Why do we go windjamming?
To provide a bit of adventure and a lot of fun.
To preserve perishable skills
To pass along what little we have learned of what our sailing predecessors forgot
To share the art and fabric of working sail in our small but beautiful corner of the oceans |
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Our 26th sailing season is well underway with our sixth cruise boarding tonight. There's something about the coast of Maine: we may not go more than a hundred miles on one of our short trips but so far in 2011 already we have shipmates from Hawaii, Arizona, Canada, and seven foreign countries...  | |
Foreign students sponsored by Maine Rotary clubs on their annual overnight cruise
photo courtesy of Al Feather |
and Texas! Actually there have been eleven volunteers aboard from the Galveston 1877 iron barque Elissa and we have raised several thousand dollars towards her restoration.
Eight hardy adventurers took us up on our "if you're older than the schooner come for free with a full-fare friend" and we all made it back.
Should you have interest in sailing with us but with a charitable purpose (other than keeping the American Eagle sailing) you missed the Freeport Historical Society's raffle and the Elissa Plankowners auction but still have a chance with the Cape Ann Chamber of Commerce auction later this summer.
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Cruise News
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Dressed For the Occasion
photo courtesy of Ralph Smith |
The best cruise you can take with us is the one you have time for. We dress ship as above once in a while, but most of our time at anchor is spent in quiet coves and harbors. An event on our schedule which is popular every year is the WoodenBoat Sail-In, boarding Sunday, September 11th, combining good fall sailing, a gathering of the fleet, and ashore tours of the boat school, a genuine steel band, and refreshments including steamed mussels and cider. Return Saturday, September 17th. $895 per person. |
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Crews News
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American Eagle Galley
photo courtesy of Greg Gettens |
Here's where Nola and Rachael preside, where pies (apple, blueberry, whoopie) and pastries are created, all with good cheer and a little help from the rest of the crew. It's a welcoming place of long hours and excellent results with gleaming brass, new varnish, and hot coffee all day long. The galley makes the weather on deck irrelevant and is a good place for evening conversations and stories. Behind the ladder is a cast iron wood burning stove that has converted fifty cords of firewood to dinners over the past 25 years and behind that is the wooden icebox (with ice in it).
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Island Picnic
photo courtesy of Ellen Kovarik |
Sometimes, actually on a regular basis, we have takeout from the galley: either meals served on deck or on as many trips as possible on a pristine Maine island for a picnic.
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Photography Cruise; one with film, the others digital
photo courtesy of Brian Fornear |
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Ralph's Food Shot |
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photo courtesy of Ralph Smith |
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Postcards
While we are ashore exploring islands, we pick up a lot of stuff including some shells amidst the beach debris, hopefully left by the tide and not by previous island visitors. We're never going to see anything like the shells on this card but I'm not so sure they're this color in Florida either.
Two of our loyal shipmates sailed on this contraption in Turkey. Private showers but very little sailing. On the other hand, we have a notable lack of Roman ruins here on the Maine coast. "We will take the Eagle any day!"
We've never had a card from Cyprus before. Looks like a beautiful place. Where are the sheep? While we're on the subject, at least one of the Maine coast conservation groups is looking for sheep to keep meadows open on some of their islands. Know any good shepherds?
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Cabin and tugboat pictures next issue ,
Captain John Foss, Schooner American Eagle |
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