Schooner Isaac H. Evans
2010 Sailing Schedule
Multi-night Cruises Board the Evening of the Trip Date between 5 and 6 PM

The sailing season is in full swing, and it's the perfect time to plan your vacation, wedding, family reunion, corporate retreat, or other special event! We find that many of our guests plan up to a year in advance for their adventure aboard the schooner Isaac H. Evans. Although cancellations are rare, we are happy to put you on a waiting list or refer you to another vessel if there isn't room available for the trip you choose. It's important to book early to reserve your specific dates or your favorite cabin.

All multi-night trips spend the first night at the dock in Rockland so you can settle comfortably into your new surroundings.
You'll have time to explore the town that evening and enjoy dinner in one of many fine restaurants.
We set sail the following morning around 10 am.

Book your safe, fun, and relaxing adventure today!

 

Six-Night Cruises
6 nights on board and 5+ days of sailing
Aug 29  $950 only 1 cabin available "Old Salts"/Captain's Favorites cruise Sun. night to Sat. morning
Sept 12 $950 Wooden Boat Gathering Sun. night to Sat. morning
Four-Night Cruises
4 nights on board and 3+ days of sailing
July 29 $780 only 4 cabins available Knitting Cruise Thurs. night to Mon. morning
Aug 3
$720

Tues. night to Sat. morning
Aug 8 $720 only 2 berths available  Pirate Adventure Cruise Sun.  night to Thurs. morning
Aug 15 $720 only 1 cabin available
plus one berth for a single male
Pirate Adventure Cruise Sun.  night to Thurs. morning
Aug 20 $780 only two single berths (one male, one young girl)  Chocolate Lovers Cruise Fri. night to Tues. morning
Aug 24 $780 only 2 cabins available
plus one berth for a single male
& one berth for a single female
Night Sailing Tues. night to Sat. morning
Sept 7 $720 only 2 cabins available
& one berth for a single female
Knitting Cruise Tues. night to Sat. morning
Sept 19 $720 Drawing & Painting Cruise Sun.  night to Thurs. morning
Sept 26 $720 Lighthouse Cruise Sun.  night to Thurs. morning
Three-Night Cruises
3 nights on board and 2+ days of sailing



Sept 30 $600 Season Finale Thurs. night to Sun. morning
Two-Night Cruises
two nights on board and 1+ day of sailing 


We've completed our two-night cruises for this season watch for more in 2011!
One-Night Cruises
one night on board and one afternoon of sailing
The perfect introduction to windjamming!
Board at 1:30 PM, return at 9:00 AM
Aug 13 $225 Perseid Meteor Shower Fri. afternoon to Sat. morning
Sept 5 $225 only one berth for a single female  Labor Day & New Moon & Stargazing Sun. afternoon to Mon. morning
Sept 24 $225 Captain's Birthday Fri. afternoon to Sat. morning
  Trips with the "FULL" star have no available cabins.
We'll be happy to put you on a waiting list.

The fares listed are per person and include a full crew and captain,
accommodations, meals from breakfast the first day to brunch the last day,
on-site parking, activities, and taxes. There are several beverage options on
board (lemonade, iced tea, water, fruit juices, coffee, tea, hot chocolate)
but we do not provide alcoholic beverages or soda.
We provide a cooler and ice for any beverages you wish to bring with you.

We believe single travelers should not have to pay more to travel
so our trips are designed for shared accommodations and do not
involve a single supplement. Single travelers joining our trips
may be paired in bunk bed accommodations with someone of
the same gender.



Dates and rates subject to change



Benefit Day Sail

Each year we start our season with a day sail to benefit a local charity. On Sunday, May 30, 2010, we raised sails and funds for St. George Volunteer Firefighters and Ambulance Association. We sailed from 10 AM to 2 PM and lunch wais included. ALL proceeds went to the chosen charity.

Previous beneficiaries have included:
We raised $1,550 this year and we already have several people signed up for next year. Please plan ahead if you'd like to join us; this trip is very popular!


