Wednesday, June 24, 2009 Windjammer Days, and A House On A Bridge

On Wednesday we went to Boothbay Harbor for the 47th Annual Windjammer Days, a celebration of the age of sail, held annually the last week of June.

It is a two day celebration including an antique boat parade, pancake breakfast, shipyard tours, tours of navy vessels and the Coast Guard Station, waterfront concerts, a craft fair, food, street parade, games and activities for kids, and fireworks.

First held on July 10, 1963, the original Windjammer Day event coincided with the 200th anniversary of shipbuilding in the Boothbay Region. Ships from Boothbay carried lumber and salt fish to the West Indies and returned with sugar, molasses and rum. The coastal schooners, running from port to port along the East Coast of the United States, carried lumber, granite, ice and slake lime. A dozen of these old ships have been converted for passenger travel.

It was the idea of world sailor Captain David Dash. The previous summer, three historic schooners had to anchor in Boothbay Harbor at the same time because of fog. The picturesque scene of the stately old vessels attracted crowds of admirers, photographers and artists. Why not make a day of it, thought Dash. With encouragement from friends, the help of the Chamber of Commerce and small donations from nearby towns, Dash organized a planned visit by the schooners along with festivities for spectators.

The first Windjammer Day showcased five windjammers: the Stephen Taber, Victory Chimes, Mary Day, Mattie, and Mercantile.

We skipped the first day of this year’s event so we did not see the antique boat parade on Tuesday. We also missed standing in the rain. Yes it is still raining here in Maine.

Wednesday’s weather was better. The rain tapered off on the way from our camp to Boothbay and we actually got to set outside to eat lunch and watch the Schooners sail in.

We had lunch at the Lobster Dock. They have an outside seating area and are just across the harbor from the City Dock. It was a great place to watch the boats sail in.

                                             

I got some stills and video of this years schooners arriving.

                  


                                            

The Boats participating where:

NATHANIEL BOWDITCH
Captain Owen and Cathie Dorr
108’ overall, 82’ on deck, 21’ beam, 11’ draft
 Built in East Boothbay as a private racing yacht. Completely rebuilt in 1971
Homeport: Rockland, Maine www.windjammervacation.com

HERITAGE
Captains Doug and Linda Lee
145’ overall, 95’ on deck, 24’ beam, 8’ draft
 Launched in April 1983
Homeport: Rockland, Maine www.schoonerheritage.com

EASTWIND
Captains Herb and Doris Smith
65’ overall, 56’ on deck, 14’ beam, 6’ 6” draft
Built in Albion, Maine by the Smiths 1997 - 1999
Homeport: Boothbay Harbor, Maine   www.fishermanswharfinn.com

LEWIS R. FRENCH
Captain Garth Wells
101’ overall, 65’ on deck, 19’ beam, 7’ 5” draft
Built and launched in Christmas Cove, Maine in April 1871
Homeport: Camden, Maine www.schoonerfrench.com

AMERICAN EAGLE
Captain John Fos
122’ overall, 92’ on deck, 20’ beam, 11’ draft
Launched in June, 1930 as the Andrew & Rosalie in Glooucester, MA
Renamed in May 1941
Homeport: Rockland, Maine www.schooneramericaneagle.com

LAZY JACK
Captain Joe Tassi
48’ overall, 12’ beam, 6’ draft
Topsail schooner built in Ipswich, Maine in 1947
Homeport: Boothbay Harbor, Maine www.sailschoonerlazyjack.com



HARVEY GAMAGE
Ocean Classroom Foundation
131’ overall, 24’ beam, 10’ draft
Built by the shipyard of Harvey Gamage on the Damariscotta River in South Bristol, ME
Launched in 1973
Homeport: Boothbay Harbor, Maine www.oceanclassroom.org

It was nice to see all the schooners, but I am not sure Boothbay has the correct name for their event.

A Windjammer typically had between three and five large masts and square sails, giving them a characteristic profile. The most common windjammer rig was the four-masted barque, which was the ultimate result of science of aerodynamics and thousands of years of seamanship. The barque rig can outperform the schooner rig, can sail upwind better than full-riggers, and is easier to handle than full square rig.


                                           

There is more information about Windjammers available at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Windjammer and other places on the web.

We walked from the city dock to the Lobster Dock restaurant on the other of the harbor by crossing the foot bridge.

                                          

In the middle of the footbridge there is a small house. It was the bridge tender’s house years ago. It is now a privet residence.


                  

The guy who lives there was just coming out to go to the hardware store as we passed by. He and his wife just bought the place and it needed some work. They will live there for the summer, but figure they would freeze over the winter. It looks like a cool place to live except for all the tourists walking past your front door and asking you dumb questions.