Schoonerfest fun rolls on; When and If adjusts departure for Henri

Sun, 08/22/2021 - 6:30am

    Showing Schoonerfest goers around the 1939 When and If Saturday, the crew said the schooner would leave Wiscasset about 8 a.m. Sunday, earlier than planned, due to Tropical Storm Henri. Crew members said they had planned to head back to the vessel’s summer port of Salem, Massachusetts, but due to the storm bound for southern New England, possibly at hurricane strength, they would be mooring in Boothbay at least through Sunday night.

    Nearing the end of the schooner’s Wiscasset stay, crew member Jack Maher said everyone was being kind and hospitable to them, a long line deterred him from a lobster roll and he had taken a drive around. “It’s a quaint little town.” He said the crew was happy to be there and help promote history and Schoonerfest.

    “(Boothbay through) Sunday, for sure, and then after that we’re just waiting for a weather window,” Sidney Anderson said. She said waiting out a storm is “better on the boat, better on the crews, and there’s no reason to put people in danger.”

    Midday on the waterfront Saturday, families were doing nautically themed arts, singers shared chanties and Parents in Education (PIE) was having a bake sale of goods its board made. The magic chocolate bars, chocolate chip muffins and rice crispy treats were selling well, Chair Kim Averill of Alna said.

    The singers explained to their audience, chanties were tools to help get through heaving, or pushing on capstans, pumps, or other things; and hauling, which they said was pulling on rope. The sounds of chanties were familiar and welcome to Sarah Vining, there with her children Morgan, 5, and Quinn, 6. Vining used to live near Mystic Sea Music Festival in Connecticut. “To hear it in person again, is really a lot of fun,” she said of the music. “Brings back a lot of memories.”

    Less than a week after she sold her Main Street, Wiscasset property that once housed Patricia Stauble Antiques, Stauble, a partner in the building of schooner Harvey Gamage, was visiting When and If with fiancé Denny Terry, son Greg Terry and Greg’s sister Susie Terry, and Greg’s son Jake. Stauble shared with Wiscasset Newspaper, Denny Terry had a momentous nautical experience while serving in the Navy nearly half a century ago. She said he helped get astronaut John Glenn out of the Atlantic Ocean after Glen circled the planet.

    Denny Terry got talking with When and If’s crew about another nautical experience, one he had in common with them: Spending time on an Appledore schooner.