The full 2003 chartering schedule of the 14 member schooners of the Maine Windjammer Association revolves around a summers worth of fleet races and rendezvous gatherings in Penobscot Bay.
Weeklong events around which vacationing sailors can book trips include the Schooner Gam (June 9), Windjammer Days (June 23), the Great Schooner Race (June 30), the WoodenBoat Show (July 14), Camden Windjammer Weekend (August 25), and the WoodenBoat Sail-In (September 8).
If special interests, not events, are more your style, pick from themed charters with such focuses as lighthouse viewing, photography, whale watching, full-moon and night sailing, natural history, astronomy, hiking, fall foliage, and bird watching. Other themed charters are organized for families with children, family reunions, corporate retreats, a knitters weekend, and nonsmokers. Special charters will sail to the Lunenburg, Nova Scotia, Folk Harbor Festival and to the Gloucester Schooner Race.
The special events and special-interest trips complement the full season of three- to six-day charters from mid-May to mid-October aboard the traditional tall ships, which range in size from 46 to 132 feet on deck and include seven designated as National Historic Landmarks. Each vessel is privately owned and operated by crews and captains whove made longterm commitments to the maritime trades, nautical history, and the schooner lifestyle. Trip costs, including all meals, range from $350 to $850 per passenger, depending on charter term. For details, contact the association (800-807-9463, www.sailmainecoast.com).
The Moorings Adds Croatia
Trogir, on the Dalmation coast of Croatia off the Adriatic Sea, is the location of the newest base of The Moorings charter company. Sailors were able to make reservations for bareboat sailing trips as of last month aboard a new fleet of monohulls and catamarans from 33 to 41 feet in length. “Cruising the Dalmatian coast is a highlight of the Adriatic, and now sailors can experience it with the quality and five-star service of The Moorings,” says company president Lex Raas. Trogir, located in the heart of the Adriatic cruising scene, is ideally situated for northerly sailing to the islands of Kornati National Park as well as for the southerly option to the Dalmation islands. The chartering season runs from May to October. For details, contact The Moorings (800-535-7289, www.moorings.com). The Trogir site is the latest of five new bases that the company has added in the last year. The others are at Göçek, Turkey; Canouan, in the Grenadines; Levkas, Greece; and the Seychelle islands.
Star Clippers Themed Trips
Star Clippers has introduced a new lineup of trips aboard its megayacht tall ships (see “And All I Ask Is a Tall Ship . . .,” March 2003). Through 2004, charters will feature gourmet dining, Caribbean culture and music, sports and fitness, yoga and nutrition, jazz and blues. For more information, contact the company (800-442-0551, www.starclippers.com).