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Angel pirate

The Evans specializes in family trips. We started designating special 'family trips' in 1988 and by 2003 were welcoming children on all of our cruises. We've earned the reputation of "the family boat" because we spend lots of time ashore exploring and have activities and food for the whole family. Our family adventures are the perfect way to introduce kids to the wide world beyond TV, video games, and the mall. It is an opportunity for unparalleled experiential learning, where your children will have the opportunity to experience the sea in a safe and comfortable environment. We don't stress education, but everyone learns something about nature, maritime history, and teamwork on a schooner.  We even carry our own lobster traps and fishing poles.

Anyone age 6 or older is welcome on any of our adventures; younger sailors welcomed on a case-by-case basis. Click here to read an article by Brooke Cunningham, a.k.a. TravelLady, about the trip she took with her daughter.

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One night cruises.
You asked for it...we've got it! Not everyone has the time nor the budget for a six-night windjammer adventure so we've created the perfect way to get out on the water on a tall ship. Join us at 1:30 pm, settle in to your cabin, and depart around 2:00 pm after a safety briefing. We'll explore Penobscot Bay, enjoying an afternoon snack of chips, dips, and vegetables, before anchoring in a protected cove for dinner. The captain and crew will prepare a smorgasbord of fresh steamed lobster*, corn on the cob, fresh lemon wedges, melted butter, dinner rolls, and dessert. No restaurant has scenery that can compare! You'll be satiated as the sun sets and you star-gaze on deck before retiring to your cozy cabin for the night. You'll wake to the smell of the wood stove and enjoy a full breakfast of scrambled eggs, bacon, home fries, muffins, and fruit while we make our way back to the dock for our 9:00 am arrival. It's the perfect introduction to windjamming and we bet you'll be back for a longer trip next time!

*Alternate menu choices are available for those that don't like, or are allergic to, lobster. Advance notice necessary.
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Season Premiere. It has been a long winter and it seems like we've been sanding and painting for months (because we have!) What we want more than anything is to go sailing and we hope you'll join us. The days are long, the boat is as beautiful as she'll be all summer long, and the crew is ready and anxious to make your trip along the coast of Maine fun and memorable!
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Photography Cruise. Enjoy three days of sailing while sharpening your photographic capture skills.  You don't need to own a professional camera as beginner to advanced skill levels are welcome. In past trips, point and shoot owners and professionals alike found a new way to look at the world, improved their skills, and learned how to get the most out of their cameras. Because our group is small, there will be plenty of group time as well as one-on-one opportunities. The sessions are designed to be applicable to both film camera and digital camera technique. You will learn the basic rules of what makes a great image, then later learn how to break the rules creatively to your best advantage.  Sessions dedicated to digital camera use will focus on how to properly expose your digital file to achieve the ultimate print quality. In the same session, you will learn how to use White Balance, Automatic, Pre-Set, and Custom to achieve the ultimate in scene color balance without the need for work in Photoshop. One session, just for fun, we will delve into the creative use of cell phone cameras and iPhone! This cruise will be perfect for anyone who wishes to expand their photographic horizons in nature, landscape, portrait, nautical, and wildlife photography. 

Other session topics will include:
Bruce has worked in professional photography since 1972, serving portrait, wedding, and commercial markets. Prior to joining Fujifilm U.S.A., Inc., he served as business development manager for companies serving the graphics, fine art, and large format image output markets. In that position, he worked as a professional digital color management consultant. Bruce now serves as Senior Technical Product Marketing Manager with Fujifilm Development Group. He and is son Eric, also a professional photographer, will be on board to answer your photography questions.


