You never know what we'll churn up in cleaning a stall
Wooden sailing vessels traditionally had only one fire onboard, the cook’s stove. I can’t imagine how cold sailors, much less passengers, were through most of the year.
Windjammers hew to that tradition.
a wooden sailing vessel
with a wood-fired cook stove
and kerosine lanterns
two iceboxes
Smoke from the cookstove goes
into a T-shaped chimney vent
don’t get too close
“Smokestack,” not “chimney”
maybe “noble Charlie”
Hello, Readers!
We’re fast approaching Read an Ebook Week, an opportunity that encourages readers to pick up the digital device of their choice and download a new book or more to own and read.
I’m excited to announce that three of my books will be available as part of the promotion on Smashwords to celebrate Read an Ebook Week 2024, March 3-9. Yes, starting Sunday. This is a chance to get these books, along with books from many other fine independent authors, at a discount so you can get right to reading.
I’m offering two of my poetry collections – Trumpet of the Coming Storm and Blue Rock – for free, along with my New England history book, Quaking Dover: How a counterculture took root and flourished in Colonial New Hampshire, at 50-percent off.
You can’t lose by participating. I look forward to your responses to reading these. Do check them out. It’s one of the joys of publishing online.
Thank you for your help and support.
Happy reading!
cruise ship off Rockport
glare against haze of blue
Camden Hills a thousand-plus feet
other schooners out of Rockland
Eagle Island light
Mark Island light
Saddleback Ledge light
too far off to photograph
American Eagle
full sail
after a nap
perfect weather, sunny, 60s
a knot = 1.1 mph
a little more up
meaning into the wind
luffing, meaning chuffing in the sheets
no sea legs yet
wobbly
even on calm seas
bit queasy
edge of mal de mer?
slow lull
slow sun
will I feel a late-season burn?
“all on the bowline, we sing that melody
like all good sailors do when they’re faraway at sea”
a song our Dylan doesn’t know
in his impressive repertoire
a generational gap
116th Street Blues, starts out with Captain Ahab
then more nautical lines
find your own style
it’s an active experience
just relax
Honoring the Philadelphia family of Curtis Publishing
(Saturday Evening Post legacy)
this lighthouse at Camden
the bay is sheltered from the motions
of the open ocean
there are subtle rolls and pitches
whoa! There just was a wave
Getting acquainted at our dock in Camden
Safety talk
And everybody gets to pitch in
14 passengers, short of 21 max
(few of the double beds have two booked this trip)
crew of four plus cook
and we scoot off
I get to sample the results of many experiments around here.
So who was Louis Robbins French?
Father of the three sons
who built this in South Bristol, Maine
The French is 101 feet overall, 65 feet on deck, with 19 feet of beam, as the brochure proclaims. She draws 7.5 feet with a full keel. A proven vessel in all conditions, she is a nifty and quick sailor, having won the Great Schooner Race many times. The French has also participated in recent Tall Ships gatherings in Boston. It spent part of its life based out of Lubec just south of Eastport.
the French was largely stripped and gutted
and rebuilt for passengers
what’s left?
As my buddy Peter grinned at me at the end of our week:
“Your first love. You never forget.”
That’s Moose Island Contras Etc., a very fine traditional country dance band with a very fine caller. We do have fun around here.
It’s like camping, with the canvas over your head rather than a tent.
Peter tried to brace me for the, uh, unique quarters. And the pause when I mentioned taking a shower.
I had a snug berth, as you’ll see later. The only electricity on board came from some strong batteries and a small solar array.
Rather than a floating night club and hotel of a typical cruise ship, a Maine windjammer is small and laid-back. You even have to wash your own dishes.
As the windjammers’ association brochure says:
Unlike large cruise ships, windjammers have bunks and cozy cabins, not monster staterooms and 24-hour buffets. Windjammers are woody and compact below decks. Crew and guests live and work in close quarters. The ship’s galley and dining areas are like your kitchen at home – everybody mingles there.
The Maine experience dates from 1936, when Captain Frank Swift started offering adventurous passengers sailing opportunities formerly only available to private yacht owners.
Last summer I got to be one of them. It really was memorable.
Jnana's Red Barn 