| When you live on the coast – and I mean live on | | | | On Labor Day weekend the Camden Windjammer |
| the coast, where you can smell the salt of the ocean | | | | festival begins. It is both a showcase of stunning ships |
| in the air of your daily travels (and aren’t simply | | | | and a celebration of local maritime heritage designed |
| someone who “goes down the shore” on | | | | to enlighten visitors of the vast nautical history of the |
| weekends) – you are most definitely privy to a | | | | region. Throughout the three days – extending from |
| slew of nautically-themed festivals throughout the | | | | Friday to Monday – the Windjammer Festival offers |
| year’s warmer months. While festivals of this type | | | | a variety of events and workshops. Learn the craft of |
| exist all over the country, sharing the common element | | | | steam-bending wood for the purpose of crafting a |
| of the sea (literally, wherever you find a shoreline you | | | | toboggan; get schooled in the different species of sea |
| will find a festival of this type) each is unique in theme. | | | | birds; learn the histories of various Maine lighthouses; |
| The Windjammer Festival of Camden, Maine holds | | | | take in some live music, talent show, or fireworks. But, |
| true to this paradigm, centering on the grandiose cargo | | | | crafts and visuals aren’t the only means of |
| ships from which the festival takes its name. | | | | entertainment – the festival also offers culinary |
| But, before I get into what this festival is all about I think | | | | samples and contests including a shrimp tasting and a |
| it’s fun to note that my first thought was that this | | | | Chowder Challenge. |
| festival has something to do with kites and kite-flying | | | | The overall spirit of the Camden Windjammer Festival |
| because the word “windjammer,” to me at least, | | | | is one of camaraderie and history. These ships have |
| is reminiscent of a children’s toy – specifically | | | | the power to transport the thoughtful observer to a |
| kites, or aerodynamically-designed Frisbees intended to | | | | time when crafts of such magnitude and grace were |
| be throw hundreds of yards. I was wrong, of course. | | | | not only majestic, but a necessity – to a time when |
| A windjammer is a sailing ship design from around the | | | | this harbor was filled with these ships for the sake of |
| turn of the 20th century. Used primarily for cargo, | | | | trade and commerce, when livelihoods depended on |
| these merchant ships had up to six masts and were | | | | the speed at which these ships facilitated trade. For |
| able to carry between 2,000 and 5,000 tons of cargo | | | | these reasons and due to each ship entering the |
| due to a steel hull – making them more useful and | | | | harbor with its own look and story, an almost mythic |
| efficient than their wooden-hulled counterparts. Their | | | | nostalgia accompanies an air of significance and |
| distinctive look comes from the multiple square sails | | | | warmth. |
| attached to each mast – sometimes five sails high. | | | | |