May 2013 MAINE COASTAL NEWS Page 9.


WINDJAMMER ASSOCIATION ANNOUNCES 37TH ANNUAL GREAT SCHOONER RACE Waterfront News


ROCKLAND – Though it’s barely spring, the captains of some of the most revered traditional schooners in America are already plotting strategy for Friday, July 5, when they will take part in the largest annual gath- ering of historic schooners, the 37th


Ann ual


Great Schooner Race hosted by the Maine Windjammer Association. From fi rst-time sailors to old salts, guests are invited to participate in this informal, friendly com- petition that includes a multi-day “training” cruise to help new crewmembers learn the ropes before the big event.


For windjammer guests, the fun starts


on Thursday, July 4, when the captains will conduct friendly maritime competitions off the island of Islesboro, in Gilkey Harbor, as a precursor to the headline event. Indepen- dence Day fi reworks will cap the evening. On Friday, July 5, Race day will begin with a captains’ meeting aboard Maine’s largest windjammer: the VICTO- RY CHIMES. There, they will set the day’s course and classes. And, in one of the most anticipated moments of the summer, at 11 am, dozens of schooners will race across Maine’s Penobscot Bay, from Islesboro to the Rockland Breakwater, where their dramatic mid-afternoon arrival will be reminiscent of the days when cargo-laden schooners raced to be the fi rst to port so they might capture the best market prices. A century ago, every schooner trip was a race against time and a captain’s profi ts depended heavily on his crew’s sailing skills. Immediately following the Race, the


entire fl eet will anchor in Rockland’s South End where an awards ceremony for partic- ipants (including each schooners’ guests) will be held at the Sail, Power and Steam


“Everybody Had Their Own Rhythm,” says sardine packer Lela Anderson, but when the sardine cannery at Prospect Har- bor, ME shut down in the spring of 2010, the rhythm changed, and folklorist and oral historian Keith Ludden and the Maine Folk- life Center are working to preserve some of the stories of life in the canneries that once represented a major industry in Maine. A year ago, Ludden conducted a series of interviews with cannery workers as part of an initial project funded by the Maine Humanities Council, but that was just the start. Ludden has launched a Kickstarter campaign to fund further interviews with a


Museum.


For Captain Brenda Thomas, owner of the 127-year-old schooner ISAAC H. EVANS, “[t]he appeal of the Race is getting the boats all together and recreating a scene that people might have seen a hundred years ago. There’s no other place I know of where guests can take part in such an exciting sail- ing event.”


Aside from the Great Schooner Race, while aboard one of the schooners, guests spend about six hours each day under sail, meandering through the waters of mid-coast Maine, and every afternoon drop anchor in the safe, snug harbor off a quiet fi shing village, or at an uninhabited island where they can go ashore and explore. A day of sailing might culminate with a beachside lobster bake, some folk music or storytelling on deck, or a game of Scrabble around the wood stove.


Many of the participating schooners are National Historic Landmarks, while others were built in the last century specifi cally for the windjamming trade. All of them are beautifully maintained maritime treasures. Spectators on shore can cheer for their favorite schooner from the Breakwater that marks one end of the fi nish line. There will also be excursion boats in Rockland offering harbor cruises to catch the fi nish. On Saturday and Sunday, July 6 and 7, the members of the Maine Windjammer Association will host Open Schooner Tours at their docks from 2 to 4 pm each day. Visitors may stop by for a free deck tour of the ANGELIQUE, LEWIS R. FRENCH and MARY DAY in Camden, TIMBERWIND in Rockport, AMERICAN EAGLE, HERI- TAGE and ISAAC H. EVANS at Rockland’s


Oral Histories of Maine Sardine Cannery Workers


broader scope, and a slide/audio presenta- tion featuring the canneries and their work- ers. Kickstarter is a crowdsourcing website that allows anyone to invest in a creative project or launch a project. Individuals wanting to fi nd out more about the project, or back it can fi nd the project online at: http://www.kickstarter.com/proj- ects/2142855316/everybody-had-their- own-rhythm-the- M aine-canneries The interviews collected will be ar- chived at the Maine Folklife Center where they will be available for those interested in the cannery industry. The Kickstarter campaign will last through May 26.


Commercial & Recreational Marine Suppliers


USCG Safety Inspection Station Mooring Supplies


Polyform US Fenders & Floats Areas Largest Rope Supplier Revere Liferafts Trawl Netting


Sports Netting for Golf/Baseball


Rockland, Maine • 207-596-7060 info@jboatworks.com • jboatworks.com


The Gamage built schooner MARY DAY at the start of last year's Great Schooner Race.


Northend Shipyard and the NATHANIEL BOWDITCH and STEPHEN TABER at Windjammer Wharf on Tillson Avenue in Rockland. Four-day cruises start at $760 per per- son, inclusive of all meals, accommodations,


activities and race participation. For more information about the Maine Windjammer Association’s 37th


Annual Great Schooner


Race, call 1-800-807-WIND. Details for on- sea and land-based participants are available at www.sailmainecoast.com.


KUSTOM STEEL


Looking to have metal work done at a reasonable cost? Welding a specialty!


Also marina slips with lots of parking and storage available. Call: (207) 991-1953


South Main Street, Brewer, Maine 04412


JOHANSON BOATWORKS Full Service Yacht Yard


1-800-IMP-8865 NEW BEDFORD, MA 02740


44 SOUTH STREET


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