The Schooner Gam is a very informal gathering of the fleet of windjammers on Monday night. Often we’ve even been able to all tie up together, a giant raft-up. In typical relaxed windjammer fashion, we don't know where it will be till just before we anchor. After dinner you'll be welcomed aboard all the other vessels where you'll meet other passengers, crew, and captains, and also get to compare the size of your bunk! As the sun sets and the brass lanterns are lit on deck, instruments and voices are warmed up for an evening of informal music and story telling. When everyone heads back to their cozy cabin for a peaceful evening of the sound of water gently lapping against the hull, they all profess that the boat they chose is the best! When you wake in the morning to the smell of dozens of woodstoves fired up to cook breakfast and you wander the deck with your first mug of hot coffee, you'll think you've stepped back in time to an era when hundreds of schooners graced the waters of Maine.
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Maine Lighthouse Week. Everyone loves lighthouses and during the third week of June we will seek out as many as possible in celebration of Maine Lighthouse Week. Upon return to Rockland you will have the opportunity to walk the length of the Rockland Breakwater (9/10 of a mile) to be greeted by volunteers that will give you a tour of the lighthouse including a view from the light tower! Your trip includes a free souvenir lighthouse map to keep track of the lights that we discover.

Our September Lighthouse Cruise offers the same opportunity to see lighthouses as our June trip but just doesn't coincide with the Governor's proclamation.  Free souvenir map included.

 
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12th Annual Knitters Cruises. Wendy Ford will be taking Beth's place this year as Beth has had a stroke and is unable to sail. Wendy has been knitting for decades, has worked in Beth's shop, and will be on board to provide informal instruction. There will still be free patterns designed especially for these trips and some pretty fantastic prizes, too. 

Others boats are starting to offer knitting trips because they've seen our success with this unique idea. We offered our first knitting trip in 1999 and have developed a trip that really works well for everyone on board...knitter or not! Due to popular demand this trip has grown from one trip a season to three and sometimes even four! Also due to popular demand (especially from teachers that simply cannot join us in September), we have again added another Knitters Cruise in July. AND . . . because of the overwhelming response to an article in Cooking Light magazine, we have a long list of interested knitters. Book now because cabins fill quickly!
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Grab a copy of Cooking Light magazine and read about the Schooner Isaac H. Evans!

That's right . . . grab the Jan/Feb 2008 issue of Cooking Light and turn to page 66 to read an article for the Enlightened Traveler in the Healthy Living section. The article is titled "Vacations with art; Jump-start your creative spirit with five hands-on getaways." by Pam Grout. You'll find the Evans featured under "Knitting" on page 76. The issue had only been on the stands for a few days and the response was overwhelming! If you are a regular on any of our knitting trips, you'd be wise to consider reserving your spot now for next summer!

Knitting and sailing? Absolutely! Beth taught me to knit many years ago and suggested the idea of a sailing and knitting cruise when I bought the schooner. We offered the first knitting trip in September of 1999 and attendance was less than I would have liked. Thankfully, the trip has grown in popularity and has become so popular that we now do more than one every year. Beth brings a variety of items from her shop (UniqueOne) and I throw in a few items from the Evans' Ship's Store for daily "porthole prizes." Everyone's name goes into a hat and we draw names after meals. Of course, the earlier your name is drawn the more choices you have as to which prize you'd like. There are usually skeins of yarn, books, knitting kits, and organizers as well as Evans hats, t-shirts, and sweatshirts. Everyone gets something and there are always more items than guests so that last person still has several to choose from! Beth is very generous as these prizes are in addition to a 20% store discount and lots of free patterns. It's fun and many of the same people keep coming back year after year!

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Geology & Astronomy. The Geology & Astronomy trip will focus on the geology of the Maine coast, with daily deck discussions of the regional geologic history going back half a billion years, the dominant igneous and metamorphic structure of the local rocks, and the recent ice age sculpting of the coastline. Shore trips will allow us to get up close and personal with the complex and interesting terrain and the geology that underlies it.

