Top Travel Days of 2024, Spending My 60th Birthday in Camden, Maine

I honestly loved every minute of the three-day weekend Lisa planned around my big birthday in mid-coast Maine this past August. Hanging out with 20 of my closest friends and family, we biked to Owl’s Head Lighthouse, walked the breakwater at Rockland Harbor, saw the Andrew Wyeth paintings at the Farnsworth, savored our lobster rolls overlooking the water at McLoons, and had many cocktails on the rooftop lounge of our hotel, 250 Main. But Lisa really outdid herself on my actual birthday, organizing a hike up Maiden Cliff in Camden Hills State Park and then renting a private schooner, the Schooner Olad, for some 6 glorious hours that afternoon. Our captain and crew were wonderful, gliding the century-old vessel out through the many islands that hug the shoreline. Thankfully, the weather was sublime, the waves were mellow, and we even swam when we docked at an island for our lobster feast. They cooked the crustaceans the old-fashioned way under seaweed on an open fire, and when bitten into, probably the best lobster I ever tasted! On the sail back to Camden, we savored the sunset, glass of Don Papa Rum in hand. That’s what I call a Dream Day!

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Maine Windjammer Week, Introducing the Fleet

Don’t fret. While still under the beastly spell of winter here in New England, the Maine windjammers will soon take to the waters for another memorable season. This week I’m excited to delve into the history of these tall schooners that ply the waters of Penobscot Bay, the activities including specialty cruises, the food highlighting the quintessential lobster bake, and the majestic scenery found along the mid-Maine coast. I’ve been fortunate to go on three Maine Windjammer cruises, all with my dad and his wife Ginny, and I’ll never forget the smile on my father’s face when asked to take the wheel by the Captain and sail that big boy. It’s a memory I cherish.

 
The 8 tall ships in the Maine Windjammer Association start plying the waters of the Maine coast in late May. Spring features ideal winds, quiet harbors, and the lowest rates of the season, averaging $140 per person per day, including berth, food (an all-you-can-eat lobster bake!), and activities. It’s hard to go wrong with any of these historic vessels, so choose whatever’s available. 
 
Each boat has a story to tell. The Victory Chimeswas built in 1900 in Bethel, Delaware, to carry lumber within Chesapeake Bay. Today, she’s the only remaining three-masted schooner on the East Coast. The 92-foot American Eagle was built in 1930 as part of the Gloucester fishing fleet. It was revamped in 1984 and, along with Victory Chimes, Lewis R. French, Stephen Taber, and the Isaac H. Evans, a historic Delaware oyster boat built in 1886, are all National Historic Landmarks. The red sails on Angelique are similar to the sails used by fishing trawlers in the 1880s to fish the North Sea. Heritage might be one of the latest schooners, launched in 1983, yet it also gives a nod to tradition by using an authentic 1921 deck engine. Launched in 1962, the 90-foot Mary Day was the first windjammer built specifically to take guests on overnight cruises. 
 
If you want an authentic Maine experience, where you can breathe in the fresh salty air dusted with the scent of pine, grab a berth on any of these schooners. You can follow me all week on Twitter @ActiveTravels to hear about some of the specialty themed cruises being offered in 2014, the source of an upcoming story for The Boston Globe. 
 
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Sail Chesapeake Bay, Maryland

Founded in 1982 in Newport, Rhode Island, J World has since added teaching facilities in San Diego, Annapolis, the Keys, and Sweden. The Annapolis-based franchise is owned by Jahn Tihansky, a former sailmaker and instructor with US Sailing. Tihansky’s philosophy of “more time on the water, less time in the classroom” will turn any landlubber into a sailing aficionado. You’ll learn how to set the sails, practice your knots, stop and start under sail, tack, jibe (controlled, of course), and anchor. More advanced courses will teach salty dogs how to put up a spinnaker, navigate, and moor. Learn to Sail 5-day courses cost $995 per person.
 

