My earliest contact, that I can recall, with a sailing vessel, occurred in East Boothbay when I first arrived in Maine.

Phyllis Washington and I taught together at Montclair High School in Montclair, New Jersey. On our last day of school, while putting things away for the next year, Phyllis arrived at my classroom door and said, “Hi Mitch, are you doing anything this summer?” Phyllis and I, though in the same science department, didn't often cross paths. We had differing approaches to teaching.

I replied, “Not really, what's up?” To this day, I don't know why I didn't just say I was busy!

Phyllis owned “Treasure Island” on Little River and she needed help opening up for the summer season of guests. I agreed to help. When I reached Maine and turned the corner by the Dexter Rumsey cottage, looking out to the White Islands, I knew. The next day I called the superintendent's office back in Montclair and told them “I was done.”

That's when I met the Duncans and their Friendship sloop Eastward. The Duncans were very nice to me. I knew nothing about sailing and they helped me understand a few things about the process. Later, through the Washingtons, I met Dr. Bob and Marian Glaesner, who took me sailing, too. I was definitely a fish out of water aboard a boat. How the wind and the sails worked didn't make any sense to me, and there was a different language used aboard the boat.

To this day I marvel at sailing skills. Our good friend, Captain Martin Thomas, lives the magic of sail. Captain Martin is a professional sailor. For many years he captained the  magnificent 100-plus foot sailing yacht Sintra, which was often seen, when not elsewhere in the world, anchored in the Damariscotta River, off what is now Ocean Point Marina.

Captain Martin has scaled down a bit as owner and captain of the Friendship sloop Lady M, a meticulously maintained work of art. As another good friend, Captain Hal Marden, once said, “There is nothing more beautiful than a Friendship sloop fully rigged.” For me, the raising and managing of all those sails is mind blowing. And Captain Martin often sails solo, raising and lowering sails, steering, and having lunch all at the same time! And all this not just in outside waters with plenty of room to maneuver — he slips through harbor waters as well, creatively weaving through busy spaces.

So, when you are out and about in nearby waters, you may see Captain Martin and Lady M on a starboard tack (I had to share my massive nautical vocabulary) off Ram Island, or elsewhere, take a pause and give a wave. Watch how beautifully everything I don't understand about sailing is managed by a true artist and his ever evolving pallete.

Thank you Captain Martin for sharing. Lady M is a gift.