On the warmest day of February, with the fog lifting, Captain Bill Wanzer stands in his floating office atop the Machigonne II. Itâs his first run of the day out to Peaks.
âThis morning in the fog was pretty challenging, visibility and weather is a big challenge,â he tells me as the last of the morningâs fog is burning off. âSafety is our top priority.â
Bill started with Casco Bay Lines 28 years ago as a deckhand. He was trying to stay out of âmischiefâ while living on Peaks Island as a merchant sailor. Over the years, he worked his way up to Captain â an integral member of our crew. Heâs humble though. And even though heâs quiet at first, heâs clearly a funny guy. So instead of taking credit for his accomplishments he describes it like this: when you start as a deck hand, they give you a bunch of marbles, when youâve lost all of your marbles, you become a captain.
Like all Casco Bay Lines captains, he can pilot every boat, so he travels all over Casco Bay throughout the week on our different runs and cruises, meeting islanders and visitors from all over the place. Itâs the peopleâyoung and oldâhe says who make Casco Bay such a special place to live and work.
Bill married an island girl and tells me that, even though he loves all of the islands for their totally unique identities, heâs especially partial to Great Diamond because thatâs where sheâs from.
Over the years, heâs seen a lot of island kids grow up, get married, move away, and, in some cases, come back to Casco Bay. He jokes that Parker, a Casco Bay Lines deckhand who grew up on Great Diamond Island, was a âterrible pain when he was a kid, a bundle of energy,â but heâs turned into a great adult. Young people, like Parker, make the place happen, Bill says.
âThere are a lot of moments,â he answers with a chuckle when asked what makes Casco Bay Lines special. And based on his stories, he has seen it allâfrom couples getting married on the Bay Mist to families heading to say their final goodbyes to loved ones.
For Billâand for a lot of us here at Casco Bay Linesâthe best part of the job is getting to be part of these moments and part of the Casco Bay Lines community âseeing families come back year after year, watching kids grow up, and building connections with our riders.
While you canât always see Bill, or our other captains, as they steer the ship, you can rest assured that while youâre headed down the bay with your family, or hopping over to Peaks for a picnic lunch, heâs got everything under control. And you can focus on creating new memories and enjoying some of those moments that Bill takes such pride in.
From time to time on our blog weâll be featuring stories of our fantastic crew to highlight their different roles, personalities, and connection to Casco Bay, our customers and our ferry line. If you have a particular staff member who you feel should be highlighted here, feel free to reach out to us!