A lot of finesse and a little power moved 16 schooners into Camden Harbor Friday
A few perfectly placed pushes are needed Friday afternoon to maneuver the schooner Heritage back into a berth on the town docks at the head of Camden Harbor at the start of the 2016 Camden Windjammer Festival. (Photo by Holly S. Edwards)
Capt. Jim Sharp entertains the crowd and narrates the history of each schooner as it makes its way into Camden Harbor Friday afternoon, as well as information about what they did and why and for whom. (Photo by Holly S. Edwards)
Friday was perfect weather for lollygagging on the benches and watching the schooners come into Camden Harbor. (Photo by Holly S. Edwards)
The big, three-masted schooner Victory Chimes makes it’s way in and around the head of Camden Harbor Friday afternoon. (Photo by Holly S. Edwards)
The big, three-masted schooner Victory Chimes makes it’s way in and around the head of Camden Harbor Friday afternoon. (Photo by Holly S. Edwards)
Yawl boats are used to manuever the big schooners, many of which have no engines and rely on them to get them in and out of harbors. (Photo by Holly S. Edwards)
Weekdays, Rick Bates is the Rockport Town Manager, but come weekends, especially Labor Day, he is an integral part of the schooner maneuvering team in Camden, as well as owner of the 60-foot schooner ‘little’ Appledore. (Photo by Holly S. Edwards)
(Photo by Holly S. Edwards)
(Photo by Holly S. Edwards)
(Photo by Holly S. Edwards)
Newly relaunched under its original name, Ladona makes her way around the head of Camden Harbor Friday afternoon. (Photo by Holly S. Edwards)
Longtime schooner cook Bridget Qualey of Camden will be baking homemade apple pies, to sample, in her wood-fired oven all weekend on the public landing. (Photo by Holly S. Edwards)
Artist Buckley Smith, left, will be displaying his nautical art and probably painting something during the weekend as well. (Photo by Holly S. Edwards)
On either end of their dory, Susan and Sam Manning of Camden row Meg Maiden out to the arriving schooners so she can present each with a traditional fresh pineapple welcome. (Photo by Holly S. Edwards)
Capt. Barry King, of the schooner Mary Day, displays his sense of humor and his summer sailing tan on his way into Camden Harbor Friday afternoon. (Photo by Holly S. Edwards)
Getting back to business, Capt. Barry King and his crew bring the schooner Mary Day into her berth at the head of Camden Harbor. (Photo by Holly S. Edwards)
(Photo by Holly S. Edwards)
(Photo by Holly S. Edwards)
The three-masted schooner Victory Chimes takes more than a few small boats to get it nestled up to the docks in Camden Harbor Friday. (Photo by Holly S. Edwards)
Nothing like the pressure of a big crowd dockside, watching every move. (Photo by Holly S. Edwards)
(Photo by Holly S. Edwards)
(Photo by Holly S. Edwards)
Rebuilt stem to stern, and returned to her original name, Ladona arrives in Camden Harbor Friday. (Photo by Holly S. Edwards)
(Photo by Holly S. Edwards)
(Photo by Holly S. Edwards)
Still life under Bridget Qualey’s tent on the publc landing. (Photo by Holly S. Edwards)
Fresh produce, cabinets, an apron and wood stove, as well as a countertop for rolling pie dough, complete Bridget Qualey’s miniature, portable kitchen on the public landing. (Photo by Holly S. Edwards)
Hi Susan Manning! (Photo by Holly S. Edwards)
Susan Manning at the helm, her husband, Sam, at the stern and Meg Maiden seated center in the Manning’s dory. (Photo by Holly S. Edwards)
(Photo by Holly S. Edwards)
(Photo by Holly S. Edwards)
(Photo by Holly S. Edwards)
Second from left, Capt. Noah Barnes aboard his schooner Stephen Taber. Barnes also owns the recently totally restored schooner, Ladona. (Photo by Holly S. Edwards)
Schooner Stephen Taber. (Photo by Holly S. Edwards)
(Photo by Holly S. Edwards)
(Photo by Holly S. Edwards)
Capt. Rick Bates and one of his two Labradoodles, a fine boat dog if ever there was one. (Photo by Holly S. Edwards)
(Photo by Holly S. Edwards)
