Puffins, Auks, and a Big Surprise

Good morning everyone. Well just when we thought it couldn’t get any better it has. This week is one of two 6-day naturalist cruises we offer each June and we are off to a great start. We left Camden after breakfast yesterday morning and pushed out of the bay to the southward. I had a hankering to get offshore and after the last 2 days of NW winds I suspected that the ocean swell would be knocked down some. After an hour’s push with the yawl boat, during which we saw a red phalarope, we caught a SSW wind and away we went sailing outside the islands that guard the south end of Vinalhaven.

Just after lunch we reached Seal I about 20 miles from Camden and a known nesting spot for Atlantic puffins and razor billed auks. I was a little nervous when just a mile from the island I wasn’t seeing much in the way of pelagic species. And then they came. A gannet soared across the bow and then the alcids began to appear. I don’t think I have seen so many puffins and auks as we did yesterday. The place was teeming with them.

We also had a surprise guest that even naturalists Mike and Margi Shannon had never witnessed, a white tailed tropic bird. Usually seen no further north than the Virginia coast here were, not just one, but two of these magnificent long tailed species.

This photo was taken by passenger Elaine Cundiff. The wind stayed fair as we sailed wing and wing all the way to our anchorage at Burnt Coat Harbor on Swan’s Island. I am still shaking my head at the extraordinary luck we had. Just amazing!

Have a great day. Be well. Do good.

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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