Maine Windjammers 368
The Maine Windjammer Association and the Historic Inns of Rockland, Maine, have joined forces to offer charter sailors a weeklong eco-adventure package. Combine a four-day Maine Windjammer cruise with a three-day stay at one of the historic inns of Rockland, each of which is within easy walking distance of galleries, museums, and dining.
Charterers will dine at lobster bakes and enjoy premier inn accommodations as well as outdoors activities, and they’ll be encouraged to leave a clean wake with no trace of their activity on islands visited.
This land-and-sea package can be tailored to accommodate charterers’ preferences. Start by booking a four-day cruise aboard one of the 12 windjammers in the fleet, then ask to add the land portion of the package. You’ll get to choose among several options for inn stays.
Included in the trip are all meals while sailing, breakfast during inn stays, hiking and island exploration, free luggage storage, and tickets to the Maine Lighthouse Museum.
Costs begin at $825 per person for double occupancy for the seven-day package throughout 2008. Upgraded rooms and extended cruise or inn stays are also available at an additional charge and subject to availability. For more information, contact Maine Windjammer (877-762-4667, www.sailmainecoast.com) and Historic Inns of Rockland (277-762-4667, www.historicinnsofrockland.com).
Charter-Company Sailing School Gets Top Nod
The American Sailing Association, a marine-accreditation organization, named Florida Sailing & Cruising School to its honor roll of 2007 outstanding schools, saluting it as one of 20 best A.S.A. sailing-instruction programs in North America.
Florida Sailing & Cruising School, a division of Southwest Florida Yachts, scored in the top tier out of more than 300 A.S.A.-accredited schools based on evaluations submitted by previous students. The school offers combinations of two- , three- , four- , and 12-day liveaboard coastal and offshore courses. Cruising grounds, located off the southwest coast of the state, range from Charlotte Harbor to the Intracoastal Waterway and the Gulf of Mexico. Tuition for liveaboard courses includes onboard accommodations, instruction, fuel, and course materials. Students are responsible for their meals and personal expenses, dockage at other marinas, and other provisions for themselves and the instructor. The school also conducts liveaboard powerboat courses at Marinatown Marina in North Fort Myers, Florida. For additional information, contact the school (800-262-7939, www.flsailandcruiseschool.com).
Sailing Slots Still Open
Robert Etter of ETAPCharterLease, a fractional-sailing company that offers spring ocean passages from Florida to Connecticut via Bermuda as well as shorter passages along the Florida coast and islands, says slots are still available for 2008. Contact him at the company base in Stamford, Connecticut (203-921-5165, www.etapcharterlease.com) for details about berths on the passages as well as for information regarding fractional-sailing membership slots still available for the Etap 37s.