Rock samples, maps, images, lecture/discussion, and shore excursions will be used to convey an understanding of how the Maine coast came to be; geologic history, with the movement of continents, subduction, rifting, volcanism, subsidence, glaciers, igneous intrusions, and all the rest of it. We'll focus on granite and its mineralogical components and how the chemistry of the deep melted rock differed across the region, affecting the look and feel of the granite. One session will include the recent advance and retreat of the continental ice sheets and how it sculpted the coast, with a sidebar on how the Penobscot Bay wasn't - it was all dry land ten thousand years ago with a canyon and a river, and all the islands we see now were low hilltops. 

Nights will bring stargazing (weather permitting) and discussions on the summer constellations, planets, our galaxy, meteors, satellites and more. Discussions will include constellations and what they meant to the ancient people, planets (Jupiter, Saturn and Venus will be visible) and the medium-scale structure of the galaxy we live in. We'll have exact prediction timetables for the ISS, Iridium comm satellites and other objects. There will be a discussion about meteors complete with some meteorites on board to examine.

Phil lives in the Catskills of New York, where he earned a BS in Geology at a local state college. He taught Earth Science, Chemistry and Physics at a rural high school and is now an I.T. professional at a college. He is an enthusiastic amateur in both geology and astronomy, and brings the experience of a teacher to group settings.

This is a great trip for anyone interested in these topics...but just like any of our themed cruises or on-board activities, you just get involved as much or as little as you'd like. After all, this is your vacation! back to the top  
 


7th Annual Maine Windjammer Parade. Our parade will take us by the Rockland Breakwater Lighthouse where we will anchor so you can take a tour. Volunteers will be on hand to answer questions and to admit you into the light tower! Sometimes many of the schooners move after dinner to another anchorage where everyone rafts up for an informal music show. back to the top


Isle au Haut Sail/Hike. Enjoy the opportunity to stretch your legs on one of Maine’s most beautiful islands; home to the most secluded part of Acadia National Park. One day during the week we’ll anchor near Isle au Haut and venture ashore with a brown-bag lunch and plenty of water. Whether you choose to stroll the island roads or trek up a park trail, you’ll find the scenery stunning and peaceful.back to the top
isle au haut view
The scenery from Isle au Haut is stunning! photo credit: Russ Kinaman



Night Sailing! Enjoy the unique opportunity to sail past sunset on our exclusive night sailing adventures. Although this takes additional planning, it is an experience not to be missed! We'll spend a relaxing day on an island where you can enjoy our famous lobster bake, hike, swim, visit with your new friends, or find a secluded spot to relax on your own. We will get underway mid-afternoon, sail through dinner and past sunset. When we drop the anchor depends on the wind and weather but is typically sometime between 9 pm and 11 pm. There is nothing quite as romantic or personally moving as sailing at night! back to the top


 

 
Pirate Adventure Cruise.
Arggghh, Mateys! Sail away into the legendary world of friendly swashbucklers, spirited pirates, scallywags, and undesirables. But beware . . . you may be called upon to defend the ship by fighting with swords, firing the cannon, or shooting the sling-shot with our environmentally-friendly ammo (marshmallows and bread balls). Perhaps you'll be made to walk the plank. Discover treasure and take your share of the loot. Scarf down worm sandwiches and pirate punch but . . .  bring your own grog. Are you a swashbuckler at heart? Then a Pirate Adventure Cruise is definitely the trip for you. Pirate costumes, a scavenger hunt, pirate booty, chasing other schooners, cannon firing, and lots of fun for all ages! It won't be "all pirate, all the time" but you can fulfill your fantasy to act like a pirate as much or as little as you like. "Yo, ho, yo ho, it's the pirate's life for me!"

Angel pirate
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Perseid Meteor Shower. The Perseid meteor shower is the most famous of all meteor showers. It never fails to provide an impressive display and, due to its summertime appearance, it tends to provide the majority of meteors seen by non-astronomy enthusiasts. 

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Chocolate Lovers Cruise. 

