Windjammer Harbor

Rockland harbor is home port to several of the historic windjammer schooners that offer multi-day sailing cruises along the Maine coast and among the islands. Vessels like the Stephen Taber (built 1871), the J. & E. Riggin, and the Victory Chimes are National Historic Landmarks that still carry passengers under sail from late June through September.

Cruises typically run 3 to 6 days, visiting Camden, North Haven, Vinalhaven, and other island harbors, with passengers helping to sail the vessel if they want to. Even if you are not taking a cruise, walking the waterfront in the morning when the schooners are preparing to depart is a pleasure — the smell of salt water and old wood, the sound of lines running through blocks, and the sight of these enormous vessels setting out under canvas.

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A story
The Maine windjammer fleet is the largest remaining fleet of traditional working schooners in the United States. Most were built in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries as cargo vessels — carrying granite, lime, and lumber up and down the New England coast. After motor power made them obsolete as cargo ships, they were converted for passenger use in the 1930s, and have been sailing summer tourists ever since.

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