the Waves Oceanfront Resort in Old Orchard Beach, have been full this summer, said Donald Haggett, director of sales for Lafayette Hotels, which has 18 hotels in Maine.

He said the hotels that are suffering are the ones that are away from water and cater to impulse travelers who might decide to skip a trip to Maine because of the weather forecast.

The statistics tell the story.

Since June 1, Portland has received 4.6 more inches of rain than normal, according to the National Weather Service.

For the year, Portland has received 34 inches of rain. If the city gets 3 more inches by the end of the August -- likely to happen over the next week -- this will be the ninth-wettest year since record-keeping began 137 years ago.

"It's getting impressive," said John Cannon, a senior forecaster at the National Weather Service in Gray. "It's not going to take too many of these good soakers to catapult us to one of the wettest years ever."

The stormy weather pattern looks like it will continue for at least two more weeks, said Tom Hawley, a meteorologist with the weather service.

He said there will be rain today -- heavy at times in parts of Maine -- and more rain through the weekend.

"We don't see any evidence of the pattern breaking," he said.

"You're kidding?" asked Barbara Whitten, president of the Portland Convention and Visitors Bureau, when informed of the forecast.

Reischmann was even more blunt.

"Oh, my God," he said.

Ann Speers of Portland, who is entertaining her parents this week, took them on a schooner ride Wednesday. She said she wasn't worried about the dark clouds looming to the south.

"It's Maine," she said. "You learn to love what you get."

By TOM BELL, Staff Writer, Portland Press Herald, August 6, 2008


Lakes:
Regions:


Print this story

Email this story

return to Lake News