Tom and Cathy Wilbur of Wilbur's of Maine Chocolate Confections in Freeport will be joining us to demonstrate and teach some chocolatier techniques including truffles and basic caramels. Guests are encouraged to bring a favorite alcohol to flavor the truffles. There will be a chocolate-centric menu as well as a special discount at the chocolate shop and free treats! This is a new themed cruise for 2010 and it's going to be absolutely yummy!

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"Old Salts"/Captain's Favorites. Lots of guests that have sailed with us before know that the best way to experience a windjammer is on a 6-night cruise. Several guests that join us on these longer adventures have sailed with us before....and you'll be amazed at how many times! It can be a challenge to take them to someplace new but I'm happy to report that we found two new places during the 2009 "Old Salts" cruise. One year we even sailed into The Basin...something no other schooner in the current Maine windjammer fleet has done! Join us and let's explore together...my old favorites and maybe even some new ones!


WoodenBoat Magazine welcomes us ashore for an informal get together of the windjammers at their editorial offices in Brooklin, Maine. Enjoy a walk ashore with passengers from the other vessels to tour the WoodenBoat School plus music by Flash in the Pans and steamed mussels, cheese, and crackers for an appetizer before dinner! This trip is one of the best to get great photos of all the schooners together. back to the top



Drawing/Painting Cruise
Come aboard and 'brush up' on your sketching skills. Artist Hazel Mitchell will lend a guiding hand, whether you are just beginning or more advanced. From the intricate textures and detail of the ships rigging to the panoramic views of the beautiful Maine coast, there is so much choice for the artist! Weather permitting there will be a chance for drawing and painting ashore on a remote Maine island.

Subjects covered: line drawing, texture and detail, perspective, landscape, composition, figurative sketching, plein aire sketching/painting. Several mediums will be covered including graphite, pen and ink, watercolour and coloured pencil/pastels.

Hazel Mitchell, (originally from Yorkshire, England), now lives and works from her studio in central Maine. Not quite born with a pencil in her grasp, it wasn't long before she figured out she loved to draw. She attended Art college at York and Sunderland in England, served in the Royal Navy as a graphic artist (really) and was CEO of a print and design business for many years before finally making it across the pond.

She has introduced young and old to the fun of drawing, from beginners to those of a more practised talent. Her work has been displayed in several exhibitions and work is in several collections. She has had the honour of her art being received by the Princess Royal and the late Queen Mother.

Most days she can be found in her studio  illustrating children's books, as well as producing fine and commercial art. She has fine art critics in her five dogs, and the studio art director (Sleep, the coon cat) keeps an eye on production.

Her work can be seen at www.hazelmitchell.com.


 


63rd Annual Maine Lobster Festival.
Sailing and lobster. . .lots of lobster! What more reason do you need to come to Maine? After returning from your 4-day adventure aboard the Evans you'll be within walking distance of all that the Maine Lobster Festival has to offer! Admission to the festival is not included in your fare.
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Camden Windjammer Weekend is a lot of fun for all of the schooners involved. We tie up in the inner harbor for events ashore including a Schooner Crew and Guests Talent Contest (so come prepared!) and fireworks. It’s Labor Day Weekend, and it will be a great festive way to celebrate. back to the top

 


Great Schooner Race. A day of racing with over a dozen schooners participating and you're the crew! You can handle the sheets while we tack the course and try to be the first to cross the finish line. The Evans was built to carry lots of oysters and is not a fast boat so if crossing the finish line first is high on your list you should consider a different boat. But if you love to have fun and want a chance to get some great photos we're the boat for you. They let us start first so you'll get pictures of the other schooners behind us, then as they approach, and then as they are in front of us! back to the top

 

North Atlantic Blues Festival. This trip returns to Rockland on the morning of the North Atlantic Blues Festival. Some of the top names in blues music will be featured on the Main Stage overlooking picturesque Rockland Harbor. What could be better than enjoying a sailing trip along the coast and then enjoying some of the best blues music around? The festival is within a mile from the shipyard so leave your car in the lot and stroll along Main Street without worrying about driving or parking. Admission to the festival is not included in your fare. back to the top