Charles Gale and Bob Walther have for years helped at Camden Windjammer Festival, towing in the small boats for the schooners. (Photo by Holly S. Edwards)
(Photo by Holly S. Edwards)
(Photo by Holly S. Edwards)
(Photo by Holly S. Edwards)
(Photo by Holly S. Edwards)
(Photo by Holly S. Edwards)
(Photo by Holly S. Edwards)
(Photo by Holly S. Edwards)
(Photo by Holly S. Edwards)
(Photo by Holly S. Edwards)
A few perfectly placed pushes are needed Friday afternoon to maneuver the schooner Heritage back into a berth on the town docks at the head of Camden Harbor at the start of the 2016 Camden Windjammer Festival. (Photo by Holly S. Edwards)
Capt. Jim Sharp entertains the crowd and narrates the history of each schooner as it makes its way into Camden Harbor Friday afternoon, as well as information about what they did and why and for whom. (Photo by Holly S. Edwards)
Friday was perfect weather for lollygagging on the benches and watching the schooners come into Camden Harbor. (Photo by Holly S. Edwards)
The big, three-masted schooner Victory Chimes makes it’s way in and around the head of Camden Harbor Friday afternoon. (Photo by Holly S. Edwards)
The big, three-masted schooner Victory Chimes makes it’s way in and around the head of Camden Harbor Friday afternoon. (Photo by Holly S. Edwards)
Yawl boats are used to manuever the big schooners, many of which have no engines and rely on them to get them in and out of harbors. (Photo by Holly S. Edwards)
Weekdays, Rick Bates is the Rockport Town Manager, but come weekends, especially Labor Day, he is an integral part of the schooner maneuvering team in Camden, as well as owner of the 60-foot schooner ‘little’ Appledore. (Photo by Holly S. Edwards)
(Photo by Holly S. Edwards)
(Photo by Holly S. Edwards)
(Photo by Holly S. Edwards)
Newly relaunched under its original name, Ladona makes her way around the head of Camden Harbor Friday afternoon. (Photo by Holly S. Edwards)
Longtime schooner cook Bridget Qualey of Camden will be baking homemade apple pies, to sample, in her wood-fired oven all weekend on the public landing. (Photo by Holly S. Edwards)
Artist Buckley Smith, left, will be displaying his nautical art and probably painting something during the weekend as well. (Photo by Holly S. Edwards)
On either end of their dory, Susan and Sam Manning of Camden row Meg Maiden out to the arriving schooners so she can present each with a traditional fresh pineapple welcome. (Photo by Holly S. Edwards)
Capt. Barry King, of the schooner Mary Day, displays his sense of humor and his summer sailing tan on his way into Camden Harbor Friday afternoon. (Photo by Holly S. Edwards)
Getting back to business, Capt. Barry King and his crew bring the schooner Mary Day into her berth at the head of Camden Harbor. (Photo by Holly S. Edwards)
(Photo by Holly S. Edwards)
(Photo by Holly S. Edwards)
The three-masted schooner Victory Chimes takes more than a few small boats to get it nestled up to the docks in Camden Harbor Friday. (Photo by Holly S. Edwards)
Nothing like the pressure of a big crowd dockside, watching every move. (Photo by Holly S. Edwards)
(Photo by Holly S. Edwards)
(Photo by Holly S. Edwards)
Rebuilt stem to stern, and returned to her original name, Ladona arrives in Camden Harbor Friday. (Photo by Holly S. Edwards)
(Photo by Holly S. Edwards)
(Photo by Holly S. Edwards)
Still life under Bridget Qualey’s tent on the publc landing. (Photo by Holly S. Edwards)
Fresh produce, cabinets, an apron and wood stove, as well as a countertop for rolling pie dough, complete Bridget Qualey’s miniature, portable kitchen on the public landing. (Photo by Holly S. Edwards)
Hi Susan Manning! (Photo by Holly S. Edwards)
Susan Manning at the helm, her husband, Sam, at the stern and Meg Maiden seated center in the Manning’s dory. (Photo by Holly S. Edwards)
(Photo by Holly S. Edwards)
(Photo by Holly S. Edwards)
(Photo by Holly S. Edwards)
Second from left, Capt. Noah Barnes aboard his schooner Stephen Taber. Barnes also owns the recently totally restored schooner, Ladona. (Photo by Holly S. Edwards)
Schooner Stephen Taber. (Photo by Holly S. Edwards)
