If you love the ocean, if you love people, if you love good food, or if you just love new experiences, then a windjammer cruise should be high on your to-do list. I just spent three days aboard the Isaac H. Evans sailing along the Maine coast, and I can't figure out which part of the trip was the best.

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The Evans is one of fourteen windjammers that are a part of the Maine Windjammer Association. Many of the ships in this fleet, including the Evans, are National Historic Landmarks. The Evans was built in 1886, and was originally used as an oyster boat. Ten of the ships sailed out together for one of the largest Schooner Gams in recent memory. The term “Gam” originally meant a herd of whales, and grew to describe a social meeting between whaling captains at sea. In our case, we had ten windjammers tie together for an evening where passengers could walk from ship to ship, talking to crew and passengers and exploring other ships in the fleet.

The captains sailing out had a general plan for the Gam in mind, although nothing at sea is strictly scheduled. This was made clear when the passengers of the Evans boarded for captain's call the evening before we sailed. Captain Brenda Walker of the Isaac H. Evans gave her introductory speech, and was open to any questions except one. “The one question I can't answer and the one question I won't answer is ‘where are we going?'” Sailing depends mostly on the wind, so there is no exact plan of where you go or when you get there. The best thing to do is sit back and enjoy the ride.

The Evans can carry up to 22 passengers, but only had 12 for our trip with four crewmembers. Captain Brenda Walker, First Mate Shawn Melillo, Cook Eileen Worthley, and Deckhand Suzanne Webb. Some ships in the fleet can carry up to 40 passengers. The small number on our boat seemed to work out well, because within a half hour of being on board everyone knew each other, and by the next morning it was like we were old friends. People had come for the trip from all over and for different reasons, but everyone got along so well in such a short time. Some were sailing for the first time, and some had been sailing all their lives. They all had great stories to tell, and talking with them or just listening was one of the most interesting parts of the trip.

Crew and passengers on board the Isaac H. Evans.

Bill and Colleen are a couple from Camden who were celebrating their 48th wedding anniversary. Valerie lives in Rockport and brought her 80 year-old mother Vivian up from Cape Cod for the cruise. Jeff and Sorcha are a younger couple who grew up in the area, and spent some vacation time on the cruise. Jeff had worked as a crewmember on the Evans before when he was a student at the Maine Maritime Academy, and now works for a company that ships vehicles internationally. Even though he sails for a living, he still enjoys sailing in his free time. He has been a lot of places on boats, but the Maine coast is still his favorite place to sail. In fact, sailing the Maine coast can be found in books that lists 1,000 things to do before you die, which is how Jamie and Barbara wound up on the trip. They are two high school friends from New Jersey now going to grad school on opposite ends of the country, and were fitting some adventure in after the school year ended. Len is a gregarious salesman from Pennsylvania who was making his ninth trip aboard the Evans, and had ridden other ships in the fleet at least a half dozen times. “I love it. It's the most relaxing thing you can do,” he said. Eric is an ex-FBI agent from New York who liked photography. Jerry is an Abenaki Indian who had been around the Evans for about 20 years, and booked the trip last minute on a whim. And then there was me, who came along to experience the whole trip and pass it along to our readers.

The Nathaniel Bowditch sails by as we navigate the Fox Islands Thorofare.

We sailed out on Monday morning headed for the Fox Islands Thorofare between Vinalhaven and Northhaven. Passengers helped by shoving off from the dock, and after we motored out a safe distance we helped raise the sails to chants of, “Two, six, HEAVE!” We were sailing into a difficult wind, and as the crew tacked through the narrow passage, maneuvering the 65-foot ship close to the shore and successfully into wider waters, you could appreciate the fact that this was the same way crew on this ship might have sailed 120 years ago. Along the way we passed lobster boats at work and miles of scenic coastline. Other ships from the fleet could be seen in the distance as we all headed for an agreed upon location for the evening's Gam.

As we sailed passengers talked with each other, helped the crew, took photos, or just relaxed. Captain Brenda Walker took the chance to tell the story of how she became a sea captain. Thirteen years ago, she was working in a bank. “I had the permed hair, high heels, the pantyhose,” she recalled. To make extra money, she began moonlighting as a bookkeeper at the docks. Part of her payment was an overnight trip on one of the ships. She took that trip in August, 1993, and from that point on she knew she wanted to sail. In the Fall of 1994 she quit her job at the bank and started her sailing career. Today she is the only female captain to both own and operate a ship in the fleet.

