#2019-BBH-Windjammer Days

• 57th Windjammer Days a success

  Fri, 07/19/2019 - 8:00am

  

  The 57th annual Windjammer Days were a draw for nearly 10,000 people, according to Friends of Windjammer Days. “Like the last six that we've run, I felt we did a good job with the organization,” said Friends secretary and head of sponsorship Mark Gimbel. The week kicked off on Sunday, June 23 with the Arthur Webster Memorial Rock Skipping Contest , the Boothbay Harbor Yacht Club One Design Race and the Blessing of the Fleet . Day 2 of festivities picked back up with the Second Annual Crab Cake...

• Lighted boat parade July 6

  Sun, 06/30/2019 - 10:15am

  

  The Windjammer Days lighted boat parade, scheduled for Saturday, June 29 was postponed due to weather concerns. The parade, the final event of the festival, has been rescheduled for Saturday, July 6. And there’s still time to register! Go to www.boothbayharborwindjammerdays.org/lighted-boat-parade See you at the waterfront in Boothbay Harbor - 9 p.m.!

• Day 5 Windjammer Days

  Fri, 06/28/2019 - 1:15pm

  

  Thursday, June 27 was the fifth day of the 2019 Windjammer Days festival. The annual Antique Boat Parade had about two dozen boats, and the golf tournament took center stage in the afternoon. Be sure to check our Windjammer Days promo pages online for the remaining events of the festival, which ends on Saturday, June 29.

• Historical Society a pleasant visit during Windjammer Days

  Fri, 06/28/2019 - 8:00am

  

  Boothbay Region Historical Society presented a photo exhibit during Windjammer Days called “The Age of Fishing Under Sail.” The photos highlighted the Nickerson family of Boothbay and the Nunan family of Cape Porpoise. The Nickerson family had their fleet of 11 schooners built in the East Boothbay Adams shipyard and in the Hodgdon yard from 1882 to 1901. The Nunan family had eight schooners built at the Hodgdon yard from 1882 to 1908. The Estelle S. Nunan , a 58-foot schooner built at...
• Windjammer Days Day 5

  Antique Boat Parade

  Fri, 06/28/2019 - 7:45am

  

  The fifth day of Windjammer Days 2019, June 27, featured the annual Antique Boat Parade. Music in Whale Park included the Capital Band. More boat pictures are on the gallery page.

• Stars of the Show! Windjammers arrive

  Thu, 06/27/2019 - 11:45am

  

  This is what Windjammer Days is all about. The massive sailing vessels arrive for the annual festival on Wednesday afternoon: No rain, a few clouds and lots of people to greet them as they entered Boothbay Harbor on June 26.

• WD: Lobster eating, cod fish race, parade and more

  Thu, 06/27/2019 - 11:15am

  

  Day 4 of Windjammer Days 2019 was highlighted by pirate antics, the arrival of the windjammers, the lobster eating contest, the cod race, street parade and music at Whale Park. More photos are on the gallery pages.

• 2019 Windjammer Days - Day 4

  Thu, 06/27/2019 - 10:45am

  

  Wednesday, June 26 marks day four of the 57th annual festival - and it’s a biggie! Pirate shenanigans, tours at the USCG Station, activities at the Maine State Aquarium, fish relay races, the Windjammer fleet sails into the harbor for the Gathering of the Fleet, street parade, fireworks and more ... More galleries coming!

• 2019 Windjammer Days: Days 2 and 3

  Wed, 06/26/2019 - 7:45am

  

  The second and third days of the 57th annual Windjammer Days Festival (June 23-29) featured the open house at Nat Wilson’s sail loft, the Tug of War across the Harbor, Boothbay’s Got Talent competition and lots of activities for kids and pirate fans. And the music concerts in the park got the crowd moving.

• Clear Stream Construction wins tug across the harbor – again!

  Tue, 06/25/2019 - 8:00am

  

  And they yanked the arms right off the other teams, OK, not really, but Clear Stream Construction did yank the rope out of all of their opponents’ hands. That’s right, Clear Stream Construction won the sixth annual tug of war and set a Windjammer Days Festival record June 24, becoming the first team ever to win twice – and in consecutive years! The Friends of Windjammer Days renamed the event the Stephan Branch Memorial Tug of War Across the Harbor. Stephan and Margaret Branch had hosted teams...

