Sailing Lighthouse Fundraiser

Good Morning Everyone. A beautiful 1st day of February. 6 degrees and overcast with the promise of warmer temps today. There is not much snow cover here and we have noticed that the deer are scraping away patches in the field to feed on the grass. We might get a little snow here the next few days. People often ask what we do for ourselves for vacation. Well…we don’t…. vacation that is. This schooner thing keeps us right to the grind stone most all the year round and to leave the office for a few days just leaves us feeling behind the 8 ball. So we grab little 2 day escapes and long weekends here and there. The kids have Friday off from school so we figured this would be as good a time as any. So we’ll head off to our favorite place to ski, Sugarloaf USA. We’ll get a chance to visit friends and Jen’s godparents kindly offer a place to sleep. Things have been some wicked busy in the office this last week and a half. I am ready to get out and stir.

I did want to tell you that we have added an additional lighthouse cruise to our schedule, May 31-June 3, 2007. We are very excited to be offering this special Lighthouse fundraiser for the Maine Lighthouse Museum (MLM) and the American Lighthouse Foundation (ALF). So here’s the shameless pitch: Set sail for 4 days aboard the schooner Mary Day and help raise funds to celebrate the collaboration of the American Lighthouse Foundation and the Maine Lighthouse Museum. This historic merger creates the largest lighthouse museum in the nation, a museum not just about the past but dedicated to preserving the future of these national treasures. Lighthouse historian Ted Panyatoff, the author of a book about the Rockland Breakwater Light, will be aboard to share his wealth of technical knowledge as well as his vast collection of stories about the men and women who created and manned these coastal sentinels, saving lives and allowing commerce to flourish. This will be a time to see lighthouses and share their stories from the decks of an authentic Maine schooner, just as the light keepers would have seen a hundred years ago. A portion of the proceeds from this cruise will be donated to the ALF/MLM to support the important work they are doing. Everyone will receive a complimentary pass to the museum, which is a “must see” destination while you are here. Help us support the Maine Lighthouse Museum and the American Lighthouse Foundation during this fun filled 4 day sailing cruise on Penobscot Bay. For more information about the schooner Mary Day visit www.SchoonerMaryDay.com. Learn about the American Lighthouse Foundation and the Maine Lighthouse Museum at www.LighthouseFoundation.org and www.MaineLighthouseMuseum.com.

So pass along the word about this special event if you know anyone that might be interested. In the meantime, have a great day. Be well. Do good.

Any know which lighthouses are pictured here? Answers for the curious coming tomorrow.

Hail Mary

My heart is heavy with sadness as I write this particular blog. Since the beginning of August our dear friend and cook for the last 12 years, Mary Barney, had been struggling with cancer. I have intentionally respected Mary’s privacy and I apologize to you for not sharing any news about Mary’s health sooner. On Monday afternoon Mary passed away very peacefully at home, surrounded by friends and “family”. Her departure was as graceful as the rest of her life. Many people, including Jen, have been doing heroic work to support Mary these last few weeks. Oddly enough Mary was never very excited about transitions though this was about the fastest transition she ever made. And as I struggle to let go of Mary I realize I am terrible with transitions as well. We used to joke about how we liked things just the way they are, thank you very much, so why change what is working already even if it might be less labor intensive. Hard works is its own reward. I used to joke about getting Mary a Cui

Fall Maintenance

Good morning everyone. The sun has been kind to us these past few days and the crew has been spending much time aloft prepping and painting the mast heads and tarring the rig as part of our annual fall maintenance schedule. They were a little silly on tar fumes by the end of the day hence the rat board dance moves. Am I the only one who is reminded of Willy Wonka's little friends at the sight of the crew in their tyvek suits? Schoona-loompas? The smell of tar, after all, is what we sailors live for. Extracted from the stumps and roots of pine trees through dry distillation pine tar will cure what ails you especially some skin conditions and any emotional maladies from being too long away from the sea. All we know for sure is that Mary Day’s rigging is kept hail and hearty by coats of tar mixed with boiled linseed oil. Notice that I specified boiled linseed oil and not raw linseed oil. Tar mix with raw linseed oil will not “kick”. Don’t ask me how I know this… just take my wo

Oh Captain, Oh Captain, Please Don't Rumba!

Good morning everyone. Another 6” of snow fell this weekend and we took a few hours to enjoy the wonders of winter here in New England skiing in the woods. The full Wolf Moon on Saturday causing astronomical high tides plus a 1’ tidal surge brought by the low pressure system meant we had tides over the bulkhead in Camden. At low tide just the opposite happens and the tides dip well below normal. I was able to step to the docks from the beach and get aboard the schooner on Friday after work and all was well. I had an interesting email this morning from a wonderful gentleman looking for a vacation to replace a now defunct “windjammer” sailing experience that formerly sailed in the Caribbean. He sent us a very humorous swashbuckling note, complete with colorful pirate party images, wondering if we might be able to fill the void, complete with canons and limbo parties and would the captain be leading the rumba line? I regretted to tell him that we probably did not offer the booty he was

Jeff Sagel said…

Very nice articles. I will link you to my independent Maine Windjammer blog which is growing quickly. My site is at mainecoastwindjam.blogspot .com

February 2, 2007 at 7:34 AM

Anonymous said…

Great to hear. My wife and I are planning on sailing with you in September on one of the lighthouse cruises. we are active in our neck of the woods with lighthouses. we are members of the Great Lakes Historical Society. The company that I work for has donated money and material to restore the lighthouse in Lorain,Ohio Norbert and Sharon Stager

February 7, 2007 at 4:28 PM

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