Gift Certificates for Christmas 2009

Christmas is here and a great gift is a "Schooner Olad Gift Certificate". If you would like to purchase a gift certificate please send a check to: Schooner Olad, P.O. Box 432, Camden, ME 04843. The cost is $34.00 per person, and that includes tax and shipping. Please include how many certificates you would like and the amount of passengers you would like each certificate to be for, along with a return address and a phone number where you can be reached. Please call me if you have any questions. I would be more than happy to answer them. (207)236-2323

Sincerely,
Aaron Lincoln
Captain/ Owner

Fall is such an amazing time of year around here! The days are often warm, with lots of blue skies and great sailing conditions. This week, the leaf-changing has kicked into gear and will be blazing its way across the foliage-rich landscape for the next several weeks. From your vantage point on the water, you’ll be treated to the awe-inspiring vision of rich fall tones and colors in place of the usual swath of greens between the blue sky and blue ocean. Bring a thermos of coffee, hot chocolate, spiced cider, or hot brandy and snuggle in with your sweetheart for a view of the Maine coast, that is only available a few weeks a year.

The Camden Windjammer fleet was in its full glory last weekend, as dozens of tall ships filled the harbor.

We had some amazing sailing during the Windjammer Weekend in Camden Harbor this year. It is always a spectacular sight to see so many tall ships moving through the harbor and bay, and this year was no exception. We had great weather and great company—many thanks to all of you who joined us!

The festive atmosphere on the docks really brought the harbor to life, with the announcer broadcasting the details of each ship as they came and went, and so many hands-on activities to engage any age and any level of sailing enthusiast, from a first-timer to a veteran sea captain.

It is one of my favorite weekends every year… Camden truly is a tall ship city for three days

People often ask me, “Do you ever get bored of what you do?” My answer is always a resounding no--because each trip is different. Maybe it’s different winds, maybe it’s different people, or maybe it’s just something that’s different entirely.

It has been a tradition of mine, whenever doing an offshore delivery, to throw a message in a bottle over the side at the halfway point of the trip. I have always done it as sort of a monotony breaker, with no real expectation to hear where they ended up, but it has become my tradition nonetheless. I know this tradition is carried out by many people who travel the open waters, as well.

Last week, in the middle of one of my trips, we found a message in a bottle floating out in the middle of the bay. Once we retrieved the bottle we opened it up and realized it was farewell letters to a local guy who died this spring. His name was Amon R. Vaughan. They were all farewell letters from the friends of this young man who had died in a car accident in March. We read a couple of the letters to the passengers and then we brought the bottle back to shore. The local newspaper picked up the story and last week his sister picked up the bottle and returned it to her Mom.

You never know when you do something how it’s going to affect somebody else. And you never know when you put a message in a bottle where it’s going to end up. That one floated around for close to 5 months. And brought a little peace to a mother who realized her son has not been forgotten.

Altogether a good day.

A passenger asked me, “What is the coolest thing that happened to you, this week?” The answer is watching the unbelievable amount of adolescent eagles out at East Goose Rock! Every year for two weeks the young bald eagles come over from Mark Island where they are protected by the Nature Conservancy and their parents teach them how to hunt. Every trip has felt like being on a Discovery channel program. Sometimes we’ve seen as many as 5 adolescent eagles and 4 adults at the same time at that same small body of rocks. We’ve had them flying within about 15 feet of the boat, which is awe inspiring because of the size of their wingspan. The adolescent birds have approximately a 4-foot wingspan and the adults are roughly 6 feet.

I’ve really been enjoying the fact that we’ve had good winds that have allowed us to get way out there on almost every trip AND multiple consecutive days of sun! We’ve also been enjoying the “Maine air conditioning,” also known as our sea breeze, so it’s usually a refreshing15 degree’s cooler out on the bay. Our visitors from south of the Mason-Dixon line have been especially enjoying their cool time on the boat with us.

Quick summary: it’s been really nice! Plenty to see and perfect weather—come sail with us in Camden, Maine and you won’t be disappointed!

Last Friday was the Windjammer Parade, and it was amazing! We sailed out to watch the 13+ majestic tall ships sail by, plus a whole fleet of Friendship Sloops up for their annual regatta. We were in a pleasant sort of swarm of classic sailing vessels, from sloops to schooners to windjammers. There is nothing quite like sailing in such close quarters with tall ships—astounding to be in the midst of so many skilled captains, so smoothly sailing past each other, almost close enough to reach out and touch. Not only were we up close and personal with the other ships, but we were also sailing very close to the Rockland Breakwater, which was a thrill for those on board as well as those on the breakwater itself.

This is always one of my favorite sails of the season and we had a great time out there, sailing with wonderful people. I should also say a big “Thank you” to my wife for making such awesome lunches. We were all fat and happy out there as we took in the extraordinary sights.

I’d like to bid farewell to Walter Cronkite, who was a sailor who will be missed. Walter sailed the Olad when it was down in the Bahamas. It was an annual event to take a couple of weeks and sail with his family on the Schooner Olad. Some, who worked for him, felt that the experience had motivated him to buy his first boat. I will never know for real. I did spend some time with his fleet captain last year. Walter told him some great stories to tell me, I will always treasure that… Good-bye OLD SALT

We just got in from a great trip! The weather is spectacular—blue skies, sun warming the skin, and a perfect breeze to make it all work. We went out to Saddle Island where we saw a bald eagle, which is a sight that never fails to inspire. And in the same trip we also saw great big colony of seals and seal pups sunning on the rocks. It was remarkable visibility; so good you could see Cadillac Mountain. All in all, an exhilarating trip.

It is really starting to feel like summer! It is nice to see Camden’s quiet harbor filling up with the summer fleet of sailboats, yachts and all the rest. You can tell it’s summer because of all the yachts coming into port—some from as far away as the Mediterranean.

Also, the lobstermen are catching the first “Shedders” of the season. I can’t wait to eat one of those… I love them the best, I will always take a soft shell over a hard one. It is definitely summer.

Captain Aaron

I just talked to the weatherman himself, and it seems we’ve paid our dues. I don’t know what we did to deserve all this bad weather, but the weather gods have been appeased. With the coming weekend, it looks like we have finally found our way out of this bad weather pattern.

Amazingly, we have still been going out. I know what you’re thinking—and no, I didn’t have to drag unwilling passengers out into stormy seas! I have been clever enough to slip the odd trip in between the rain clouds and the fog banks. We’ve had some wicked good sailing out there and the wildlife watching has been phenomenal. I don’t think I have seen as many seals with their seal pups as I have this June. We also have seen a whole slew of porpoises, often right beside the boat—we could actually hear their respiration through the blow holes. Can’t beat that!

So bring on the good weather. I’m glad we’re getting this out of the way now and not in the middle of the summer (knock on wood). Hope to see you all soon!

Captain Aaron