On Sun, 2 Nov 2008 06:49:16 -0500, "Roger Long"
wrote:

The Coast Guard says surge from a storm at sea but I give that no creedance.
The effects would be over a much larger area or these events would be more
common. My guess would be a large but slow underwater slide of bottom
sediments that didn't create much seismic vibration but sucked the water
down. It's still early though and more widespread damage reports may come
in. The geologists may also look back and find an event they would have
overlooked if not for the land reports.

I would conjecture that something like a large meteorite hitting the
water offshore could create a similar effect. The successive waves
of high and low water would be the outward spreading rings from the
impact, similar to that created by a stone thrown into the water. The
outer approaches to Boothbay Harbor may have served to focus and
intensify the waves in some way.