Mission accomplished Sunbeam couple sails final voyage of a 35-year career

loading...

As David Allen stood at the pilothouse port door aboard the Sunbeam V on Tuesday morning, he did something he has done thousands of times before.

Peering over the edge of the boat and manipulating controls mounted just inside the open door, he backed the flagship vessel of the Maine Sea Coast Mission away from the municipal pier in Northeast Harbor to begin a three-day trip to some of Maine’s more remote inhabited offshore islands.

Downstairs in the boat’s galley, his wife, Betty Allen, also followed a familiar routine. Coffee had been brewed and Betty already had a pot of what would become fish chowder cooking on the stove, and there were cartons of eggs and jugs of milk to put away. She piled the cartons in her arms and carried them off to make sure they were stowed safely before the boat might encounter any swells on its journey.

Neither David nor Betty, who married each other on Sunbeam IV in 1978, seemed to dwell on the fact that after more than three decades of service to the mission, this journey would be their last as captain and steward of the boat.

Robert Benson has been traveling to the offshore islands with the Allens for the past half-decade as pastor on the 75-foot-long Sunbeam, which helps provide ecumenical services and other social programs to Down East island residents who need them.

Benson said Tuesday that though the Allens were not preoccupied that morning with their pending retirement, it was on the minds of the islanders who have come to know them.

“Culturally, we all have trouble saying goodbye,” Benson said, standing in the boat’s main cabin, which serves as a place of worship, dining hall, painting classroom, or in whatever capacity is needed.

Benson pointed out that many islanders who first stepped onto the Sunbeam as youngsters 30 years ago now have children of their own. Some are grandparents and still have known only the boat with the Allens on board, he said.

“That’s pretty amazing,” Benson said. “It’s literally 21/2 generations of continuity.”

To show their gratitude to the Allens, schoolchildren on Isle au Haut brought thank-you cards to the couple Tuesday night, Benson said by phone Thursday. The next night at Matinicus, islanders brought homemade foods such as doughnuts and biscotti to the boat for a special after-dinner treat.

The Allens’ roles on the boat have been more than just captain and cook, according to mission officials. The close bonds they have established with islanders have been key to the continued success of the vessel’s mission. Whether it’s for a medical checkup, a prayer service, a few fresh-baked cookies or just a chat, each person who steps on board is welcomed less like a client or parishioner than as a good friend.

“They’ve earned their trust,” Benson said. “It’s a nice boat, but people don’t come on it other than to feel at home. They’ve been a huge part of that.”

David Allen, 68, acknowledged later Tuesday that being retired from the Sunbeam will take some getting used to. He started working on the boat in 1971 as an engineer, seven years before Betty took the steward’s job. David became captain within the first year on the boat.

“I’m going to miss the people on the islands,” he said, sitting in the pilothouse. “I’m looking forward to having some time off.”

Betty Allen, 71, said Tuesday that retiring has made her sad, but that she won’t miss the boat’s rigorous schedule. The couple recently moved into a renovated home in Somesville, where she plans to teach painting. They also hope to spend more time with family, to fly their Taylorcraft F-21 airplane to fly-ins around the country, and to travel to Alaska and the Caribbean.

“It’s not like we’ll retire to nothing,” she said. “One of the main things we’ll miss is the paychecks.”

She said her husband has always been dedicated to the boat.

“It’ll be the first time I’ve known David without the Sunbeam coming first,” she said. “Now I come first.”

As the vessel made the 13-mile journey Tuesday morning to Frenchboro, the sky was overcast and the ocean was calm, allowing a clear view of the islands, small mountains and coves that dotted the Sunbeam’s route.

But the Sunbeam doesn’t always travel in pleasant weather. The Allens said strong winds and rough seas on a trip earlier in February worried the boat’s crew, resulting in the boat turning around when it was halfway to Matinicus.

“I told Dave this is no way to end our career, with a bang to the bottom,” Betty said.

Many Frenchboro residents took advantage of school vacation week and were off-island during the Sunbeam’s short stay, resulting in only a few islanders venturing out into the cold to visit the boat. Those who did met privately with Sunbeam nurse Sharon Daley, who helps islanders connect with doctors through a videolink to the mainland, but they also took time to visit with the Allens.

“You doing anything today?” Frenchboro resident Randy Sawyer said loudly up the stairs to the pilothouse, where David Allen sat reading a copy of Uncle Henry’s. Michael Johnson, the boat’s engineer, sat nearby tying one end of an ice-resistant yellow rope into a loop to use on the Sunbeam’s cargo crane.

“Telling stories,” Allen said back down the stairs. “Telling lies.”

In the galley, Randy’s wife, Barbara Sawyer, chatted with Betty while Betty got ready to serve lunch.

“I’ll never see you again,” Sawyer said, giving Allen a hug.

Allen assured Sawyer she would, but Sawyer clarified her comment. She knows she’ll see Betty again, but it won’t be the same without Betty cooking cookies and dinners on the Sunbeam.

After lunch, the boat made the short trip to Swans Island, where more people came on board. The Rev. Ken Dutille, minister at the local Baptist church, was the first of several people to show up soon after the boat docked at a fishing pier in the island village of Minturn. While Dutille and others had coffee downstairs, three island boys climbed up to the pilothouse to marvel at the controls while the captain watched.

Island resident Donna Wiegle drove to the Sunbeam from her home on the far side of Burntcoat Harbor wondering if she might meet the Allens’ successors.

“Whoever it is, they have big shoes to fill,” she said as she made her way across a thick sheet of ice on the pier and onto the boat.

Dutille said Thursday that the Sunbeam visits are important for island residents, especially in winter when seasonal businesses are closed, ferry services reduce their number of trips, and there are fewer people around.

“It might not sound like a lot to someone on the mainland, but like a lot of islands we don’t have a restaurant where people can gather,” he said. “It really means a lot.”

David has been known to lend fishermen a hand with their chores or by breaking ice in the harbor, the minister said, while Betty always has time to listen.

“She has an ear to hear the problems and the stories,” Dutille said. “When you lose somebody that has been there for 35 years – I don’t want to say it’s like an old shoe – but you get comfortable.”

The Allens acknowledge that this Sunbeam trip was their last in their official roles but insist it may not be their last ever on the boat. They have told the mission that they would be willing to fill in if a crew member goes on vacation, they said.

Betty Allen, after getting back from Matinicus, said Thursday the return journey was smooth and uneventful. She said she was glad to be home and likely wouldn’t think about their transition for another couple of weeks.

“It won’t sink in until the next trip,” she said, when the Sunbeam goes out without them.