She worked her way up the ranks learning every aspect of sailing. But one thing you don't do until you are a captain is bring the ship to dock, so she learned it a different way — at dinner with her boyfriend. “He would fold up one napkin with one pointy end and that would be the boat, and leave one napkin on the table and that would be the dock. He would point the fork in one direction and that would be the wind, and the knife would be the current, and I would have to dock the ship. All of a sudden he would change one of the factors and I would have to adjust and explain what I was doing. The first time I did it for real was on a boat full of passengers. There wasn't a drop of saliva in my mouth.”

Our first dinner on board the Evans.

After stories were told, other ships came into view and we began to approach Carver's Cove, the location for the Gam. Passengers helped prepare fresh strawberries and churned ice cream for the evening's meal. The food on this trip was simply amazing, so please bear with me as I digress. Coffee was served at 7:00, breakfast at 8:00, lunch at noon, a snack at 4:00 in the afternoon, and dinner at 6:00. We had different dishes every day, including eggs, pancakes, quiches, breakfast casseroles, fresh fruit, sausage, and bacon for breakfast. Snacks were things like chips and salsa and fresh guacamole. The night of the Gam we had one of the best meals I've eaten. There was rost pork loin with wild blueberry and essence of rosemary glaze, creamy risotto with wild mushrooms, green beans, apple salad, and zucchini bread. Incredibly, all of this was prepared on a wood stove by the cook, Eileen. She has been the cook on board the Evans since 2003, and has been contacted by Bon Appetit Magazine for some of her recipes. Before she came on board the Evans, Eileen owned a bakery in Massachusetts for 18 years, which explains why her desserts were so good.

Okay my mouth is watering just remembering the food, so back to the trip.

Setting up for the Gam seemed a bit like coordinating planes waiting to take off. The largest two ships, the Heritage and Victory Chimes, anchored in the middle, and the smaller ships tie off on either side. Captains of the ships coordinate on the radio what ships will go in which spot, and soon we had all ten ships tied together. Then several hundred guests are free to walk from ship to ship, examining the rooms, comparing food, talking with other passengers, and experiencing such a rare occasion to have this many ships together in one place. Eventually the celebration came to an end, and the ships separated and anchored for the evening. As the sky faded we could see lights from other ships anchored around us. Sorcha, a singer/songwriter in the Portland area, brought her guitar and we had a front row seat as she entertained us with her own songs as well as some requests. Her music must have carried to the other boats in the calm of the night.

10 ships line up for the Schooner Gam. (l to r) Mercantile, Timberwind, Nathanial Bowditch, American Eagle, Victory Chimes, Heritage, J & E Riggin, Stephen Taber, Lewis French, and the Isaac H. Evans

The next morning the ships raised their anchors and headed on their way. The nine other ships were heading out for longer cruises, but the Evans set its course to wrap around the Eastern side of Vinalhaven towards Hurricane Sound, which would be the site for that evening's lobster bake. Once again passengers had free time to relax. People passed the time with a bit of fishing, some sketching, taking photographs, and a big game of Mad Libs. I decided now was as good a time as any to climb the ladder to the crow's nest on top of our mast. Despite relatively calm waters, I only made it about halfway up before the ladder was swaying in the wind and I could still use one hand to take pictures. The ladder also gets very narrow near the top, with barely enough room for two feet on a rung. With this in mind and a few pictures taken, I decided to climb back down.

The Isaac H. Evans sails through some large swells.

On the more exposed side of Vinalhaven we sailed through some large swells, some 10 to 15 feet high, but things calmed down as we rounded the Southern side and headed through The Reach toward Hurricane Sound. We anchored in the Sound and loaded up our two rowboats to head for a small island. The crew got a fire going, and soon we were feasting on hot dogs, burgers, sausages, and of course lobster, corn, and champagne. After everyone was full we cooked s'mores over the fire, then cleaned up everything from the island and rowed back to the Evans. The fog that had rolled in during the day cleared and we were treated with a breathtaking sunset.

Captain Brenda watches as Vivian takes a turn behind the wheel.

The next morning we had our last breakfast, enhanced by a lobster salad made from spare lobsters from the night before. We sailed back to the dock, with Vivian and Colleen taking turns behind the wheel.

The whole experience was so incredible, I could have written several pieces on it. The trip could be enjoyed on many different levels, and had something for everyone — amazing scenery, rich history, great food, a new learning experience, interesting people, a relaxing environment, and a professional crew. I can see why almost half of Captain Brenda's passengers are repeat customers or referrals. The Maine Windjammer Fleet has cruises running from Mid-May through Mid-October with special events and different themed cruises throughout the season. I would love to go again in the future, if only to try and figure out which part of the trip I like best.

Windjammer Photo Gallery

Links:
Maine Windjammer Association
Isaac H. Evans

Adam Cutter

aroundmaine.com
June 28, 2006

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