• Alana LaCourse is Miss Windjammer 2019

  Tue, 06/25/2019 - 8:00am

  

  Alana LaCourse, 9, won the Boothbay’s Got Talent competition and was crowned Miss Windjammer 2019 on Monday night, June 24 at Boothbay Region YMCA. LaCourse did a tap dance routine for her talent presentation. Other competitors included Imij Armstead, 11; Adaline Barter, 9; and Skyla Carrier, 11. Past Miss Windjammer and King of the Harbor winners also performed. They included Emerson Harris, Suzie Edwards, Sarah Harris, Sophia Mansfield and Spencer Pottle. Master of ceremonies was Roosevelt...

• Fishermen’s Memorial Service remembers lost seamen

  Mon, 06/24/2019 - 12:30pm

  

  Fine weather favored the annual Fishermen’s Memorial and Blessing of the Fleet which helped open Windjammer Days 2019. Baritone Smith Climo led visitors in song. John O’Connell and Rev. Richard Rego read the names of those lost at sea. A Coast Guard color guard laid a floral wreath on the Fishermen’s Monument. Area ministers then walked to the waterfront for the Blessing of the Fishing Fleet. Cindy Tocci and Yvonne Anderson of Sandwich, Massachusetts were among first-time participants. “We don'...

• Rock skippers help open Windjammer Days

  Mon, 06/24/2019 - 12:15pm

  

  The 15th annual Rock Skipping Contest took on a new meaning on Sunday, June 23 because for the first time it was a benefit for Boothbay Region Health Center. “In the past it has benefited the food pantry, but this year we moved on to the Health Center. We are excited to do that,” said John Webster who, with his wife Jean, began the competition. The couple owns Orne’s Candy Store in Boothbay Harbor. “”We need a primary health center that is affordable,” said Webster. “We are struggling to break...

• Windjammer Days 2019: Day 1

  Mon, 06/24/2019 - 10:45am

  

  The 57th annual Windjammer Days kicked off June 23 with the One Design Race, the Memorial Service/Blessing of the Fleet, and the Arthur Webster Memorial Rock Skipping Contest.

• Schooners ahoy! Windjammer Days are here

  Wed, 06/19/2019 - 8:30am

  

  For the 57th year, Boothbay Harbor Windjammer Days are upon us … and what a rockin’ good time those seven days, June 23 - 29 , will be! The Friends of Windjammer Days, at the helm of the festival since 2013, have charted our course. Let’s check out what points are not to be missed (and yes that means all of them). A new event for the Festival, Sunday, June 23, but not new to the region is the Arthur Webster Memorial Rock Skipping Contest . The Friends quickly added the event traditionally held...

• Windjammer Emporium: A community celebrates its maritime history

  Wed, 06/19/2019 - 8:15am

  

  The 18” x 24” black and white photographs lining the top of the wall entreat you to step back in time … back to the days when four and five-masted schooners were regular visitors to the Boothbay region. These photos depict schooners picking up ice from the West Harbor Ice Company. Another preserves the launching of the Ada Cliff (1918, East Coast Shipyard. The original Nellie G is in the forefront. When Mark and Dianne Gimbel bought the former Mountain T’s T-shirt building on...

• Boothbay’s Got Talent contestants announced

  Mon, 06/17/2019 - 10:00am

  

  Join us on Monday, June 24, at 6 p.m. in the Boothbay Region YMCA Gymnasium for the 2019 Boothbay's Got Talent Competition! Watch as contestants are judged on their poise, interview and special talents. The evening will also include performances by past winners. Who will be crowned the next Miss Windjammer? Don't miss a fun evening and a chance to support our local youth. General admission is $5 and the 2019 host is Roosevelt Bishop. 2019 Miss Windjammer contestants Imij Armstead Age 11 Talent...

• Be part of the Windjammer Days Street Parade celebration

  Mon, 06/10/2019 - 8:30am

  

  It’s that time of year again! We are gearing up for the Windjammer Days Street Parade. This year the parade is on Wednesday, June 26 at 4 p.m. The Grand Marshals are the members of the Boothbay Region High School girls varsity basketball team “Class C State Champions! We need your help and participation to make the parade a success. An invitation is extended to you to think about how you can contribute to the parade environment to make it a more positive experience for the residents and...
• Maine Maritime Museum

  Historic schooner cruises begin with the Mary E

  Sat, 06/01/2019 - 7:15am

  

  Beginning June 5, Maine Maritime Museum is excited to offer sailing trips aboard the 1906 schooner Mary E ., the last surviving schooner built on the Kennebec River, was purchased and restored by the museum, and relaunched in 2018. Mary E Kennebec River Sails will be offered Wednesdays, Fridays, and Saturdays at 4 pm, June 5 through Sept. 28. The 2.5-hour cruises will take passengers past Doubling Point Light, the Kennebec Range Lights, and the site of the Thomas E. Hagan...

