Many years ago, I graduated from college and traveled from my home state of Michigan to the Coast of Maine to learn how to sail on a Maine Windjammer. I thought it would only be for the summer and then I would go on to get a job that required the purchase of a blue suit for the interview.
Instead, I fell in love with sailing and a boy and Maine. A few years later, we got married, bought a boat and had two kids. The first baby and the boat came all in the same year, not something we would recommend! We’ve now owned the Schooner J. & E. Riggin for 11 years and what I would highly recommend is sharing a business with your husband and best friend, sailing all summer long on Penobscot Bay with guests who become lifelong friends, raising a family together within a purposeful, out-of-doors life and cooking and growing fresh, local food with the bounty that is provided by Maine’s waters and soil.
Our Maine Windjammer, the Schooner J. & E. Riggin was originally built in 1927 as an oyster-dredger. In the 70’s she was converted to provide sailing vacations to guests and is still doing that same work today. She is listed on the National Historic Landmark Registry and is a collective part of our American history. My husband, who is also the captain, and I treat our guests to 3, 4 and 6 day sailing cruises all summer long. We sail with our family, take care of our guests and are stewards of this vessel until such time that we pass her on to someone else who will care for her with equal pride.
These pages are meant to share little snippets of that life with you amidst the context of yummy food. I look forward to having you join us and me on these pages or on our schooner.
Annie
It always comes back to food, don’t you think?
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