Berth of the Cool Blog - A Maine Windjammer Journal

	August 22, 2008 Sailing in Penobscot Bay on the Fourth of July No fireworks but sunset sights to spare from Mackerel Cove to Gilkey Harbor, Islesboro. (Enjoy the video of the sunset,too.) Read more » Posted on Friday, August 22, 2008 in Berth of the Cool \| Permalink \| Comments (2)

	August 21, 2008 The Business of Raising Sails on a Maine Windjammer On the trip from Allen Cove to Mackerel Cove, Swans Island, McCanna learns the business of sailing a boat, a livelihood and a business in one. Read more » Posted on Thursday, August 21, 2008 in Berth of the Cool \| Permalink \| Comments (0)

	August 20, 2008 The Windjammer Cruise and the Lobster Bake Each are made memorable by Moxie and Red Hots on Day 3 of my Lewis R. French sail from Brooklin to Allen Cove, North Brooklin. Read more » Posted on Wednesday, August 20, 2008 in Berth of the Cool \| Permalink \| Comments (2)

	August 19, 2008 The Great Schooner Race, 2008 Sometimes nice guys finish second. Read more » Posted on Tuesday, August 19, 2008 in Berth of the Cool \| Permalink \| Comments (0)

	August 18, 2008 Lewis R. French Day 1: Camden to Holbrook Island Harbor, Castine Captain Garth Wells’s passengers are exceedingly outgoing, nice, and polite. His schooner, the Lewis R. French is the oldest windjammer in the United States and was built in Christmas Cove, Maine, in 1871 to carry coal, bricks, and fish. Read more » Posted on Monday, August 18, 2008 in Berth of the Cool \| Permalink \| Comments (1)

	August 8, 2008 Heritage, Day 5: Long Cove to Pulpit Harbor, North Haven Imagine if you’d designed a 95-foot coasting schooner, built it with your own hands, and made a decent living driving it around the coast of Maine. Read more » Posted on Friday, August 8, 2008 in Berth of the Cool \| Permalink \| Comments (2)

	August 6, 2008 Heritage, Day 4: Boothbay Harbor to Long Cove, Vinalhaven Minke whales and the definition of Down East are perks aboard the Heritage. Read more » Posted on Wednesday, August 6, 2008 in Berth of the Cool \| Permalink \| Comments (0)

	August 6, 2008 Heritage, Day 3: Linekin Bay to Boothbay Harbor Boothbay Harbor's Windjammer Days is not for the faint-at-heart deckhand. Read more » Posted on Wednesday, August 6, 2008 in Berth of the Cool \| Permalink \| Comments (2)

	August 5, 2008 Aboard the Heritage Day 2: Port Clyde to Linekin Bay, Boothbay Don't call a Heritage deckhand a schooner bum. They're schooner professionals to Captains Lee. Read more » Posted on Tuesday, August 5, 2008 in Berth of the Cool \| Permalink \| Comments (2)

	August 4, 2008 Aboard the Heritage Day 1: Rockland to Port Clyde It’s a hot, humid morning when I take the stairs and descend into the steamy, wood-fired heat of the Heritage’s galley. In a few hours we’ll depart our dock at Rockland’s North End Shipyard; in the meantime, the passengers are assembled for a breakfast of scrambled eggs and ham. Seated with my back toward the woodstove, I begin to sweat almost immediately. For the most part, it’s a genuine, heat-induced perspiration, but there’s a degree to which my sweat is unnatural and embarrassing. Flop sweat, you might call it. Read more » Posted on Monday, August 4, 2008 in Berth of the Cool \| Permalink \| Comments (2)

There are twelve traditional tall ships in the Maine Windjammer Association; this summer I'm sailing on all of them.

For many, a windjammer vacation represents the perfect Maine getaway. Each day is filled with the sights that have become shorthand for Vacationland: lighthouses, lobster pots, and loons.

But life at sea isn’t pure leisure for everyone. To keep these antique vessels shipshape, the men and women who sail them must first endure a season of hard labor during spring fit-out. Then, in summer, these schooner bums will work long days at the helm or in the galley, only to bed down for a short night’s sleep in a humble crew berth.