• Bowdoin and Ernestina-Morrissey: restorations draw Bowdoin museum attention

  Sat, 05/11/2019 - 8:45am

  

  Two big pieces of sailing history, schooners Ernestina-Morrissey and Bowdoin , sit a couple hundred feet apart at Bristol Marine in Boothbay Harbor keeping some of the East Coast’s finest shipwrights and craftsmen busy. On May 8, shipyard manager Eric Graves and Bowdoin project manager Ross Branch led a tour and detailed introduction to the work being done on both vessels. In attendance were local businessman Mark Gimbel, owner of the new Windjammer Emporium , sailing...

• Boothbay Harbor’s Windjammer Days 57 fast approaching

  Mon, 04/29/2019 - 8:45am

  

  Boothbay Harbor Windjammer Days returns for its 57th season, with the return of many favorite offerings along with fun new events to the week-long celebration of the region’s maritime heritage. Featured among the many ships that will arrive in the harbor during the festival will be the Coast Guard Cutter Thunderbay , a 140-foot icebreaker. Thunderbay will arrive on Wednesday during the Gathering of the Fleet, which will feature more ships than ever before. The annual festival...
• Boothbay Harbor Windjammer Days Festival

  All hands are on deck as 57th festival approaches

  Wed, 03/20/2019 - 8:00am

  

  The Friends of Windjammer Days have been working diligently the past few months on the 57th annual Boothbay Harbor Windjammer Days Festival sailing into the harbor June 23-29. This year marks the group’s sixth year at the helm of this week-long event, the longest running of its kind in Maine. And, yes, adding Boothbay Harbor to the Festival name is a new and permanent change to distinguish it from other windjammer festivals in the state. Speaking of windjammers ... might as well start off with...

• Windjammer Days T-shirt designers receive prizes

  Wed, 03/13/2019 - 8:30am

  

  The Friends of Windjammer Days(FWJD) loved all eight designs submitted for the first T-shirt design contest. The contest was the brainchild of new FWJD member Rosemary Bourette who was on hand to present all of the students with their cash prizes. Seven of the eight attend Boothbay Region Elementary School: first graders Megan Higgins and Pauline Nadeau-Miller; third grader California Brown; seventh grade students Maya Pangburn and Keana Pitcher; and eighth grade students Grace Campbell and...
• Windjammer Days Festival

  Grace Campbell design to adorn festival T-shirt

  Wed, 02/27/2019 - 4:00pm

  

  New Friends of Windjammer Days committee member Rosemary Bourette came on board with one cool, artsy idea this winter: invite the area school kids to create a design for T-shirts. Through the help of her daughter, Jessica Nadeau, art teacher at Boothbay Region Elementary School (BRES), Rosemary got the word out. There were also fliers up around the school and the contest was included in the morning announcements. Grace Campbell, daughter of Tricia and Jason Campbell, came up with the winning...

• 57th annual Windjammer Days T-shirt Design Contest announced

  Mon, 01/21/2019 - 7:00am

  

  The Windjammer Days Festival Committee invites Boothbay region student artists to submit a design for this year’s official festival T-shirt. The deadline to submit a design is Friday, Feb. 8. A prize of $250 will be awarded to the student artist whose design is chosen. The winning design will become the property of Friends of Windjammer Days, a 501 (c) (3) organization which hosts the Windjammer Days, and all rights of use must be released to the Friends of Windjammer Days. To be eligible the...

• Boothbay’s shipbuilding history may sail into present day

  Fri, 12/28/2018 - 8:45am

  

  From 1860 to 1930, schooners ruled the seas. Schooners were the fastest and most reliable means of transporting cargo whether it was sailing in the Pacific Ocean or along the Great Lakes. And some of the best were built right here in Lincoln County. Jon Dunsford began loving and studying these historic vessels as a young boy growing up in Connecticut. His passion for these great vessels grew during summers, when he would spend two weeks in the Boothbay region. Dunsford, 71, is retired and lives...

• Gimbels to open museum in outgoing Mountain Tops Tees space

  Wed, 10/03/2018 - 12:30pm

  

  After 38 years of business on Boothbay Harbor’s Pier 1, Mountain Tops Tees will be closing its doors. But when one door closes, another opens, or in this case, the same door: Mark and Dianne Gimbel will be moving into the space with a new kind of idea: “Windjammer Museum and Gifts.” Walking down the back steps of Smiling Cow toward Mountain Tops Tees, Mark said, “You know, there's enough T-shirt/sweatshirt shops in town and this is a big space, so we thought it would be really cool if we could...