The Maine Island Trail Association (MITA) encourages participation in programs such as Island Clean-ups and the Adopt-An-Island program as well as Leave No Trace. Through partnerships with the State of Maine, as well as land trusts and generous private property owners, MITA ensures access to visitors in kayaks, sailboats, motorboats and other watercraft.

For more information on the Maine Island Trail Association, to make a donation, or become a member, please visit their website.

The extended days of June make for perfect sailing.  We stay out later as the days are longer and the winds are just perfect for a little adventure.  Now, when I say adventure, I don’t mean sailing at mock 5, I just mean a little excitement to get your cheeks pink and then a relaxing evening watching the sun set while we are at anchor.

Some folks say that the season doesn’t really get started until July, which is also to your advantage as there are fewer folks traveling and you can play it more by ear.  That said, there is still plenty going on.  Here are a few events that flank the J&E Riggin’s June windjammer cruises.

• June 16 and 17 – from 9:30am - 5:00pm Owls Head Transportation Museum will have a Hot Rods, Customs, Muscle Cars, and Antique Aeroplane Show – From the style and color of the 1950s to the raw power of the 1970s, come celebrate America’s passion for cool cars. Pre-1992 vehicles are welcome to exhibit too. Vehicle demonstration, Model T rides, family activities and more. Adults $12; under 18 free.

•  June 30 - 5:00pm - 8:00pm A Wine and Dine Benefit Dinner for the Georges River Land Trust (celebrating 25 years of conservation). Oyster River Winegrowers’ Brian Smith and Uproot Pie Company’s Jessica Shepard combine their talents to present a unique dining experience. Brian and Allie Smith purchased their 57- acre Warren farm in 2007 and planted their first grapevines in 2008. As their own vines mature, they are creating wines from grape varieties sourced from across the country. The Smiths are producing a dry, aromatic Reisling, a Merlot and a Petite Sirah plus two house blends. Jessica Shepard’s Uproot Pie Co. has become a major hit at the local farmers markets. Using her mobile, wood fired oven she produces an exceptional variety of artisan pizzas and flat breads. Join us in the barn’s tasting room for a selection of Oyster River’s latest estate bottled wines along with hors d’oeuvres and a scrumptious dinner from Uproot Pie. Members of GRLT $50; non-members $55.

Ways we practice and support LNT:

• Hold our lobster bakes below the high tide line or at an already present fire pit or campsite.
• Bring our own wood to use and we always make sure our site is cleaner when we leave then we arrived.
• Encourage folks to tread lightly – meaning to photograph, sketch, and meditate on animals, wildflowers, rocks and seashells, but to leave them where they are – undisturbed.
• Compost on the islands we visit.

Doing these little things helps protect and conserved the beauty of the Coast of Maine and we are proud that we can do our part. For more information on Leave No Trace Outdoor Ethics visit www.LNT.org.

Sharing the Maine windjammer experience – the schooner, the bays, the islands, the lobster – with you is such a treat. Join us for a short 3 or 4 day cruise or a longer 6 day sail and experience this adventure first hand.

This year we are happy to have 6 designs available including the newest addition of “Autumn Moment” showing the 1927  built wooden boat hauled out on a late fall afternoon. Also two of our best sellers are back - “Evening Colors” showing the  Maine windjammer sailing toward the snow-covered hillside of Owls Head Lighthouse and “Rounding the Mark” with the schooner whimsically sailing around a Christmas tree. Each set of 10 cards is printed on recycled paper using wind power and comes with white envelopes.

The full list of available cards including “Sailing Toward Unity”, “Santa’s New Ride”, and “Winter Solstice” are available on our website.

New brochure by Mimi Steadman & Co and Tim Seymour

After tweaking language and going through hundreds of photos we had Mimi Steadman & Company put together a design we love. (If you are looking for a new brochure or print material give Mimi a call!)

The photos used in new design we feel really captures what it is that happens aboard the Riggin. This would not have been possible without wonderful photos from Kip Brundage, Frank M. Chillemi (the Riggn’s photography instructor), Dana Degenhardt, David Delperdang, Ben Krebs (of BK Photo), Carol Latta (of Amazing Maine), Elizabeth Poisson (of Rocky Coast Photography), and Edward Riggin.

Here are a couple of the photos that appear in the new brochure!J&E Riggin New Brochure

Carol Latta (www.AmazingMaine.com) - Owls Head Lighthouse

Ben Krebs (www.benkrebs.com) - Breakfast

As an added incentive for booking a charter in June or September this early in advance we’ll give you a 25% discount off the listed price or 10% in July and August. Just give us a call before September 30^th to reserve your windjammer charter.

A trip on the Riggin be the perfect place for next year’s family reunion, a birthday or anniversary celebration. Why not charter the Riggin as your venue? Our schooner charters are not limited to just family get-togethers. We also do class reunions, team building, weddings, class trips and themed trips w/any kind of focus such as food/cooking, fishing, wildlife/nature, inspirational or crafting (knitting groups). Give us a call and we’ll help you come up with a plan for your next get-together!

I must go down to the seas again, to the lonely sea and the sky,
And all I ask is a tall ship and a star to steer her by,
And the wheel’s kick and the wind’s song and the white sail’s shaking,
And a grey mist on the sea’s face, and a grey dawn breaking.

I must go down to the seas again, for the call of the running tide
Is a wild call and a clear call that may not be denied;
And all I ask is a windy day with the white clouds flying,
And the flung spray and the blown spume, and the sea-gulls crying.

I must go down to the seas again, to the vagrant gypsy life,
To the gull’s way and the whale’s way, where the wind’s like a whetted knife;
And all I ask is a merry yarn from a laughing fellow-rover,
And quiet sleep and a sweet dream when the long trick’s over.

“Sea Fever” is from SALT-WATER POEMS AND BALLADS, by John Masefield, published by the Maxmillan Co., NY, © 1913

What is your favorite poem, limerick, song, quote about the sea and sailing?

Maine Lighthouses from Maine Office of Tourism on Vimeo.