Sailing Vacations
A Maine Windjammer

Good morning everyone. It has been a tad on the chilly side here. Our southern correspondents tell us that below freezing temperatures have been noticed as far south as Alabama. As you can see from Jim Dugan’s photograph the harbor froze over… literally overnight. Salt water freezes at just a little over 28 degrees, depending on the salinity of course, and the top 4-6 feet of Camden Harbor up near our berth is brackish meaning that the salinity is greatly reduced by the outflow of the waterfall. The day before this picture was taken there was no ice to speak when I walked down the beach to get aboard the schooner. I remember standing on the shore looking over at the schooners and marveling at how ice-free the harbor was. The stiff northwest wind and the waterfall stirred the harbor enough to keep things open but as soon as the cold Arctic air came in behind and the wind stopped blowing the stage was set for ice. The air temperature was 12 below zero both Friday and Saturday morning. ...