Wooden Boat Rendezvous

Good morning everyone. We have had an awesome last few days. Tuesday we sailed in to the home of Wooden Boat magazine and the Wooden Boat School alog with the rest of the fleet. There were a dozen of the windjammers present. The rains just poured all night long but we were cozy by the fire under the awnings. There was even a brief brake in the rain, enough for a small fireworks display to put an end to a great day.

The wind swung around to the west and blew hard yesterday. We tucked
a deep reef in the main and along with the rest of the fleet flew up
and down Blue Hill Bay. The wind gusted to 30 knots at times and
with just 3 lower sails we were still clipping along, at times
exceeding 10 knots. We anchored here in "lobster cove" for an
evening picnic ashore. The stars last night were just phenomenal.
One of the guests brought a laser pointer and she was able to give us
a tour of the constellations.

I read some poetry from the islands by
my favorite Maine writer, Ruth Moore. The loons were our alarm clock
this morning with a half dozen diving and calling at sunrise. What a
joy to hear such an ancient sound. A bald eagle perched atop an oak
tree took flight after an osprey and the two danced in the air for
several minutes before the osprey disappeared over the island. I
went for a run ashore and saw 5 deer in a meadow. The first crimson
touches of autumn are tipping the leaves of the maples.

Have a great day. Be well. Do good. Have mercy.

Photos by Neil Parent.

Comments

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...

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A Golden Windjammer Anniversary

Happy Birthday Mary Day! 50 years ago today Mary Day slid out of the shed at the Harvey F. Gamage Shipyard in South Bristol, Maine marking the beginning of a whole new chapter in the history of the windjammer fleet. The Gamage yard had not launched a schooner since 1933 and Mary Day was the first commercial coasting schooner launched since 1938. That also makes her the first commercial coasting schooner launched in the second half of the 20th century and the first schooner ever launched for the windjammer passenger trade. There may be a few more firsts in there but that doesn't really matter. What is most important about this celebration is the fact that Mary Day was launched today and began her career touching the lives of thousands of people. This schooner was built by people, for people and has never done anything else but bring joy to peoples lives. She has become a legendary windjammer here along the Maine coast as part of the largest fleet of commercial coasting schooners...

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