The Carol Marie steams into Stage Harbor with her catch. Photo by Christine Walsh Sanders Photography.
Stage Harbor has been a working waterfront for close to 300 years and has always had a big role in the history and the success of the town.
Over the years, its personality has changed with different fisheries, but it has always been a trap dock at heart, with weir fishermen bringing in their catch. In 2016 it was sold by the Eldredge family to the town of Chatham with the understanding that it would forever be used as a commercial dock.
As the shoals build in and around Aunt Lydia’s Cove the dock at Stage Harbor has taken on added importance and is often a busy place with fishermen bringing in their catch.
The harbor and its historic, funky dock have always been beautiful and Christine Walsh Sanders has captured that beauty in these images.
Captain Scott MacAllister, right, and his mate, Raphael Rabin, unload a bunch of skate.
Stage Harbor dock decked out in Old Glory.
Captain Scott MacAllister often works with a skeleton crew.
Commercial fishing vessels share the harbor with the Coast Guard and sail boats.
Children take sailing lessons at the yacht club that neighbors the trap dock.
A lot of fisheries depend on Stage Harbor, here Captain Dave Mallows works on his lobster boat.
Bob Doane hoists his catch up onto the dock.
With the town’s purchase of the trap dock, commercial fishing should continue to define the character of Stage Harbor.