"Mark Borgerson" wrote in message
Does anyone have any experience with these cruises? Will
I enjoy the sailing, or will it be just a bouncy motel room
with a really small window?

Is mid September a good time for sailing in the area
around Mt. Desert Island?

Secondary question: Does anyone have any recent experience
with the Mystic Seaport museum in Connecticut? A few days
there are a second choice if the windjammer cruise doesn't
work out.

Windjammers may or may not be the thing for you, depending on the experience
you're looking for.

Sailing an 80-foot schooner is nothing like sailing a 40-foot sloop and many
sailors find they can learn a lot on a schooner and enjoy the experience. By
and large, schooner crews get excited by passengers who are actually
interested in learning something and will go out of their way to teach you
things if you ask.

The downside for some people is that you are not in charge. The boat has an
itinerary and they tend to stick to it. If getting to make your own
decisions about where to go and when is a big part of the sailing experience
for you, you might not like the windjammers. However, if you're willing to
surrender to the program, the places they go are all pretty cool.

Accommodations on these boats probably more closely resemble your experience
on a charter boat than a motel room. Don't worry about bouncy; the boats
sail in mostly sheltered waters and anchor every night.

September can be a little chilly in Maine, but otherwise may be the best
time of the year. The summer cruising crowd has gone home, there's less
chance of fog, and the sailing is great. You may also find that time of year
that the boats aren't booked full, making it less crowded and more enjoyable
onboard.


Mystic Seaport is unquestionably the nation's top maritime museum, and the
town of Mystic is a wonderful place. Anyone with even a slight interest in
sailing and the sea should get there at least once. However, unless you are
a maritime academic doing research or taking classes there, it's unlikely
you'll find enough to fill much more than a day at the museum. Mind you, if
you toured EVERYTHING that's on public display, read every single placard,
attended every demonstration and saw every performance, you could easily
spend three days. But unless your family is equally fanatical, they'll
probably kill you before you finish.


Carl