Thursday, September 4 was a clear, beautiful day in Boothbay Harbor — a perfect day to be out on the water. More than 50 veterans and many volunteers met at Tugboat Inn at 9:30 a.m. for a cruise spearheaded by Jim Henderson for veterans with disabilities.

“There were at least 80 people total, including all the veterans and the volunteers,” Henderson said.

Local boat owners volunteered their time and vessels to take the veterans out for a four-hour (give or take) cruise, which went through the harbor and across the Sheepscot, passed Burnt Island and Ram Island, and around Southport.

Once they returned, a cookout was held on the dock. Volunteer cooks included Nick Upham, Ben Kaler and Harley Campbell. Mary Kaler also volunteered, as did her son, Sam Kaler, who provided appetizers free of charge for the captain's meeting held the night before.

The boats and captains were Bruce White, HayVal; Rusty Court, Casey Anne; Larry Knapp, Lady Esther; Mark Stover, Red Hook; George McEvoy, Nellie G II and Northern Ranger; Corey Pottle, Patricia Sue II, Ryan Casey, Northern Lights; Doug Goldhirsch, Avelinda, and Billy Hallinan, Apparition II.

Several of the captains pointed out local landmarks as the boats toured the harbor. On Captain Rusty Court's boat, landmarks included local lobster buying places (such as Atlantic Edge, the Sea Pier, and the Lobster Dock) and lobster buoys. Court also pointed out local homes of note along the route, and identified the islands the boats passed. He also spoke to his group about his 45 years of lobstering.

Three of the veterans on the cruise who rode the Casey Anne were Jen Howes, Kathleen Lyons and Mark Scott. Howes was a veteran of Somalia, where she served with the Army as an ammunition specialist.

“I loaded ammo that weighed 120 pounds up a ladder into this gun. At the time I think I weighed 120 pounds,” Howes said. The work caused her to break both her lower back and hip, injuries that went undiagnosed for several years and have left her on permanent disability. Howes brought her father, Pat Howes, along on the cruise.

Lyons served with the army as well, for four years in Germany as a communications expert.

“There were three of us on the team, we were all women,” Lyons said. “We moved from mountaintop to mountaintop making sure communications were working.”

With Lyons was her driver, Al Fornier. Lyons needs a driver because she's had several surgeries on her wrist.

“If it wasn't for Al, I don't know what I'd do,” Lyons said. “Because of him, I've never been late to a doctor's appointment or event. He's been very good to me.”

The last veteran on the boat (other than Coast Guard veteran Rusty Court) was Mark Scott, who was in the Air Force and fought in the Vietnam War.

“It was our job to keep the north Vietnamese from traveling through Laos,” Scott said. “And at that time, we didn't know how angry the United States was about the war. We were cut off.”

“When I came back I was walking through the San Francisco airport in my uniform and somebody called out ‘how you doing, baby killer?’ It hurt. We learned not to wear our uniforms.”

“Now, things are different,” Scott said. “People are against wars, but support the troops anyways. People thank us for our service. Things are much better now.”

As the boats pulled back into the marina at Tugboat, the veterans were all talking about the wonderful experience and how they hoped it would be repeated next year.

“I will be doing this again,” said Henderson. “It grew very complicated but I now have a network of names and phone numbers I can use which will make it much easier.”

“When this was being planned, every person I talked with connected me with another person. The idea just kept growing.”

The one change they are thinking of making next year is passing out sunscreen samples.

Local businesses who donated included Andrew's Harborside, Baker's Way, Red Cup Coffeehouse, Blue Moon Cafe, Ebb Tide, Olivers, China by the Sea, Coastal Maine Popcorn, Thistle Inn, McSeagulls, Kaler's, T-shirts By The Bay and Shaw's.

Special thanks go to Bonnie Stover and the Tugboat Inn, Alan Baldwin of Fisherman's Wharf, Betty Maddocks of Janson's Clothing, Sheila Sawyer of the Larrabee Agency, Harbor Embroidery, The Boothbay Region Chamber of Commerce, and many personal donors and volunteers that helped make this day happen.