July 6, 2009

The Lure of Windjammers

By Patricia & Robert Foulke

Come aboard to live and sail back in time on a Maine schooner. Once they were workboats but now their cruise life is easy, relaxed, and carefree. Wind and weather determine where you go, and you learn to enjoy everything from glassy calm to a brisk whitecap breeze or a howling nor'easter. A week on board will slow your pace and blow away layer after layer of accumulated stress.

Maine offers fifteen historic vessels, from the oldest built in 1871 to modern replicas. Originally they worked as coasters, fishing boats and pilot boats or sailed as yachts. Now they carry passengers eager to catch the flavor of life at sea under sail. Some aficionados come year after year to renew their passion.

Nice strong wind heels the vessel excitingly as it cuts through the sea.

We count ourselves among those, having cruised on Maine schooners twice before we joined American Eagle last September. Designated a National Historic Landmark in 1991, she was launched as the Andrew & Rosalie in 1930, the last fishing schooner built in Gloucester.

↓ Continued from front page of Where To GO Next!

Renamed American Eagle in 1941, she made her last fishing trip in 1983 and was brought to Rockland, Maine for rebuilding. Two years later she was relaunched after a complete rebuild and has been sailing the coast of Maine ever since.

Today the American Eagle looks and feels like a new boat. Her fair lines, solid timbers and tarred rigging remain as they were three generations ago when she first went to work in the waters off New England.

Captain John Foss was the driving force behind that transformation. Although he was born in Manhattan, his family arrived in Maine in 1638 and he has lived there for many years. He co-owns the North End Shipyard in Rockland with Captains Doug and Linda Lee.

When Foss brought the vessel to the shipyard in 1983 she was a sight. Worn boots and slickers hung on pegs, kitchen pots and pans were full of holes, and lockers were stuffed with old gear. After trips to the dump Foss set about the long process of rebuilding her.

Captain John is the skipper on every trip, and we came to admire his skill. He relishes sailing and points her higher when sailing against the wind than many other schooners in the fleet. He rarely uses her auxiliary motor unless there is no wind, and he handles her 92 feet of momentum as if she were a small boat, anchoring and leaving moorings under sail. On our trip we roared along comfortably one day with the mainsail reefed in a 25-knot northerly.

Foss has an efficient crew and demands perfection from them, yet still says "please" as he orders a maneuver. Passengers routinely jump to the halyards to help hoist sails, lining up to hear "ready peak, ready throat" and begin to haul. Every time the sails are lowered they can help furl them neatly and coil all lines.

Sailing with John is a treat because he is humorous, enthusiastic, and articulate. He explains the history of schooners, fishing, coastwise lore, and has a keen interest in the literature of the sea. We all looked forward to story telling every night after dinner, when fellow sailors are also welcome to contribute.

Compact cabins down below accommodate 26 guests, and all have hot and cold water. Most have bunk beds but two offer double beds. Several hooks inside each cabin let you hang up windbreakers and slickers. Each bunk has a reading light.

The cook prepares all meals on a wood-burning stove. The aroma of baking bread or a casserole wafts through the passageways. Most meals are served on deck and there are plenty of places to sit and enjoy your meal along with the view. In bad weather meals are served in the galley.

There is no schedule-the wind and weather determine where the Captain will decide to go. One day we went to historic Castine, where we had some shore time. We walked along the harbor and spotted a number of signs such as "1674 Flying Horse, Burial place of 5 Dutch seamen and 3 French soldiers." Other shore excursions were great for beachcombing.

There's plenty of time to relax in a deck chair or on a locker. One of us spent an afternoon lying on pillows in the lifeboat with feet braced on a pile of oars, reading. The other ventured out on the bowsprit for fun. You can also just gaze at the horizon and maybe spot an osprey sitting on a buoy.

Nothing like a good read (or snooze?) in a lifeboat aboard a windjamming sailing vessel.

One afternoon a 20-knot northwest breeze set us whizzing through Eggemoggin Reach as the whole fleet gathered in Brooklyn for the annual Wooden Boat Sail-In. One of the first to anchor, we had a full show and continuous photo op as the other schooners sailed in and anchored around us. Soon all were facing the same way, into the wind-just like cows in a field.

We tended to retire about 8:00 p.m. after story telling in the galley and got up at 6:30 or 7:00 a.m., up on deck early with a few hardy souls. One of our companions got up at 3:00 a.m. to see Orion and also a meteorite whoosh through the sky.

The 2009 sailing season runs now through October 11. Call 1-800-648-4544 or visit www.schooneramerican eagle.com/reservations/. Special events include the Cookbook Gam, Schooner Gam, Windjammer Days in Boothbay Harbor, Sail Boston, Music Festival, Gloucester Schooner Race Cruise, Wooden Boat Sail-in, and Coast Week.