Portland Schooner Co. — Local services in Portland

Our summer vacations revolve around the same several families, usually in new locations. This year we were nine in a house on the beach in Scarborough, Maine, just south of Portland. Usually we try to find a way to sail together, and one of the challenges can be finding a charter with a captain whose license allows for more than six passengers.

So it was just luck that most of the traditional yachts in the area could not take all of us together, and instead we found Portland Schooner's wooden Vela, which can take over twenty. And that was really fortunate. It was a treat seeing the actual operation of traditional fittings and wooden spars on a gaff-rigged, cutter sloop. The topsail was not flown, and only one staysail was up, but we had enough power under main and jib alone for the 60-footer to glide through the water in modest wind, with only moderate heel.

We had pretty much a perfect daysail. Casco Bay is a great place to go out. The varied islands, Portland skyline, and wildlife provide plenty to see, even for a simple there-and-back reach with only the one tack (I'm sure we could have asked for a more complicated course, but the family members have varying interest in the technical aspects, and all of us enjoy the basic experience). We watched an osprey circle overhead, and saw a few harbor seals in the water nearby.

An advantage to having a captain licensed for larger vessels is having a sure hand at the wheel. Jack was certainly that, making every technique look easy, from docking to raising sails, and everything in between. He was also very able in answering our questions about the boat and surroundings. Our deckhand, Sam, was not only great at handling the lines, but also a great conversationalist with more than a few insights into the linguistic origins of some of the words that came up (including Casco, Vela, and a possibly apocryphal story about the now the Ballantine coil got its name).

Overall, a great experience, and highly recommended. My only regret is not finding a way back out on one of the other, older, Alden-designed yachts in the Portland Schooner fleet. That will just be a good reason to return to Maine some...

The sail itself was great. Perfect conditions with enough wind to make the outing very enjoyable. Captain and crew were friendly and fun. My complaint is with the administration / management of the company. When I booked the trip my confirmation indicated to be at the Ocean Gate Pier. I later received a text that indicated there was a change to my reservation and I needed to meet at the OCEAN GATE PIER (yes, the SAME ONE as on my original confirmation message). My wife has a displaced vertebrae and is unable to walk long distances and we have handicapped parking as a result. I was fortunate to find parking right across the street from the Ocean Gate Pier. When I checked in for the tour, the young woman giggled and told me we were supposed to be at the Maine State Pier launch site (about 3 blocks from where we were). I explained about my wife's condition and that I had just paid for parking and now I would have to retrieve my car and find another parking location near the Maine State Pier (it was an extremely busy weekend afternoon). Still giggling, she shrugged and said there was nothing she could do about that. I understand mistakes happen, but I am really annoyed at the completely unrepentant attitude that I encountered. I experienced the same cavalier attitude at the check in kiosk at the Maine State Pier. I really didn't want anything more than an acknowledgement that they screwed up and some regret that they had caused me an inconvenience (and an otherwise unnecessary $25 additional parking charge). But I got nothing other than shrugs, giggles, and some insincere "Oh well"s. Like I said, the sail was fun, the admin needs some lessons in customer...

This was the most appalling experience I've ever had and would rate zero stars if I could.

We sailed on the Bagheera on Saturday 8/24 at 1:00 PM. Approximately 20 minutes prior to the end of the trip, the septic tank overflowed, which caused the drain near where we were sitting to spew out human waste all over our exposed feet and the sandals we were wearing. We were unaware of where the drain led to, or else we would have chosen to sit in another location.

The staff noticed the leakage immediately and asked everyone sitting on our side of the boat to move. Actually, the female staff member asked the couple sitting on our side to move, even though we were sitting closer to the spurt. It really felt like we were an afterthought as she barely said anything to us. Although we were situated closest to the drain and I had loudly voiced my displeasure and utter disgust over getting splashed several times, the staff never once addressed us directly about it. Even if they hadn't heard me, they should have asked if we were okay considering we were sitting right in front of the leakage, especially the female employee who noticed the incident first and asked us to move. We also did not use the restroom during our cruise, meaning we were splashed with other people's urine and feces. I could not bring myself to leave a tip after the staff's blatant disregard.

After docking, we reported the incident to the woman in the office, who apologized but only offered us water (no soap) to rinse off as consolation. Considering human waste is a biohazard, I feel like we should have been refunded.

I would never recommend this callous...