Four nights aboard a working schooner!! The Mary Day is called a windjammer and is powered solely by its sails. It was specifically designed to carry guests rather than cargo. What impressed me before even signing up for the cruise were some of the statements made on their website, “We are the owners/operators/guardians. We've been sailing Penobscot Bay for three decades and wouldn't miss sharing this experience with you.”
Mary Day is described as a ‘working’ schooner because guests are invited to voluntarily join in on some of the daily tasks aboard a schooner. This can include such activities as helping prepare food, pulling the ropes to raise and lower sails and helping with meal clean up. Guests are not allowed to go up ladders, operate the anchor or small craft that take people to shore. It is all fun and relaxing. Somehow, peeling potatoes or cranking the ice cream bucket does not seem like work when it is done on the deck.
Why should I have been surprised to find flowers hanging from the Mary Day? Welcome aboard! The gentleman in the green shirt is preparing to go up the over the side ladder to board Mary Day.
Captain Barry King welcomes all of us with some safety tips and a couple of ‘rules’. When asked if anyone had ever fallen overboard he replied, “Yes. Three people. All crew members.”
First thing I noticed was how many ropes there were! Everywhere, it seemed.
More ropes! I imagined that the crew and captain knew exactly why these were there!
Did I mention ropes? See me smiling as I recall all the special detail on Mary Day.
I was not the only one fascinated by all the ropes. Rebecca found her own ‘gem’ in the great selection of coils.
One of our lifeboats.
Chains to lower the anchors. The large orange tarp is removed when Mary Day is sailing.
One of the anchors. The horizon gets all wonky where you lean like a crazy lady over the side (just a wee bit as I cannot fall overboard since I am not a crew member!).
There is a large canopy that offers shade and some protection from light rain. It was removed when we were sailing, however. This is looking towards the back of the schooner.
This is the center of the deck. The square covers are used to cover up air vents to each of the cabins below. We could sit all along this raised platform.
Deck crew fold the tarp cover in preparation to leave the marina.
Source of fresh water for refilling our water bottles.
My favorite chair.
Gary is our guest photographer from the trip. He captured some of my favorite images of the trip. He generously shared some of them. Lanterns such as this one were placed along the deck for night light.
An early crew member job was to gather the lanterns and fill them up with kerosene for re-use.
The captain’s ‘desk’. His version of GPS on the left. Note that the ‘Sailing for Dummies’ is well worn so I knew he could handle any situation.
A big book of maps was always available for us to try and figure out where we were. “Let me guess, we anchored here last night”, (me pointing at an anchor). “Well, not exactly,” said the Captain. Or, our favorite question, “Where are we going?” “Not a clue,” said Captain Barry! He was teasing, of course.
Wow! Rebecca wrote, “I made a little map of our "route". Note: All anchor points are correct, however the paths are a guesstimate because I did too good of a job relaxing.” I really appreciate the legend to go with it.
Aha! We did not have the leave the flowers. That is our chef, Chad, in the galley. All of our meals were prepared on his large wood burning stove! He is an accomplished chef and, as I found out later, also a well respected sailor.
He said, “I don’t pose.”
OK, how about an unposed photo. The beautiful lady is Amy and she tells us that she is the kitchen maid. Well, I want her job. She preps, cleans up, serves coffee, makes ice cream and so much more!
Anyone for afternoon snacks? Snickerdoodles!
There were two corners like this where guests gathered to eat. Sometimes we could eat above on the deck and one time we ate lobster, hot dogs and hamburgers on the beach (but that is in a future blog post).
Bob could be found in the morning in the dining area writing.
Jack was also our artist in residence. Very talented.
At the end of our trip, Jack won the recognition he deserved.
In this maze of ropes, pulleys and masts, sails are raised and lowered throughout the day as needed. They are lowered at night when Mary Day sets her anchor in quiet coves. The round circles you see in the foreground guide the sails up and down the two masts.
I love getting another photographer’s perspective of a detail. Rebecca got a nice golden hour color and is close up. She called this ‘mast down’.
Rebecca called this photo, ‘mast up’. It took me a few seconds to see to figure it out because I do not see the sail. It must be on the other side of the mast and she was able to get really close to capture this image. Good job.
This is a two-sided effort. Notice how the right side waits for the other side to complete the top part. The captain can see from his spot in the rear of the schooner and is letting the deck crew know when to start, pause and stop.
Captain Barry must have decided he needed a workout. But, he knows when his volunteer crew needs a pause or break.
So, while the ‘crew’ rests, Captain Barry tells a joke.
What goes up must come down. The volunteer crew is on the job.
Want to stay fit? Hire on as deck crew on a shooter!
I yelled, “Wave”. She did.
There were four deck crew, two ladies and two gentlemen. They worked, literally, from sun up to past sun down. The term, ‘swabbing the decks’ is a real thing and it is done every morning.
Brushing down the outside of Mary Day.
The day starts with flowers!
OK, it did take me a while to figure out what the difference was between the two coffees. My choices were Captain’s Crank and Captain’s Prank Crank!! DUH!!!
I cranked a bit. Two different flavors. Is this not heaven?
There was only a brief period of time one afternoon when Mary Day showed the smallest bit of drama. I think a weather front was moving in and the Captain was moving the sails back and forth. This gave the impression that the schooner was leaning from side to side. So exciting!
The beginning of a fog bow in that incoming weather.
There is a very special feeling at the end of a day on a schooner.
Gary stayed up late to capture this moment. Getting sharp stars with even the smallest movement on a schooner is a real challenge. Gary was up to it.
Diane and I both thank Captain Barry and his crew for a fabulous experience. I already want to go back for a repeat. Should you wish to explore a similar opportunity, check out their website: https://www.schoonermaryday.com