There are two Maine “Windjammers” currently for sale.  This may not be terribly useful information for those of us feeling more than usually penurious in the current economic downturn. Nevertheless there are moments when the idea of chucking it all and making a living on a sailboat or saling ship does have a certain appeal.

The two boats for sale are the Rachel B. Jackson and the venerable Victory Chimes. The Rachel B. Jackson is a 1982 built replica of an 1890s coastal schooner. She is a 67’LOA and 52’LOD gaff rigged topsail schooner, Coast Guard Inspected, and Certified to carry 30 passengers, presumably on daysails.  She is offered for sale for $350,000.00.

The Victory Chimes is also for sale for $1,500,000.  She is the last three masted gaff rigged shcooner on the Maine Coast.  She was built in 1900, is 172′ LOA and can carry 49 passengers. To say that she is an icon may be understating things. The Victory Chimes is listed as a Federal National Historic Landmark and shows up on the Maine State Quarter.   She is the only existing vessel that I am am aware of that is represented on US currency or coinage.

This musing about Maine Windjammers slightly less theoretical after reading a wonderful article in the Augsut 21, 2008 Down East magazine  – The Business of Raising Sails on a Maine Windjammer by Ben McCanna.  He describes a trip on the Lewis R. French  with Captain Garth and looks briefly into the economics of windjammer sailing.

 “As a schooner bum, Garth wasn’t making enough money to put a down payment on the boat; he’d have to borrow 100% of the selling price. The First National Bank of Damariscotta was quick to lend 75% of the money—after all, the Lewis R. French was essentially a turnkey business — and, luckily, Garth was able to borrow the rest from a few private investors (one of whom was a regular Lewis R. French passenger).

Garth won’t discuss what the selling price was, but the rumor is a windjammer will cost you somewhere between $400K and $800K depending on the number of guests she’ll carry.”

I am not sure about  the economics of the Victory Chimes but suddenly the Rachel B. Jackson looks remarkably reasonable.

Ben McCanna writes: “There are twelve traditional tall ships in the Maine Windjammer Association; this summer I’m sailing on all of them.”   His blog  “Berth of the Cool: A Maine Windjammer Journal”  makes for great reading for any fan of sailing in general, or schooners in particular, not to mention the wonderful Maine coast. 

For anyone interested in Maine Windjammers, check out the Maine Windjammer Association