Lewis R. French Day 1: Camden to Holbrook Island Harbor, Castine
Ben McCanna
Sundown at anchor.
(page 1 of 2)
I suppose after a few years in the windjamming business, you get the return guests you deserve. Folks get a sense of who you are, and, if their personalities fit well with yours, they’ll come back year after year. It’s appropriate then that Captain Garth Wells’s passengers are exceedingly outgoing, nice, and polite.
I’d barely hustled onto the deck of the Lewis R. French — just a few minutes prior to departure — and was still out of breath when my fellow passengers began shaking my hand and warmly introducing themselves as I walked toward the companionway to stow my baggage below.
Today started out hot and sunny, but as the morning progresses, wispy fog begins blowing into Camden’s inner harbor.
After four years living on the coast of Maine, I’m still surprised whenever this happens. Even the most seemingly irrepressible hot-and-humid day on the coast of Maine can quickly turn cool. Within minutes, a 90-degree scorcher can be fully enveloped in a 58-degree bank of advection fog.
| The Lewis R. French | |
|---|---|
| Captain: | Garth Wells |
| Built: | 1871 |
| Length: | 64' |
| Capacity: | 22 passengers and 4 crew |
The Lewis R. French at sail.
The Lewis R. French is the oldest windjammer in the United States. She was built in Christmas Cove, Maine, in 1871. She carried coal, bricks, and fish. National Historical Landmark.
It shouldn’t be much of a surprise. The science behind it is pretty simple: The hotter and more humid the day, the more likely the fog will appear. Advection fog forms when warm, moist air flows over cool water (and Penobscot Bay certainly qualifies as cool). An offshore wind doesn’t blow this type of fog away; in fact, the moisture it brings makes the fog bank even thicker. (Bright sun won’t burn off this type of fog, either.) Then, as the land heats up in the afternoon sun, hot air rises above the land and cool air is drawn inland off the water, bringing a rush of fog along with it.
After we cast off the docklines and motor out of the harbor, we sail directly into the dense fog hanging over the Bay. The Camden Hills and surrounding islands disappear completely from view allowing me to indulge—guilt-free—in one of my favorite windjamming activities: the afternoon nap.
In my bunk, I retreat under a thick pile of wool blankets. Cool breeze blows in through the skylight above my head, and the schooner’s gentle sway rocks me into a deep, satisfying sleep.
An hour later, I wake to the chipper sound of the messmate calling into my skylight.
“Wake up, Ben,” she says. “The fog cleared up. It’s time to practice tacking.”
Any description of Hilary Clark must begin with her voice: It’s one part Marilyn Monroe, one part Betty Boop, and two parts helium. It is so girlish a sound, so innately flirtatious, and so anachronous, that you’d half expect to see Jack Lemmon and Tony Curtis pratfalling nearby for her affections. In fact, Captain Garth and and his wife, Jenny Wells, hired Hilary to work the phones for their business — a shrewd ploy to drive up phone traffic, I’m sure, because anyone who has heard Hilary’s voice has surely sought excuses to hear it again. I imagine the phones at Lewis R. French HQ ring off the hook with endless dubious inquiries from heartsick males.
Needless to say, when Hilary instructs the jib team on the tacking procedure, I’m all ears.
Tomorrow is The Great Schooner Race of 2008. All the vessels in the Maine Windjammer Association — plus a few more — will line up outside Castine and challenge each other for the cup. In the weeks leading up to the race, Captain Garth had been experimenting with different techniques to bring the French’s bow through the eye of the wind quicker than the rest of the fleet. He settled on backing the headsails.
Cully and Hilary
Posted on Monday, August 18, 2008 in Permalink
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Reader Comments:
Hello all, We are in Camden early and waiting to get on the boat day after tomorrow(9-7-08). Can't wait. We are two sailors and two land lubbers from Kansas and Iowa resp. Been waiting for two years since deciding to do this based on fellow sailors Ray and Helen Keller stories. They have been two or three times. We are watching hurricane Hanna's approach and hope it won't bother us too much.
Bob
We went on the same trip that Bob, above, did (9/7-9/13). GREAT trip. People could participate just as much or as little as they wanted with the various boat activities: the sailing, lowering or raising the anchor, helping in the galley with cook Hillary and her helper Annika, etc. The paid crew COULD have managed it all alone, but most passengers found one way or another to become part of the crew. Weather was varied, but always decent. The French rides the waves wonderfully. An unforgettable experience.
Anne