The Sail, Power, & Steam Museum (SMSP) is thrilled to invite the public to celebrate Capt. Jim Sharp’s Birthday with a free-admission, museum-wide Open House on Saturday, August 22, from 10 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.
Capt. Jim Sharp will be on hand, as he is every Wednesday through Saturday from May 1 to October 31, during museum hours, to answer questions and tell seafaring yarns of his long life on and around all types of sea-going craft – whether under sail, power, or steam. He specifically can tell the best stories about schooners and schooner history. He not only helps share Midcoast Maine’s Maritime History with others, but he clearly is also integral to local history.
Sharp’s impact on the Midcoast tourism industry is immeasurable. He was instrumental in the building of the Windjammer passenger trade of the 1970-80’s and went on to co-found with his wife, Meg Sharp in 2008-2009, the Sail, Power, & Steam Museum on the site of the Old Snow Shipyard in Rockland’s Southend.
Later, Sharp expanded the Sail, Power, & Steam Museum’s footprint and started the Midcoast Sailing Center (MCSC) which features youth and adult sailing lessons, mooring rentals, sailboat and dinghy dock rentals, charter opportunities, the Women on the Water program, and Capt. Jim’s great passion – the Sail Kids For Free (SKFF) program.
To encourage and safeguard sailors of the future, Sharp started the SKFF program which supports children, ages 8-14, to learn how to sail without any fees whatsoever. In the years since inception, SKFF has recognized more than 500 children with Certificates of Completion in the SKFF program. It is those children who are now coming year after year, to hone their skills in MCSC’s other learn-to-sail programs, including Adventurer’s Club happening afternoons throughout the summer.
A gifted speaker, Sharp’s storytelling has captivated thousands of tourists and locals alike as he teaches about the maritime heritage and industrial culture of Maine shipbuilding industry.
If asked, Sharp’s favorite stories are about the decades-long love affair with his Gloucester Schooner Adventure, which he captained for more than 20 years. Jim’s first schooner trip was aboard an old Gloucester fishing schooner out of Camden harbor sometime in the late 1950’s.
He then proceeded to make his mark onboard multiple schooners, whether serving as mate aboard the schooner Mattie (now the Grace Bailey) back in 1963; serving as owner-captain aboard Adventure; or owning the schooners Stephen Taber, the Bowdoin, and the Roseway.
Over the years as well, Sharp has saved and rebuilt more than 30 vessels, including various and sundry tugs (the Wannamaker), Friendship Sloops Black Jack and Persistence, and there are too many other vessels to name.
One such restoration Sharp is understandably most proud of is the Arctic Schooner Bowdoin, now the official sailing vessel of the State of Maine and part of the sailing curriculum at the Maine Maritime Academy. Bowdoin was in a state of neglect in Mystic Seaport, Connecticut when Sharp was successful in having the schooner relinquished to him by the Schooner Bowdoin Association. Sharp restored Bowdoin to operating condition and she enjoyed a period of charter work out of Camden, before finding her final birth as the culmination of the nation’s only sail training curriculum at the Maine Maritime Academy in Castine.
Sharp has been recognized with many honors, including the Maine Windjammer Association’s Lifetime Appreciation Award in 2018; the Penobscot Bay Regional Chamber of Commerce Community Person of the Year Award for 2023, among so many others. Sharp has been interviewed by multiple journals, newspapers, and for the WCSH-News Program 207 with Don Carrigan.
Don’t miss this chance to meet Capt. Jim Sharp and help him celebrate his birthday in style!
Contact the Sail, Power, & Steam Museum (SPSM), or the Midcoast Sailing Center for more information, to schedule interviews, learn about charters, sailing lessons, the Sunday afternoon Jam Music Sessions, and more by calling 207-701-7627, or email sailpowersteammuseum@gmail.com.
