Sailing Vacations
A Maine Windjammer

Good morning everyone. We just finished another wonderful week. The combination of natural history and photography is just great. I was amazed to see all the photos everyone had taken during the week. To see the coast from such diverse perspectives is inspiring. Sailing with our Audubon naturalists Erika and Ethan and photographer Jim Dugan is such a joy. They ply their craft with skill and passion. Jim will post some of his photos . This was a fairly amazing week all around. Lots of laughter, some very exciting sailing and lots of it, and beautiful weather despite the doom and gloom forecasts. While all of that was very heartening I was touched by the sight of a fledgling leaving the nest for his first solo flight. After a couple trips together Sawyer sailed off while we were anchored in Pulpit Harbor Friday evening. I was excited for him and remembered my first solo trips and how liberating they were. He got a little spook on one jibe when the rail dipped down. Nature comma

Good morning everyone. Al and I were talking back by the wheel yesterday about the hardship and deprivation associated with a windjammer vacation. I think it takes a very special person to endure the kind of treatment one is subjected to out here. Yesterday morning the captain did not let us get ashore. Instead we had to go sailing under the majestic 600 foot cliffs of Somes Sound, the only fjord on the East coast of the US. The captain is a little bit of a whacko. He enjoyed sailing right up to the edge of the cliffs and marveling at how deep the water remained. I guess that is one good thing about a fjord. We did not know which way to turn our heads for all the natural beauty around us and many had stiff necks from looking up. I wish they would get some new birds up here. All we ever see are bald eagles. Then the “old man” made us haul the yawl boat and sail out into the open ocean. He had all the sails set once again and the westerly breeze took us quickly offshore to see

Good morning everyone. Lots to report to you this week. We have had a very busy last few weeks as you might guess combined with a lack of technology to get the blog out to you. Thanks for your patience. Working backwards… we are presently anchored here in Southwest Harbor. Yesterday was just about the best sail of the season. A westerly wind carried us under the bridge and easterly through the Eggemmoggin Reach. The topmast cleared by just a few feet… quite exciting. The onshore breeze carried us across lower Blue Hill Bay and across the Bass Harbor Bar past the lighthouse with full sail set. The cameras were pointed in both directions as the scenery was just amazing. Having any scenery at all is a wonder after Monday’s fog which followed a very foggy last week. Some of you know we have been the platform for a sailing leadership academy for the fraternity Delta Tau Delta for the past 5 years. I am so pleased to be associated with these fine men and to see a fraternity so comm

Good morning everyone. We had quite the ride out of Blue Hill Bay yesterday. With the apparent wind around 35 knots steady we were thankful for the the deep reef in the main sail. We were just flying at 10.6 knots with the few sails we had set. In no time at all we were anchored in the village at Isle Au Haut. Isle Au Haut is one of my favorites. Sharing that anchorage with guests feels like real privilege. We had a couple hours to hike in the park and explore the village. The church there high above the harbor overlooks the Camden Hills. Inspiration is not difficult to find in the simple hardwood pews and stained glass windows. Coyotes have made their presence know there recently. Last Fall we saw one swim across the Thorofare. The deer are actually a sub-species of white tail that are genetically smaller from having evolved to the limited food supply the island affords. I have camped on Isle Au Haut many nights and cherish my sense of the place. Of course I fe

Good morning everyone. We are snuggled up here in a great cove just off of one of my favorite islands. We had a wonderful picnic here last evening after, what I can only call, a fitful day of sailing. The wind was all over the compass rose. At one point in the afternoon we were becalmed when only a hundred feet away we could see and hear the rush of the wind on the waves where it was blowing 20 knots. The schooner must have skidded a boat length sideways when the wind first hit and off we went at well over 9 knots like a race car that finally found fuel. And just as quickly we sailed out of it and had to push with the yawl boat again. So went our day, sail a little, push a little. Last nite we ate Mary's blueberry pie, read poetry by Ruth Moore and tried to find the North star, the cares of the day far astern. Today we appear to be blessed with lots of sun and a brisk northwest wind that promises to carry us out of Blue Hill Bay. We shall leave the mountains of

Good morning everyone. Wow what a couple of days we have had. Monday we left Camden and the heat behind. It was clear up into the 70s here in town and 80s further inland. This captain was more than happy to leave the humidity on shore. Something peculiar was in the air for everyone including the wildlife. I don't know if I will ever see it again but we sighted 18 razor billed auks and a puffin without leaving the bay. Generally these birds are seen offshore outside of the bay. Now I have seen one or two razor bills inside the bay but never this many with such consistency. The winds were light all day so we sailed right through dinner. The light was just phenomenal at sunset. Tuesday we enjoyed a very lively sail with the wind southeast which blew us back through Merchant Row and up here to the head of Eggemoggin Reach. Fog was thick so we may have to get back to Merchant Row to enjoy it in the clearer weather but the fog does lend a certain mystical whimsie t

Good morning everyone, We are anchored up here in Mackerel Cove, Swan's I for the first time this year. We arrived to see the "Earl of Swan's" standing on his porch waving. I had sent him a packet this winter and never heard back so I was a little nervous about the possibilities. Just 26 days shy of his 91st birthday I don't believe Earl plans very far ahead. He was quite pleased to see us and granted his permission to let us anchor in his sunset view. He sent a very full bouquet of lilacs back for Mary. Guests that visited Earl with me found him as charming as could be and left him with big hugs from the ladies. Earl just grinned. So this is a lighthouse cruise short though it may be. With a toad soaker of a forecast for Wednesday we were very surprised to see the wall of rain pass north and south but leave us largely alone until the days end. With the wind easterly all this time we have been hard pressed to see too many lighthouses. Curt