Sailing Vacations
A Maine Windjammer

Good morning everyone. Well it has been another very busy week here. After a whirlwind 24 hour shipyard event we rolled straight into school vacation week and painting topsides. The weather here the last few weeks has been just extraordinary. Sunny dry days with temperatures up into the 70s... is this really spring in Maine??? The crew spent 3 days massaging the topside planking and the results really show. They pushed really hard on Wednesday working late painting the beige and white on the bulwarks. Thursday was a very full day painting the topsides. On Friday the crew prepped and painted the bowsprit, and the yawl boat "gallows" along with its beige strong back. But wait there's more! Training is a huge part of what we do this time of year. The crew will know this boat inside and out by the time they are done getting her ready to sail. This weekend, for the first time, we taught a first-aid course specifically geared for windjammers. The crews from the windjamm...

Good morning everyone. We launched the schooner yesterday on the tide (1 hour before high tide, that is). All went well on the trip back to Camden. We are grateful to have had Mary's smiling face gracing our yard period. She even brought the brownies! This was a quick yard period for us. Normally we might spend a few days in the yard but the forecast for rain (which was wrong by the way) drove us to work by lamplight late into Friday evening and raise the sun yesterday morning. Pre-planning was critical. The crew had already painted the majority of the water line area and the green boot stripe so minimal staging was required saving hours of time. The great deal of work we have done in years past allowed us to take a little less time as well. The return trip to Camden provided the opportunity to review the "station bill", crew duties in the event of any kind of emergency. We even did a man overboard drill as we motored past Curtis I Light. Sara and Alex recovered ...

Good Morning! This week is or was a major turning point for us. Weeks or I should say months, have been spent sanding and painting, sanding and varnishing. You get gritty, you get covered in paint. The crew wonders if there is an end. We just keep reittering the words, be patient, it will be over, we will be sailing soon…..just keep painting! The weather this past week seemed unreal. Temps were in the 60’s! The snow has finally melted and the ice on the lakes have gone. People were out golfing and fishing on the lakes. We took off the cover and launched three boats….signs of winter times are finally gone! By taking off the cover and going for a ride in the yawl boat was the refreshing breeze for our wings to keep us flying thru this busy time of fit out. From taking off the cover and launching boats on Tuesday, we went right into yard prep. The waterline was prepped and painted and the Mary Day was turned around ready for the early departure to the yard. Early Friday morning we slipp...

Good morning everyone. The weather this week has been just beautiful and we have “made hay.” The Michelin team came to tar the rig on Monday. Cabin houses were painted Tuesday and Wednesday. The reflection of the cover in the mirror finish was amazing. Topsides have been sanded from the cover skirt down including the green boot stripe. You will notice the vacuum attached to the sanders. Alex and Jeb sanded the Velcro right off the disc! Even the “dumpsters”, those deck storage areas above the main saloon were sanded and painted. It is all looking great. The crew has been putting in some very long days and we are grateful for their hard work. Have a great day. Be well. Do good.

Good Morning! It's one last time to boil sap! The barrels are overflowing and we're getting busy down at the boat. With all this great syrup that we harvested it's only fitting to share a maple syrup recipe. This is one of Captain Barry's (and Captain-in-training, Sawyer's) favorite! Enjoy! Mary's Baked Beans 2 cups dried navy beans, soak overnight in water 3 garlic cloves, chopped 1 cup chopped onions 1/2 cup barbecue sauce 1/4 cup mustard 1/4 cup maple syrup 1 T cider vinegar Tobasco hot sauce, optional, to taste, (Captain's favorite part, "the hotter the better!") salt & pepper to taste Drain navy beans and mix with garlic and onions in a large soup pot. Cover with water with an inch above mixture. Bring to a boil. Lower the heat, cover and simmer for about 1 1/2 hours until soft. Add water to the pot as needed to maintain the inch above mixture level while cooking. When beans are soft, drain and stir in barbecue sauce, mustard, maple syru...

Good Afternoon! It’s another beautiful day in the New England state of Maine, rain mixed with snow showers. The robins must be thinking twice about arriving back so soon. Speaking of signs of spring returning, yes Ed, the loon showed up yesterday in the harbor, gracefully swimming out beyond the Mary Day along with the winter ducks still lingering about. Canadian geese were spotted on the edge of ice on Lake Megunticook each perched on one leg. My guess is they were questioning the ice out date like the rest of us! (April 25th, no April 19th, …..). We all win in the end when it magically disappears. Another great sign among us was the excitement of Sawyer and Nadie playing on the beach down in the harbor. The ice along the shore of the harbor has melted and the sand has appeared. They were quick to build their long awaited sand castle, the first of many to come for this summer. They were both glad to be down there and to mingle among the crew as we worked aboard. Sawyer is becoming a g...