(Photo by Holly S. Edwards)
(Photo by Holly S. Edwards)
Capt. Rick Bates and one of his two Labradoodles, a fine boat dog if ever there was one. (Photo by Holly S. Edwards)
(Photo by Holly S. Edwards)
Charles Gale and Bob Walther have for years helped at Camden Windjammer Festival, towing in the small boats for the schooners. (Photo by Holly S. Edwards)
(Photo by Holly S. Edwards)
(Photo by Holly S. Edwards)
(Photo by Holly S. Edwards)
(Photo by Holly S. Edwards)
(Photo by Holly S. Edwards)
(Photo by Holly S. Edwards)
(Photo by Holly S. Edwards)
(Photo by Holly S. Edwards)
(Photo by Holly S. Edwards)
CAMDEN — For many years sailing, Labor Day weekend in Camden has been a time for celebrating the town’s and the region’s rich nautical heritage. The annual Camden Windjammer Festival brings in boat builders and craftsmen, historians and artists, cooks who bake in wood-fired ovens and forgers who pound iron into useful tools. But nothing is as special on the first day of the celebration as the arrival of the windjammer fleet, some historic landmarks, most refitted, some totally rebuilt from stem to stern.
According to Camden Harbormaster Steve Pixley, at least 16 schooners — some of the biggest and oldest in the fleet — were expected to come into the harbor throughout the day Friday, Sept. 2, and he would be the man in charge of figuring out where to put them all.
Maneuvering a powerful hard-bottom inflatable go-fast boat around the harbor, while juggling two VHF radios and a cell phone, Pixley alternated between communicating with incoming captains and with his staff back on the docks waiting to catch lines, tie some off and cast others away.
In addition to each of the schooner’s own yawl boats, Pixley had a solid group of nearly half a dozen volunteers in their own small boats, ready to nudge a bow or push midship to maneuver the big vessels down and around the head of the harbor. Once there, the majority were then slowed as they rounded the “corner” and then were urged backward into their berth, so their stern faced Mt. Battie in the distance.
With so many schooners on the dock, it’s the way most need to be positioned because of their long bowsprits, which would overhang the dock and/or run across the decks of the vessels behind them, tied up alongside the back of the dock.
All but two of the big vessels, those being the three-masted U.S. National Historic Landmark Victory Chimes, home port Rockland, and the Camden day sailing schooner, Appledore II, were bound for berths at the head of the harbor. The Victory Chimes and Appledore II were spending the night on the town side of the dock, near Waterfront Restaurant. The other schooners will either spend the night tied to the town docks or rafted together at the docks’ end.
The schooners Mary Day and Angelique, home port Camden,also returned from their most recent multi-day sailing trips and eventually made their way to the head of the harbor Friday afternoon, tying up at their berths between Camden Harbor Park and the Cannell Boat Building on Atlantic Avenue.
Many of the schooners will be departing in the mornings for more sailing, but there will be schooner open houses on Saturday and Sunday, Sept. 3-4, from 2 to 4 p.m. Climb aboard, peek around, tour their galleys and find out what it would be like to spend some time sailing on one of these majestic vessels.
And of course there is a full schedules of events over the next two days, including a pancake breakfast, chowder challenge, displays of traditions and crafts, crate races, the Nautical Dog Show, the Build-a-Boat competition, music, kayak trips to Curtis Island, a visit by pirates, the First Fish Relay and much more. Check out the links below for full schedules and all the information you need.
• To learn about each of the windjammers and schooners in the fleet, click here and scroll to the bottom of the page.
• For more information about the 2016 Camden Windjammer Festival, click here or click here.
Event Date
Address
5 Public Landing
Camden, ME 04843
United States
