EASTPORT, Maine — December 22, 2013 — About 50-60 feet below the surface, the men stretch out just above the bottom and scoop scallops into a basket attached to the top of a long, cylindrical net.
The sun is rising above Campobello Island as the Shelby Lee and Drusilla L. and a skiff motor their way to the other side of the breakwater from their mooring.
The top half of the yellow sun is partly obscured by a cloud bank, and the bottom is not quite above the trees. The sun’s light creates a sliver of pink between the bluish clouds above and the tree line below.
It is a little after 7 a.m. Friday, and Paul Cox and the crew of the Shelby Lee and Jason Leighton and the crew of the Drusilla L. are getting ready to dive for scallops. It is chilly, although it is quite a bit warmer than the single digits and temperatures in the teens of earlier in the week.
With Cox, who lives in Edmunds, are his nephew, Brandon Cox of Edmunds, Charles Sinclair of Charlotte, and Ryan Priest of Dennysville.
Leighton is joined by his brother, Chris, co-owners of the boat and also nephews of Cox, and Matthew Seeley, all of Edmunds.
In a few minutes the boats are tied up side-by-side along the breakwater, and the two divers quickly finish putting on their scuba diving gear and are soon under water. Cox plunges in right next to the breakwater.
Read the full story and watch the video from The Bangor Daily News