Windjammer Schooner, Maine

Trip Details
Where: The Timberwind Schooner, Rockport, Maine
#of Days: 5
When: August, 2006
Who: Me and my almost 4 year-old daughter
Booked Through: Me and Captain Tassi

Many of my friends here in California are either from Maine, or love to vacation there. Each year, they kept saying, "You'd LOVE Maine." Finally, I decided to go. I also love to sail, and had heard about the Maine Windjammer sailing ships. The trick though was to find one who would take me and my almost 4 year-old daughter. So I sent a message out to the association and Captain Robert Tassi of the Timberwind got back to me almost immediately. He and his wife Dawn, have raised two children on their ship (although they do have a house for between sailings and the winters of course). He thought Kei would do fine being that she has some experience sailing here in the San Francisco Bay.

I flew from Oakland to Portland, Maine and spent the night in Portland. Then the next day we drove up to Rockport Harbor, taking our time on our way. Before I left, I purchased a Garmin Nuvi GPS system and I'm glad that I did. It was really helpful in finding the highways, but also restaurants and other services.

Once we arrived, we we greeted by the Captain's wife, Dawn Tassi, who is nicest, most accomplished woman I've ever met. (She's a nurse in the off-season and also cooks all the meals on a wood burning stove in a tiny galley. Amazing!) She showed us to our quarters. These are not luxury accommodations, think tent camping but on a boat. Tip: Don't bring a lot of luggage - it won't fit. Duffel bags work best. The next morning we set sail with a crew of 4 young, burly men who did all the really hard work. We passengers helped when we could, like raising and lowering the sails, and washing our dishes, but overall we didn't do too much. There were other kids on the trip, ages ranging from 4 to 9. Plus, the Tassi kids, Emily (6) and Will (9). All the kids played together really well and seemed to enjoy themselves completely. Even though the waters in Maine are freezing cold, the kids went swimming anyway. Tip: If your kids have the wet-suit type bathing suits, bring them. They will be able to stay in the water longer.

One evening we were ferried to a small island, where the crew set-up a lobster feed. The kids circumnavigated the island several times, collecting flowers while the food was cooking. The lobster was great, in fact the whole meal was incredible. Everyone had fun and it was definitely the highlight of the whole sail.

We sailed around Penobscot Bay and each night anchored in a different harbor or inlet. One very foggy day, the Captain ferried us to Stonington, a quaint, little Maine town. It was nice to get off the ship and walk around, especially since I felt my shorts getting tighter and tighter after eating all of Dawn's wonderful food.

Showers...well, they have a tall canvas bag they set up on the deck if you ask. You zip it up and use hot water that is piped up from the galley. I did not try it, and preferred to just wash my hair on deck.

After the trip, we stayed one night in Camden at the Black Berry Inn. It was lovely and wished I had booked two nights. We then continued on the Bar Harbor for the rest of our Maine vacation.

What to Bring: Waterproof jacket (Gortex etc...), fleece jacket, hat, jeans, shorts, tee-shirts, a book, mosquito repellent, Teva or other water-proof sandals, and a life jacket for younger children. (For women, cropped pants work well because the deck is often wet.) I brought my sailing jacket and I'm glad I did. Bring small toys, books and small games for the kids. Tip: Vaseline is used to grease the sail rings that go up the mast. If you get this gooey stuff on your clothes it stains. So don't bring any "designer" clothes if you're crawling around the ship chasing kids...

Bottom Line: I'd definitely sail on the Timberwind again, but only if there were other kids on the ship too. I'd consider the Fall Colors trip; Maine in the fall must be gorgeous.