Over the next six and a half months, I’ll learn what makes these trips so special for the passengers, but I’ll also find out what it is about the cool waters of Penobscot Bay that keep these schooner bums coming back for more.

Ben McCanna is a freelance writer, editor, and videographer. He lives in Rockland.

Sailor Lingo

A glossary of nautical terminology

A companion guide to Berth of the Cool, a Windjammer Journal

about (coming about)— the process of turning the boat through the wind from one tack to another.
beating— sailing upwind on a series of tacks. (Also known as sailing close-hauled.)
berth— a place to sleep on a ship.
bow— the front end of the ship.
bowsprit — a large spar that projects from the bow of the ship.
cabin sole— belowdecks flooring. The sole can be removed to expose the bilge.
close-hauled— sailing into the wind with the sails trimmed in as close as possible
coastal navigation— using two or more shoreline landmarks to chart the ship's location.
companionway— a doorway and stairs leading from the deck to below.
crew berths— bunks in the bow of the vessel. These are typically quite small.
downwind run— sailing with the wind directly astern.
fisherman anchor (yachtsman's anchor)— a type of anchor. Fisheman anchors are more traditional in design and used primarily for heavy-duty applications.
fit-out— spring maintenance of a ship. Includes painting, varnishing, replacing planks, re-caulking seams, rigging, and bending-on sails.
following sea— waves that are moving in the same direction as the boat’s course.
forepeak— the forward-most portion of the deck.
foresail— the sail attached to the forward mast of a two-masted ship.
galley— a boat’s kitchen and belowdecks gathering place for passengers and crew
halyard— a line that hoists a sail.
haul-out — towing the boat out of the water so hull work can be done.
heeling— when the boat leans to one side from wind pressure
headsail— any number of sails that are forward of the foremast (includes the jib, staysail, and jib staysail)
holding tank — tank that holds either freshwater, wastewater, or, in some cases, fuel.
hook— anchor.
jib— the forward-most headsail.
jibe— the act of swinging the sails from one side of the boat to the other while sailing off the wind.
lee (in the lee of)— a flat calm area of sea where the wind has been buffeted of blocked by a large object such as an island
mainsail— the sail attached to the mainmast (aft mast) of a two-masted ship.
NOAA— National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. A scientific agency that provides detailed forecasts on weather and sea states.
peak— the upper part of a four-sided sail that resembles a peak when full hoisted.
quarterdeck— aft portion of a tall ship (typically the upper deck). The helm is located here.
raft— a collection of two or more boats tied together at an anchorage or mooring
ratlines— ropes that form a ladder leading from the side of the boat to the top of the mast.
"reading from both pages"— idiom for sailing "wing and wing." When sailing on a downwind run, the foresail is "wung out" such that it is trimmed on the opposite side of the mainsail. From the helm, the two sails resemble pages of an open book, hence "reading from both pages."
rigging — (noun) ropes or cables that are broken into two general categories: 1. standing rigging supports masts; 2. running rigging allows crew to hoist or trim sails. (verb) Setting ropes, cables, spars, and masts into place.
schooner— typically a two-masted ship where the mainmast (aft mast) is taller than the foremast.
staysail— a headsail that is rigged directly forward of the foresail
spar — a hefty length of rounded wood that serves to support rigging
stern— the rear end of the boat.
tack— (noun) a leg of a journey in which there are no significant changes to the boat’s course or its sails. Once the course has been changed and the sails trimmed, a new tack has begun. (verb) Sailing a zigzag course to windward.
throat— the forward part of a four-sided sail; the part that is attached to the mast.
transom— the ship’s rear-most panel as viewed from behind. Stern describes the general rear-end portion of the ship, while transom describes this particular area. (Typically, a boat’s name is painted on the transom).
topsail— a sail that is set above the foresail on a schooner- or square-rigged vessel.
trimming sail— adjusting the position of the sail for the best presentation to the wind.
windlass— a winch that raises the anchor.
yawlboat— a small motorboat that’s used to push a tall ship during calms or anytime sailing in untenable (such as in tight harbors).