10 Ways to Enjoy Acadia National Park, Including Sailing a Friendship Sloop

Sail a Friendship Sloop, Acadia National ParkIf you truly want to feel like a local on Mount Desert Island, take a day sail on a Friendship Sloop from Northeast or Southwest Harbor. Sail Acadia offers the opportunity to take a 3-hour guided sail on three Friendship Sloops, vessels that were used during the late 1800s to fish for lobsters along the Frenchman Bay shoreline. We sailed on the Helen Brooks, past the estates lining the Northeast Harbor shores. Soon we were gliding at a good 5-knot clip towards Great Cranberry Island and the many lobstermen picking up their traps. With a 6-foot keel, these sailboats can weather the strong gusts and fog often found along the Maine coast. Edged with spruce wood, the Helen Brooks is also a stylish ride. Near the beach at Manset, we spotted two porpoises gracefully arching their backs in and out of the choppy water. Then we sailed past Southwest Harbor into Somes Sound, Acadia Mountain to the left and Norumbega Mountain to the right, standing tall as gatekeepers to this long inlet. The mix of mountains, offshore islands, and granite-lined shoreline could easily entice the most jaded sailor to buy his own sloop and sail these legendary cruising grounds on a daily basis. Far too quickly, we were back on the docks of Northeast Harbor.

This entry is excerpted from my latest book, New England in a Nutshell. The book/ebook is slated to published on July 2nd and you can pre-order now at Amazon or at the independent bookstore, Northshire, located in Manchester Center, Vermont and Saratoga, New York. The ebook includes all hyperlinks to listings. The paperback includes front and back cover illustrations from Manhattan-based artist, Sarah Schechter, and a small sampling of photos from Lisa Leavitt, who accompanied me on many of my assignments, resulting in published work for the Boston Globe.

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Sail Newport With Your Own Captain

With the America’s Cup currently being held in San Francisco, celebrate its origins by taking a sail on Narragansett Bay in Newport. September is a glorious time to sail the bay, with the waters still relatively warm and boat traffic reduced to a minimum. Home to the smoky sou’wester, a prevailing wind with average speeds in the 10 to 20 knot range, Narragansett Bay deserves its reputation as one of the finest cruising grounds in the northeast. Yet, you don’t have to be an America’s Cup sailor to sample the sport. At Sightsailing, located at Newport’s Bowen’s Wharf, Captain Ed Early skippers the 34-foot O’Day called Starlight. A former instructor for Offshore Sailing School, Early has been sailing for over 30 years. He’ll guide you past Fort Adams, Hammersmith Farm, where JFK and Jackie O held their wedding reception, and Clingstone, a good name for the house that clings precariously to the rocks. Sweet talk Early and he might even let you take the wheel. Starlight can accommodate 2 to 6 guests. Cost is $270 for a private 2-hour sail, $495 for a 4-hour sail. 

 
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Sail Maine and Stay at the 102 Year-Old Linekin Bay Resort

Maine’s 2,500-mile stretch of granite coast is custom-made for sailing. No other sport gives you the freedom to anchor in a pristine cove, hike on an anonymous island, and sleep with seals by your window. Some 2,000-plus pine-studded islands, more than in the Caribbean or Polynesian archipelago, welcome sailors from around the globe. If you’re feeling a wee bit intimidated to tackle the sport in these salty waters, take a refresher course at Boothbay Harbor’s Linekin Bay Resort. The 20-acre oceanfront property has been a family retreat for over a century. Known for their all-inclusive rates in the summer months, Linekin Bay also features a full fleet of Rhodes 19 sailboats and a staff of sailing instructors. Other activities include tennis, walking trails, Kids Camp programs, and swimming in a heated saltwater pool.

Have a great Memorial Day Weekend! I’ll be back on Tuesday.
 

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Mahoosuc Guide Service Now Offering Day Trips in Maine

Maine residents and out-of-staters who self-quarantine in Maine for 14 days now have the option to go on three exciting day trips with Mahoosuc Guide Service. Owners Polly Mahoney and Kevin Slater are featured in my forthcoming book on the region, New England in a Nutshell, slated to be published on July 2nd. I had the good fortune to go on an overnight dogsledding trip with Polly at Umbagog Lake and to paddle down the West Branch of the Penobscot Rive with Kevin, which led to this story for Sierra Magazine.

A Registered Maine Guide, Kevin is now available to guide spin or fly fish on area rivers or lakes. Popular locales include the Magalloway and Rapid Rivers, Aziscohos and Richardson Lakes. Wade or fish from his hand built Grand Laker. Cost is $250 per person, $400 for 2 people, includes lunch midday.

Polly is offering both cultural and wildlife viewing day trips while paddling. Learn about the Penobscot’s culture on the Penobscot River and their use of wild edibles, trees, and plants. Or head to Umbagog National Wildlife Refuge to possibly find moose, white tailed deer, beaver, black bear (very rare), otter, bald eagles, and a variety of birds and ducks. Cost is $150 per person and includes a midday lunch.