Maine Windjammer Cruises
Thursday, July 24, 2008
Aboard the Grace Bailey
Day 4: Carvers Harbor, Vinalhaven to Gilkey Harbor, Islesboro
Ben McCanna
(page 1 of 3) 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 and we soon feel the heavy blast of hot summer sun. The crew and passengers strip off their foul-weather gear and, for the first time in four days, we’re comfortably warm and dry. Morale improves. As we sail along, Captain J.R. points out each of the outlying islands: Seal Island; Wooden Ball Island; Matinicus and Ragged islands; Little Green and Big Green islands; and Metinic Island. Captain J.R. tells us that Seal Island is still visibly pockmarked from artillery practice during World War II. He tells us about the night he anchored off Matinicus; how local children placed empty beer bottles in a gut current and fired handguns, rifles, and M-16s at the bottles as they drifted from shore; how he and his passengers were so unnerved by the whizzing sounds of bullets flying overhead that Captain J.R. rowed to shore and politely asked the kids to stop shooting. (A tall tale in most parts of the world, but not Matinicus.) He tells us about the night he anchored off Metinic: in the morning a member of the island’s Post family rowed out to the schooner, invited Captain J.R.’s passengers to a tour of the island, and told them the story of the Post family ancestors sitting on their Metinic rooftops to watch as a naval battle raged during the War of 1812. Captain J.R. is a long-form storyteller. Like the oil painter he is, J.R. approaches his subjects with great care and patience. If he senses a sentence isn’t getting the impact he’d hoped, he’ll revise it—right there in front of you—with a new brushstroke of adjectives and verbs.  At anchor in Carvers Harbor.
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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
A Pirate's Life on the Isaac H. Evans
Pirates roam on the Isaac H. Evans, part of the Maine Windjammer Association.
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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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