July 2008

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July 24, 2008
Captain J.R. wakes to the sound of the breakfast bell at 8:00 a.m. He crawls out of his pullman berth in the aft cabin, climbs the companionway ladder onto the deck, and listens to the NOAA weather report. When everyone else finishes eating, he grabs a muffin for breakfast and spreads a new chart across the aft cabintop. When the sails are set and the anchor is raised, Captain J.R. makes an announcement. “Today we’re sailing into the Gulf of Maine.” We leave Carvers Harbor, ghost through the heavy rain off Heron Neck Light, then, as the wind picks up, we head toward the vast expanse of open ocean. The sky lightens as we leave land...
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July 24, 2008
Making blueberry pancakes for 34 passengers is a task that begins with firing a woodstove at 4:30 a.m.
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July 23, 2008
Maine Windjammer Association deckhands begin work after daybreak.
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July 21, 2008
On his fourth trip of the season, our intrepid sailing writer shares his packing tips.
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Weather Forecast
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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
Views : 2790 | Added: 2008-10-29
Videos in this channel
Late-Season Sailing Aboard the American Eagle
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Added: 2008-10-29
Pirates roam on the Isaac H. Evans, part of the Maine Windjammer Association.
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Lewis R. French and a sunset over Lincolnville.
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Jan Czasak laments the passing age of sail.
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Aboard the Lewis R. French
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Alex Hardt plays the blues.
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Aboard the Lewis R. French for the Great Schooner Race.
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The Heritage wows the crowd in Boothbay Harbor.
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A smooth passage through Townsend Gut, courtesy of the swing bridge.
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The Heritage crew shakes it all about for their lobster bake tradition.
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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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All hands on deck to crank the Stephen Taber's anchor and set sail....
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There's more than one way to tie a knot aboard the Mary Day.
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Windjammer passengers sing the darndest things...
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The mechanics of a wind-powered windjammer can lead to ....winded deckhands on the first sail of the season.
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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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Day 2 aboard the Mercantile: Passengers get their sea legs on a calm sail and settle in.
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It's the end of March and signs of activity aboard Maine's windjammer fleet are hard to ignore. It's like a chick cracking its shell: Another sailing season is about to be born.
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Humpback flukes in Penobscot Bay, oh my!
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Aboard the Angelique, a little tutorial for climbing the rigging.
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Video Channels
Learn from the Maine culinary experts in these video shorts.
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The Way We Get By, a documentary of three Bangor-area troop greeters and how they age. A story of patriotism and aging in America.
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See Maine in a whole new light — thanks to some creative folks, local events, video cameras and the great diversion and motivator known as the Internet.
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Two Maine lobstermen demonstrate the tricks of the trade.
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Ever wonder what it would be like to work on a windjammer, to enjoy salt, sun and home-cooked meals seven days a week on Penobscot Bay? This video series will show life aboard — and onshore with — the people who keep the wind in the Maine windjammer fleet sails.
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Want more Maine? Three minutes (sometimes more) spent watching video by Sandra-Lee Phipps and Russell Kaye puts you here.
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Maine's king of Downeast humor produces video shorts for Maine At Its Best.
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Video shorts of Maine to be shown at The Strand Theatre, Rockland this summer. Admission is free.
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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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