Safe Harbor

The forecast for Tuesday was for another cold front to pass, this one with thunderstorms and higher wind gust. We decided on Smith Cove near Castine as a good safe place to anchor and planned to stay there until Wednesday after the bad weather passed. Monday evening was beautiful and we had the place to ourselves. As promised, on Tuesday around noon it began to darken and we could hear the rumble of the thunder. Just before and as the first of the rain hit we were joined in our anchorage by three windjammers. The fact they decided on the same location gave us confidence we are getting pretty good at selecting anchorages. We were joined by Victory Chimes. Built in 1900 in Bethel, Delaware to carry lumber up and down the shallow bays and rivers of the Chesapeake, the 132' schooner Victory Chimes is the last three masted schooner on the East coast, and the largest passenger sailing vessel under U.S. flag.

Victory Chimes can accommodate 40 guest. When they raised anchor Wednesday morning to leave we could hear the engine powering the windlass. The original anchor windlass is mounted behind the bowsprit heel forward and is powered by an ancient engine in the forward part of the deckhouse. The original four horsepower donkey engine soon proved inadequate, it was replaced with a six horsepower Sea Gear engine made in 1906 by Olds in Lansing, Michigan. This is still in use. Donkey engines were a prominent feature of schooners from the end of commercial sail when crews were kept to a minimum through the use of such mechanical aids.

Also joining us was the 92' schooner American Eagle which was built in Gloucester, Massachusetts in 1930. For 53 years she was a working member of the famed Gloucester fishing fleet. She's also a National Historic Landmark. American Eagle left early Wednesday morning before I could get a picture.

Another schooner J. & E. Riggin, was built on the Maurice River in Dorchester, New Jersey in 1927. Charles Riggin had her built for his oyster dredging fleet and named her after his sons, Jacob and Edward. They all captained her at one time or another on the Delaware Bay. She was always known as a quick, light air vessel and her speed was proven in 1929 when she handily won the only official Oyster Dredging Race in the Delaware Bay. She was used for oyster-dredging until the 1940's, when the fishing regulations changed. The Riggin family sold her and she was converted to power to begin fishing for groundfish and mackerel in Cape Cod and Long Island Sound. In the early 1970s she was bought by Dave and Sue Allen and converted from a fishing vessel to a passenger carrying vessel which is what she remains. Her engine was removed and cabins added down below to create space for guests. The current owners bought her from the Allens in 1998. We watched the guest pitch in to operate the manual windlass.

Since both Victory Chimes and J. & E. Riggin are engineless, they are aided by powered launches which attach to the stern. To leave the anchorage they had to go directly into the wind, which is not possible under sail.

Victory Chimes

J. & E. Riggin