Cre8TravelCRE8TRAVEL · MAINE PLACES
Boothbay Harbor Schooners
Boothbay Harbor Schooners: Sail with Eastwind and Applejack
Discover
Boothbay Harbor Schooners offers two-hour day and sunset sails aboard Eastwind and Applejack. From Pier Six on Commercial Street, the outing moves from the bustle of the waterfront toward a coast whose route depends on wind and weather. Choose it for the experience of sailing as well as the view. A schooner's rig, crew movements and changing angle to the breeze provide plenty to notice even before a lighthouse or an island draws your attention away from the boat.
Eastwind has a particularly Maine-centered building story. Herb and Doris Smith built the sixty-five-foot schooner on their farm in Albion, using a frame of local white oak and thick Oregon cedar planking. Launched in 1999, she was named for a Coast Guard cutter on which Herb had served. Look at the vessel as a comparatively recent boat made within a continuing wooden-boat tradition. The connection between inland construction and coastal work adds another dimension to the view of a schooner leaving Boothbay Harbor.
Applejack brings a different history to the same operator. Built in Ipswich, Massachusetts, in 1947 by Fred Whittier, the forty-eight-foot vessel takes her lines from nineteenth-century Gloucester fishing schooners. Yellow pine planking over white oak frames, a full keel and a topsail rig distinguish her particular form. Ask the crew to identify the sails that are in use on your outing. Seeing how separate pieces of canvas work together makes the rig easier to understand than trying to memorize every nautical term at the dock.
The sailing route changes with conditions. Islands, rocky shores, lighthouses and working fishing boats form the broader setting, while seals, porpoises or seabirds may appear. Treat those animals as possibilities rather than scheduled entertainment. When the crew offers an opportunity to help with the sails, follow their directions and let their judgment determine what is appropriate. You can also remain a passenger and simply observe how the boat responds as the wind changes its relationship with the hull and canvas.
Preparation is part of enjoying the open-deck experience. The operator recommends bringing layers and a windbreaker even when Commercial Street feels warm. Check in thirty minutes before departure, with the whole party present for the waiver arrangements. Both schooners have a marine toilet below deck, reached by a ladder, so discuss boarding and facilities before booking if those features affect you. Food and nonalcoholic drinks may be brought aboard; alcoholic drinks are sold under the vessel's license rather than supplied through a bring-your-own arrangement.
Allow parking time before reaching Pier Six, and follow the crew to the assigned boarding point. Once underway, keep clear of working lines and make photographs from an appropriate passenger position. A frame that includes the rig and water can preserve something of the experience that a distant lighthouse alone cannot show. Check the seasonal sailing calendar and the weather arrangements for your reservation. Whether you choose a daytime outing or the light near sunset, the main subject remains a boat, its crew and the wind working together along the Boothbay coast.
Fun facts
- Eastwind was built on a farm in Albion and launched in 1999.
- Applejack was built in Ipswich, Massachusetts, in 1947.
- The operator offers two-hour day and sunset sails.
Before you go
- Check the seasonal calendar and your assigned vessel.
- Arrive for check-in thirty minutes before departure.
- Bring an extra layer and windbreaker.
- Discuss boarding and the below-deck toilet ladder if relevant.
- Follow crew instructions around sails and working lines.
Capture
- Include rigging and water in a photograph from a permitted passenger position, keeping clear of crew work.
- Use the changing shoreline as background rather than moving into restricted areas for a particular angle.
Social
Eastwind and Applejack sail from Pier Six in Boothbay Harbor.
Day and sunset outings last about two hours.
Eastwind was built in Albion with a local white oak frame.
The schooner launched in 1999.
Applejack’s lines draw on Gloucester fishing-schooner traditions.
Her construction dates to 1947 in Ipswich.
Wind and weather shape the route of each sail.
Bring layers and check in early with the entire party.
Hashtags