Maine Boats, Homes, and Harbors Show. Whether you join us for the trip that returns on Saturday morning, or the one that boards on Sunday evening, you don't want to miss the Maine Boats, Homes, and Harbors Show. Not just your run-of-the-mill boat show, this show features hundreds of exhibitors, with boats of all kinds in the water and on land, plus fine art, furniture, food, music, and fun! It's also the place to see the annual World Championship Boatyard Dog Trials. Admission to the show is not included in your fare back to the top


International Coastal Clean-Up. In September every year, thousands of ocean stewards from nearly 100 countries volunteer for the International Coastal Clean-Up, the world's largest volunteer effort for the marine environment. But the Clean-Up doesn't just last for one day. After the beaches have been cleaned and volunteers return home, the Ocean Conservancy compiles and analyzes the marine debris data for a variety of uses in the public and scientific fields. This information becomes the foundation for additional efforts such as new legislation, heightened public awareness, and greater scientific understanding. When we visit Maine islands during this trip we will be armed with special Coastal Clean-Up bags and we will record our findings on data sheets that will be forwarded to the Ocean Conservancy. Every day is Coastal Clean-Up day for us so by September it may be hard to find a lot of trash but we'll do our best. As with all of our activities on board, you simply get involved as much or as little as you would like.back to the top


Celebrate "Great Outdoors Month" and receive Leave No Trace Certification. Leave No Trace (LNT) is a national and international program designed to assist outdoor enthusiasts with their decisions about how to reduce their impacts when they hike, camp, picnic, snowshoe, run, bike, hunt, paddle, ride horses, fish, ski or climb. The program strives to educate all those who enjoy the outdoors about the nature of their recreational impacts and also teaches techniques to prevent and minimize such impacts. LNT is best understood as an educational and ethical program, not as a set of rules and regulations. Captain Thomas attended a day-long extended training workshop in 2000 and set up a half-day training session for all of the captains in the Maine Windjammer Association in 2004. Our trainer told us that we "wrote the book" on minimizing impact as we have been acting as stewards to the environment for longer than LNT has been trying to spread the word.  We teach the practices and ideals of LNT ethics on all of our trips and if you sail with us any time in June you will also receive a LNT certificate showing that you completed the LNT Outdoor Ethics training. To read more about this celebration and how you can participate, read this press release!
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World Ocean Day. June 8, 2010, World Ocean Day is a day to recognize our personal connection to the sea. Sail with us this trip and you will be given the opportunity to celebrate our world ocean, reflect on the ocean's importance in your own life, and take time to do something good for our blue planet. You will have a chance to learn more about how we all can help protect and conserve the ocean through positive changes in our daily lives. We will discover the wealth of diverse and beautiful ocean creatures and habitats, how our daily actions affect them, and how we are all interconnected. Whether you live inland or on the coast we are all connected to the ocean!  

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Fall Foliage. Many of the islands that we sail near are spruce covered so we only catch a rare glimpse of color here and there as the leaves start to change late in our season. It would be unfair to even suggest that you will come sailing and see anything like the traditional New England peak-season foliage photos everyone is familiar with. What we suggest is that you enjoy a relaxing adventure aboard the Evans and then take a day or two (or more if you have the time!) to drive downeast (Acadia National Park) or inland (Moosehead Lake Region or Baxter State Park) for the spectacular foliage; a perfect combination of land and sea. Visit this site for a current foliage report. back to the top 

There is a traditional lobster bake on every trip. Many passengers say this is the highlight of their trip and for many it is a once in a lifetime experience!
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Home Schedule Reserving Our Trips Boat Tour

Schooner Isaac H. Evans
Captain Brenda and Brian Thomas
PO Box 791
Rockland, ME 04841
toll free 1-877-238-1325
1-207-594-7956
evans@midcoast.com