Maine Windjammer Cruises — Local services in Camden

My wife chose this trip because it was our 10 year wedding anniversary. I was not going to let myself get excited; because I have always loved the idea of sailing and yet have never been and did not want to get my hopes up. My only trepidation was having to put up with other people who had no sense of humor.

So, Sunday we arrived just an hour before check-in and upon arrival the nice lady at the front desk was probably far more cheerful than I would be at that hour. But I loved it!

We brought our small amount of gear on board and was shown our rooms after a brief lesson by the Captain. Our room and beds were small and by no means should you expect one of these rooms to be of cruise like quality, because you should not want to spend your days in your cabin and that is the point! We slept pretty well that first night before we set sail and all of our stuff fit neatly in our cabin with room to stand and change. The ship was probably around 140 years old and was maybe 100 feet in length, with large wood masts heavy sails and you can hear the very slight creaking in the wood all around the boat as it rocked with the ocean. I was totally in love with her already.

That night I met a few of the crew and passengers on deck while we kind of introduced ourselves in a non formal fashion which made me more at ease and since I clicked with everyone that I had met, I knew that I was going to have a great time.

The next morning they served some Mexican omelette type thing which was cooked on a wood stove down in the galley, which I thought was cool as hell. Now, this omelette set the tone for how the rest of the meals were going to be MOST EXCELLENT!

We were invited to help raise sails once we were pushed off out of port and like a kid in a toy store, I did.

There was a small complement of crew and passengers, 14 maybe in total, so it was a lot less crowded than it could be. During that time I met the rest of the passengers and crew I did not meet the night before. I went down into the galley to thank the cook that made that fantastic breakfast and ended up chopping garlic.

We sailed what seemed like forever and not long enough. Our first stop was Stoningham where we dropped anchor and ate a wonderful dinner, lunch was good too, and also it had garlic.

Now when my wife had mentioned that it was a working boat, I thought to myself, GREAT IT WORKS, who knew? LOL, well I ended up doing all kinds of work, not because I was forced or it was mandatory, but because it was something you wanted to do.

Once we got back, we hauled anchor again and set sail for another island, which had no one on it and we went ashore and walked it's beautiful sandy beaches. I think that night we had lobster cooked over a fire.

The next day we raised anchor and set sail to Rockport where after another wonderful dinner we sat and listened to one of the Captain's poems that he wrote and was published, he read other things that he liked and we all sat there and listened as we drank our beers and relaxed the night away.

The next day we sailed back to Camden and after playing a few jokes on Captain Ray, it was time to go home. I think that I speak for pretty much everyone on board when I say we wanted to stay and everything we had seen and done all over again. I just want to say thank you to Captain Christopher, Dillon, Dawson, Sara, and Collin.

I will remember this to be the best anniversary trip ever. Even better than that cruise ship we took for our honeymoon. Oh and speaking of cruise ships, I found out from other ships crews that the Chamber of Commerce has been catering to the large cruise ships which is taking away business to this unique to Maine Schooner sailing. I questioned the crew I was on board with but they just shook their heads without a response. It is too bad if it's true because it was such an amazing experience that I feel that everyone should have a chance to enjoy.

Thank you for the most beautiful and memorable...

Dealing with Maine Windjammer Cruises started out as a positive experience. Margaret, who apparently handles the office and all that entails, was always gracious and engaging over the phone. Then we arrived in Camden and headed for "the office," which we just could not locate. It was Friday and we were trying to "check in" as we had been instructed to do, before boarding Grace Bailey on Sunday evening. We called Margaret. She told us there was no longer an office due to the pandemic. Wow, well it would have been nice to learn that up front before going crazy trying to find something that no longer existed. Not even a sign to inform incoming passengers. We called Margaret again on Saturday to ask how we could purchase merchandise, shown on the MWC website but not purchasable on line. Margaret said she would sell us stuff out of the trunk of her car but that she would no way be at the Public Landing then, Saturday. Later Margaret texted me, that she would meet us before we boarded the Grace Bailey on Sunday, late afternoon. She never showed up. She then texted, while we were at dinner on Sunday night, that she would be at the Public Landing at 8:30 Monday morning before we sailed. On Monday, after setting sail (Margaret knows the schedule) I had two missed calls from Margaret, well after noon. We sailed for a week, we returned to port, and I've not had any attempted contact from Margaret. I bought the scrimshaw I wanted from someone else, and Tshirts from other shops. I worked in retail for years and this is not customer service. Supposedly after one sail you become an "Old Salt" and can buy the appropriate Tshirt claiming such, except you can't buy it on line because there are no online sales (come on now, upgrade your site) and you can't buy it from Margaret who doesn't show with her trunk of goodies. I think if you made the club, you should automatically be sent a free Old Salt's shirt. It's really a small thing that would have a huge impact on business loyalty. Instead, I come away feeling frustrsted and, indeed, brushed aside, for just trying to make a purchase. Not a...

My husband loves sailing and I was an avid landlubber until I agreed to try a new adventure with him on Sept. 1-6th, 2019 when we set sail around Penobscot Bay on the fabulous 103 year old WINDJAMMER schooner, THE MERCANTILE, owned by Captain Williamson and skippered by Captain Christopher S. and his talented and professional crew. What a blast we had. !!!!!! I came armed with anti seasick meds and found instead my first sea legs. Having never sailed in my life, I can't wait to sail again. The professionalism, kindness, generosity and patience of the Captain and crew....(Dylan, Sam, Austin, Obie and Tiffany) calmed my reservations and let me enjoy this special time with my new husband. We pumped bilge together, flaked a few sails, filled Charlie Noble and the drinking pump. We studied the maps...oops, the charts, with the Captain. We felt like we back in Scout camp when it came time to do the dishes. I cannot leave out our Chefs in the Galley: the meals....I still smell the delicious scents wafting up the companionway. Austin and Obie outdid themselves creating special dishes at every meal for those with a dietary requests, while creating meals for all that were plentiful, hot and filling. Desserts !!! Sigh...no chocolate but we did have Grandma's molasses cookies hot from the oven. And, the creamer for the coffee was from Pfaltzgraff, making me feel at home as it has been my favorite set of dishes since 1972. I did take a picture. I bumped my head a few times but I did learn to duck quickly. Thanks Sam for the constant reminders! We promise to sail with you again and I promise, Captain Chris, that we will not pack 6 bags again. We treasure the amused face you made as we came on board on Sunday night. I will send y'all some pictures if you let us know where to send them. I have sent them to the friends we made (the other passengers) and they like them. Thank you all for this "peaceful" time at sea. Thanks for the memories and my new schooner family. Fondly, Nancy Urquhart-Guerin and Wilfred Thomas Guerin, Warwick, Rhode Island. We give you all 5...