My Christmas Star

In mid-September around 1977, early in my career as a captain for Maine Windjammer Cruises, one of the company’s schooners, MERCANTILE, was taken to Southwest Boat in Southwest Harbor, Maine, on Mount Desert Island, to ship a new rudder. I was left in Camden with a small crew to lay up and put the winter covers on the company’s other two schooners, MATTIE and MISTRESS.

On December 11, at about 4:30 p.m., we were just finishing the winter covers when Ann Bex, the owner’s wife, came to the dock with the message that Les, her husband and captain of MERCANTILE, had called from the yard to say that the vessel was launched and ready to return home. I was to assemble the crew to help bring her back to Camden.

One of the crew, Seth, was already in Southwest Harbor, and it wasn’t difficult to gather others because my birthday was the next day and a party had already been scheduled. I rounded up some of the guests, Tom, Norm, Steve, and Peter, and we went to Peter’s home in Bar Harbor for the night; we’d celebrate with a sail home the next day.

We rose before dawn, dressed, ate a big breakfast, and were driven to Southwest Harbor, where we arrived at about 6:30 a.m. It was 2°F, and a fresh snowfall of the night before had not yet been cleared away. Les and Seth arrived at about the same time, and Les informed me that I would be in command of the trip home. He and Seth took the yawlboat to be fueled while we five cleared snow off the sails, houses, deck, and lines. A wonderful northwest breeze of about 10 to 12 knots was already blowing, so we hoisted sail, except the staysail and jib, and took in all but one spring line and a breast line.