American Eagle
U.S.A.
Homeport: ME
Rig: Schooner
Sparred Length: 125’
Draft: 12’
Beam: 20’
Hull: Wood
American Eagle was launched in 1930 as a Gloucester fishing schooner, and sailed from Gloucester for over 50 years. Captain John Foss purchased her in 1984, and took her to Rockland, Maine, where she underwent a complete rebuild. In 1986 she began her career as a passenger-carrying windjammer. Each fall she returns to Gloucester to participate in the annual schooner race there.
Captain John Foss has been sailing the Maine Coast from an early age, and has skippered Maine Windjammers since 1976.
Angelique
U.S.A.
Homeport: Camden, ME
Rig: Gaff Topsail Ketch
Sparred Length: 130’
Draft: 11’
Beam: 24’
Hull: Steel
Designed only for windjamming and built for comfort, Angelique is swift, snug, safe. Her deep draft hull and full keel assure maximum stability even in a "blow". Her steel and wood construction combines the 21st-century's highest safety standards and the authenticity of classic 19th-century English Channel and North Sea windjammers. Angelique is different form most Maine windjammers; she is a gaff topsail ketch, not a schooner. Her distinctive tanbark sails distinguish her easily, as does her big fantail stern with its large overhang, and her relatively tall rig. She has an on-deck salon, allowing passengers to relax inside and still view the passing scene.
She is headed by Captain Mike and his wife Lynne.
Lewis R. French
U.S.A.
Homeport: Camden, ME
Rig: Schooner
Sparred Length: 101’
Draft: 8’
Beam: 20’
Hull: Wood
Lewis R. French is a lovely two-masted coasting schooner, built in Christmas Cove, Maine. She celebrated her 136th Birthday in 2007, making her the oldest active sailing vessel in the U.S., and a National Historic Landmark. She has a fixed-keel, unlike most Maine Windjammers with centerboards, which makes her somewhat more commodious below decks. She is a good sailor, and a strong competitor in the annual Great Schooner Race, with a shallow draft allowing her to skirt the shore a bit closer than some of her competitors.
Barque Picton Castle
Cook Islands
Homeport: Lunenburg, Nova Scotia
Rig: Barque
Sparred Length: 179’
Draft: 14’ 6"
Beam: 24’
Hull: Steel
The Picton Castle is registered in the Cook Islands, in the South Pacific, and is owned and operated by the Windward Isles Sailing Ship Company, Ltd. The ship's mission is deep-ocean sail training and long-distance education. Also, she carries supplies and educational materials to far-flung islands in the South Pacific. Her North American homeport is Lunenburg, Nova Scotia.
The ship is a completely refitted Barque that observes the rigorous standards of Germanischer Lloyds for steel-hulled Cape Horners. She is 179 feet overall, with riveted steel hull, clear oiled-pine decks, steel masts, and wooden and steel yards. She carries 12,450 square feet of canvas sail. The ship also has a powerful 690 hp Burmeister & Wain alpha diesel engine for occasions when sailing is not feasible. The galley is on deck, and its 1893 cook stove is similar to those used on commercial sailing ships 100 years ago.
There are berths for 40 sail trainees and 12 professional crew members. (Usually about half our trainees are men and half women. Their ages range from 18 to 60+, with the majority under 35.) Sleeping accommodations are bunkroom style, in two tiers of pilot bunks. Bunks have curtains for privacy and individual reading lights.
Spirit of Massachusetts
U.S.A.
Homeport: Boothbay Harbor, ME
Rig: Gaff Topsail Schooner
Sparred Length: 125’
Draft: 11’
Beam: 24’
Hull: Wood
Spirit of Massachusetts was launched on April 28, 1984 at the Charleston Navy Yard in Boston, Massachusetts. She is modeled after the 1889 fishing schooner Fredonia, designed by Edward Burgess. The Gloucester fishing schooners were widely known as "fast and able" vessels and Fredonia was widely known for her speed. Spirit of Massachusetts proudly upholds that tradition to this day.
Spirit of Massachusetts was built by her original owners for service as a sail training vessel for young people. She also served as a good-will ambassador for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts from 1984 until 1987.
Thomas E. Lannon
U.S.A.
Homeport: Gloucester, MA
Rig: Gaff Topsail Schooner
Sparred Length: 93’
Draft: 9’
Beam: 18’
Hull: Wood
The Schooner Thomas E. Lannon was built in Essex, MA in 1997. Her lines were taken from
those of the swordfishing schooner Nokomis, designed by Capt. Mel McClain in 1903. The
Lannon was built by eleventh generation Essex shipbuilder Harold Burnham at the A. D.
Story Shipyard. She is named for owner and Captain Tom Ellis’ fisherman grandfather who
came from Newfoundland and fished out of Gloucester from 1901-1943.
Currently the Lannon is berthed at Seven Seas Wharf in Gloucester, at the Gloucester House
Restaurant. Tom Ellis, his wife Kay and son Heath sail the Lannon from mid-May through mid-
October, offering public sails, educational programs, and private charters for up to 49 passengers.
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