Sailing the Maine Coast on the Windjammer Angelique: An Elderhostel Program

The Angelique, built in 1980, was modeled after a windjammer of the 19th Century. Amenities have been added to make life aboard more comfortable and enjoyable, including 3 heads (bathrooms) and 2 hot, fresh-water showers below deck. There is standing headroom in all 15 passenger cabins and all are well-ventilated, carpeted, and include a fresh-water sink, reading lights in both upper and lower bunks, and a generous supply of fresh towels, sheet, and blankets.



Angelique's red sails (she's the only boat in the fleet with them) depict an English fishing trawler circa 1880 that fished the North Sea. It was common in England to make the cotton canvas sails more resistant to mildew by treating them with tallow, tannic acid, and red ocher. She is rigged as a gaff topsail ketch with these specifications:

Length Overall: 130 feet
Length of Deck: 95 feet
Beam: 23 feet, 7-1/2 inches
Draft: 11 feet
Sail Area: 5269 square feet (7 sails)
Displacement: 142 tons
Passengers: 31
Crew: 7

A windjammer uses the wind to move, so our itinerary was determined by the wind and tide. We left the dock in Camden on the morning tide and returned on the afternoon tide, and the rest of the cruise was spent where the sailing was best during the day. Each night, Captain Mike found a snug cove or harbor to anchor in. Three times we went ashore on the rowboats -- with us supplying the muscle and the Andrew, Shelley, and Sparks providing the instruction and direction. In this photo, first mate Andrew steers in the stern with deck hand Sparks in the bow...




One stop was Brooklin, Maine, where we visited the Wooden Boat School and Store, enjoyed the concert by the wonderful Atlantic Clarion Steel Band, partook of the complimentary mussels, cheese and crackers, and apple cider, and savored the unusual spectacle of a dozen of the Maine Windjammers populating the harbor at the same time -- the annual Rendezvous of the Fleet...



The next afternoon, we rowed to the quaint town of Stonington on Deer Isle, and also rowed to Burnt Island for a delicious beach lobster bake. (You can see Ellen's post about the lobster bake here.)



Captain Mike McHenry (far left) happily explained ship operations and showed us our location and day's route on the charts (maps)...



..and allowed us a stint at the helm...






The crew patiently answered all questions and demonstrated all aspects of their daily chores. Passengers could do as much or as little as they chose, with many of us joining in each day to hoist the huge main and mizzen' sails...






...and later to help furl the sails as they descended...



Here's camcorder footage of us raising and lowering the sails and the raising of the anchor to give you a feel for the work involved and the sounds emitted...



Here's a video of our entire week aboard:



All Elderhostel programs require that a strong educational component be incorporated in every offering, and our educators more than fulfilled that requirement with three "class" sessions daily by our duo of teachers, Bud and Barbara...




Bud enlightened us as to local history, Maine coastal industries including boat building and launching, lobstering, granite quarrying, and even guano mining, as well as many other topics. And he also regularly dispensed jokes and candy! Barbara was our naturalist, with birds, plants, and marine animals from whales to mollusks as her forte. A highlight was her lesson on the sex lives of lobsters. Her final lesson was "show and tell" when she brought her barred owl (Miss Bernie), her red shouldered hawk (Ripley), and her turkey vulture (Ziggy). Lest you think Barbara scoffs the law by keeping such pets, she is a licensed raptor rehabilitator and these are her charges. Below she shows us Ziggy...



I would be remiss if I didn't laud the expertise of the cooks and bakers, Sarah and Maggie (below) assisted by Charlie, who delighted our noses and taste buds and stimulated our appetites with tasty meal after tasty meal. Delicious homemade (shipmade?) bread was part of our daily fare. They use a Beaufort model Dikinson stove that takes up most of the galley's 5 x 17-foot area, turning out wondrous meals that more than satisfy the whole boat load of guests and crew -- nearly 40 people in all. Thanks, ladies! (More info about the onboard meals on Ellen's post here.)



More photos of our week are here.

Non-Elderhostel trips on the Angelique are also available.