50th Annual Windjammer Days 2012

At this year's Windjammer Days Festival, June 24-27, you will find something for everyone and most of the events are FREE to the public! Enjoy the beauty of fully rigged windjammers sailing into Boothbay Harbor. Four days of family fun, sailboat race, golf tournament, pancake breakfasts, waterfront concerts, art,  craft fair, hometown street parade, antique boat parade and fireworks over the harbor! 


You will see twelve beautiful windjammers sail into Boothbay Harbor, including a motley gang of pirates that will invade Boothbay Harbor striking not terror but delight in the hearts of all those they encounter.

The new "Jammers and Joggers" race, sponsored by 94.9 WHOM will kick off the Festival at 7:30 am.  Come cheer on Dr. Alamo, a popular Boothbay Harbor physician and veteran marathoner, and his family and the Schooner Timberwind with Captains Bob and Joe Tass, as they race down the coast of Maine by land and sea for nearly 50 miles.

Sherman Zwicker will be on our railway or dock during the festivities.

Enjoy some amazing photos taken by Kevin Morris last year on Windjammer Days.

VICTORY CHIMES

Victory Chimes returned to the large railway at BBH Shipyard for seasonal maintenance. 

Victory Chimes, built in 1900, as Edwin and Maud, which was named for the two children of her first Captain, Robert E. Riggen, is the only surviving example of the Chesapeake Ram type schooner in existence today. She was built for the mid-Atlantic and Great Lakes where it was necessary for a schooner to fit through shallow navigational canals. Her original cargo consisted of lumber, grain, soft coal and fertilizer, which she carried in and out of Chesapeake Bay until 1945 when she was converted to carrying passengers. 

In 1954, she was purchased by a syndicate, brought to Maine and re-named Victory Chimes.  Victory Chimes operated as a successful charter business on the coast of Maine until 1984 when she was sold to a Minnesota banker who brought her to the Great Lakes. Shortly after, 
she was purchased by the owner of Domino’s Pizza, Mr. Thomas Monaghan, and re-named
Domino Effect and used by the company for employee incentive cruises.  In 1988, Mr. Monaghan had the schooner restored by Samples (now Boothbay Harbor Shipyard) and can arguably be credited for saving her life. 

In 1989 she returned to the coast of Maine and subsequently in 1990, was purchased by her
current owners, Capt. Kip Files and Capt. Paul DeGaeta who named her Victory Chimes once again and returned her to the passenger trade carrying up to 50 passengers. Honored by the State of Maine as “The premier schooner of the Maine sailing fleet” in 1991, by the United States National Parks Service as a “National Historic Landmark” in 1997.  She remains a successful and well kept “working” vessel steeped with important U.S. maritime history.

Time to Go Sailing

There are few more delicious places in the world than in Boothbay Harbor, Maine in July, August and September . The crisp evenings and warm days allow the locals and visitors to enjoy the activities and the coastal waters to their fullest. Since you can't all be here with us to enjoy this experience, we want to share some images and video with you.

One special event in June is Windjammer Days, which includes a great view of tall ships, mostly two-masted schooners as they sail into Boothbay Harbor in the parade of sail. This year some of the schooners included: Alabama, American Eagle, Eastwind, Fame, Heritage, Lazy Jack, Lewis R. French, Nathaniel Bowditch, Rachel B. Jackson, Spirit of Massachusetts, Friendship of Salem and Spirit of South Carolina.

Here at the Boothbay Harbor Shipyard, we get pleasure from seeing many of these ships up close while they receive yearly maintenance. We have had many of these Windjammers here at the shipyard such as: Gazela of Philadelphia, Sherman Zwicker, Victory Chimes, Harvey Gamage and J&E Riggin.

As we gaze out at the harbor from the end of the dock, we often see magnificent yachts sailing like the Alera, which was restored here at the Boothbay Harbor Shipyard. The extensive six-month rehabilitation of the Alera began the day after the yard celebrated the yacht's 100th birthday on January 3, 2005.

The following clip was taken of the Alera by MPBN. You can watch the complete Emmy award winning video on a local sailmaker, Nat Wilson from the Maine Experience called Carpe Diem.

Friendship of Salem Docked at Boothbay Harbor Shipyard

The 171-foot full scale replica of a 1797 East India merchant tall ship, the Friendship of Salem arrived at the Boothbay Harbor Shipyard on Monday, Jun 23 for Windjammer Days.
The Friendship of Salem, a three-masted schooner will be docked at the Boothbay Harbor Shipyard, and open for inspections on Tuesday and Wednesday.

This is your chance to get on board one of the eleven tall ships sailing into Boothbay Harbor this year for the Windjammer Days. Click here to see video.

If you would like to see it sail away, it will be leaving the Shipyard on Thursday.