Maine Windjammer Cruises
Tuesday, August 19, 2008
The Great Schooner Race, 2008
Ben McCanna
Captain Garth relaxing after the race.
(page 1 of 2) “We just crossed the starting line,” Captain Garth Wells announces to his passengers. “We’re in the lead.” This is surprising on two counts. First, Captain Garth had been modestly downplaying his Race Day chances since the start of fit-out season back in April; his bone-deep modesty had convinced me we’d be reading transoms all day. Second, and more surprising, is the simple fact that the race is already underway. After all, there’s no physical starting line (no banners or buoys) and there are no signals (no starting gun, no flag waving, not even a casual “Go!”) to mark the start of the race. Earlier this morning in foggy Holbrook Island Harbor, all the captains met aboard the Victory Chimes to determine the course and the start time. They decided the race would start at 10:30 a.m., and the course would begin on an imaginary line stretching between Islesboro Ledge and Cupola Point in upper Penobscot Bay. In the moments before the race began, 15 windjammers tacked back and forth in an effort to speed across this imaginary line at exactly 10:30, and not a moment earlier. Captain Garth timed his approach perfectly, and, had he not humbly announced the onset of the race, it’s likely I’d have remained unaware.  Jenny gives tours.
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There are twelve traditional tall ships in the Maine Windjammer Association; this summer I'm sailing on all of them.
For many, a windjammer vacation represents the perfect Maine getaway. Each day is filled with the sights that have become shorthand for Vacationland: lighthouses, lobster pots, and loons.
But life at sea isn’t pure leisure for everyone. To keep these antique vessels shipshape, the men and women who sail them must first endure a season of hard labor during spring fit-out. Then, in summer, these schooner bums will work long days at the helm or in the galley, only to bed down for a short night’s sleep in a humble crew berth.
Over the next six and a half months, I’ll learn what makes these trips so special for the passengers, but I’ll also find out what it is about the cool waters of Penobscot Bay that keep these schooner bums coming back for more.
Ben McCanna is a freelance writer, editor, and videographer. He lives in Rockland.
Berth of the Cool:
A Maine Windjammer Journal
The American Eagle
Late-Season Sailing Aboard the American Eagle
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Videos in this channel
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A smooth passage through Townsend Gut, courtesy of the swing bridge.
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Cozying up to half the Maine Windjammer fleet's not a bad way to spend a day.
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Before the sailing season begins, the Nathaniel Bowditch is hauled ashore for a fresh coat of paint. Read the entry here: www.downeast.com/Berth-of-Cool/May-2008/Spring-FIt-Out-North-End-Marine/
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Sailor Lingo
A glossary of nautical terminology
A companion guide to Berth of the Cool, a Windjammer Journal
- about (coming about)— the process of turning the boat through the wind from one tack to another.
- beating— sailing upwind on a series of tacks. (Also known as sailing close-hauled.)
- berth— a place to sleep on a ship.
- bow— the front end of the ship.
- bowsprit — a large spar that projects from the bow of the ship.
- cabin sole— belowdecks flooring. The sole can be removed to expose the bilge.
- close-hauled— sailing into the wind with the sails trimmed in as close as possible
- coastal navigation— using two or more shoreline landmarks to chart the ship's location.
- companionway— a doorway and stairs leading from the deck to below.
- crew berths— bunks in the bow of the vessel. These are typically quite small.
- downwind run— sailing with the wind directly astern.
- fisherman anchor (yachtsman's anchor)— a type of anchor. Fisheman anchors are more traditional in design and used primarily for heavy-duty applications.
- fit-out— spring maintenance of a ship. Includes painting, varnishing, replacing planks, re-caulking seams, rigging, and bending-on sails.
- following sea— waves that are moving in the same direction as the boat’s course.
- forepeak— the forward-most portion of the deck.
- foresail— the sail attached to the forward mast of a two-masted ship.
- galley— a boat’s kitchen and belowdecks gathering place for passengers and crew
- halyard— a line that hoists a sail.
- haul-out — towing the boat out of the water so hull work can be done.
- heeling— when the boat leans to one side from wind pressure
- headsail— any number of sails that are forward of the foremast (includes the jib, staysail, and jib staysail)
- holding tank — tank that holds either freshwater, wastewater, or, in some cases, fuel.
- hook— anchor.
- jib— the forward-most headsail.
- jibe— the act of swinging the sails from one side of the boat to the other while sailing off the wind.
- lee (in the lee of)— a flat calm area of sea where the wind has been buffeted of blocked by a large object such as an island
- mainsail— the sail attached to the mainmast (aft mast) of a two-masted ship.
- NOAA— National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. A scientific agency that provides detailed forecasts on weather and sea states.
- peak— the upper part of a four-sided sail that resembles a peak when full hoisted.
- quarterdeck— aft portion of a tall ship (typically the upper deck). The helm is located here.
- raft— a collection of two or more boats tied together at an anchorage or mooring
- ratlines— ropes that form a ladder leading from the side of the boat to the top of the mast.
- "reading from both pages"— idiom for sailing "wing and wing." When sailing on a downwind run, the foresail is "wung out" such that it is trimmed on the opposite side of the mainsail. From the helm, the two sails resemble pages of an open book, hence "reading from both pages."
- rigging — (noun) ropes or cables that are broken into two general categories: 1. standing rigging supports masts; 2. running rigging allows crew to hoist or trim sails. (verb) Setting ropes, cables, spars, and masts into place.
- schooner— typically a two-masted ship where the mainmast (aft mast) is taller than the foremast.
- staysail— a headsail that is rigged directly forward of the foresail
- spar — a hefty length of rounded wood that serves to support rigging
- stern— the rear end of the boat.
- tack— (noun) a leg of a journey in which there are no significant changes to the boat’s course or its sails. Once the course has been changed and the sails trimmed, a new tack has begun. (verb) Sailing a zigzag course to windward.
- throat— the forward part of a four-sided sail; the part that is attached to the mast.
- transom— the ship’s rear-most panel as viewed from behind. Stern describes the general rear-end portion of the ship, while transom describes this particular area. (Typically, a boat’s name is painted on the transom).
- topsail— a sail that is set above the foresail on a schooner- or square-rigged vessel.
- trimming sail— adjusting the position of the sail for the best presentation to the wind.
- windlass— a winch that raises the anchor.
- yawlboat— a small motorboat that’s used to push a tall ship during calms or anytime sailing in untenable (such as in tight harbors).
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