Travel Guy: Windjammer cruises offer a laid-back vacation

A cruise without a midnight buffet and shuffle­board?

Sure — and also without the massive crowds, extra fees for excursions and Caribbean destinations. OK, that last one might be pretty good, but the Maine Wind­jammer Association is redefining what it means to vacation at sea.

Steeped in history, windjammer cruises immerse guests in an around-the-clock authentic sailing experience. Head topside in the cool morning air for a sunrise across a flat Maine harbor, spend the day cutting silently across the waves past islands and rocky shorelines and lay back at night to take in a seemingly endless night sky packed with stars. Windjammer cruises are a very different way of spending time on the water — at times alternately relaxing and exhilarating — giving guests both a very real taste of Maine and a completely bona fide maritime experience.

A windjammer vacation isn’t a luxury vacation — if luxury means fancy. But this is what gives these cruises such an authentic feel.

“It’s basically a mom and pop business,” said Meg Maiden, marketing director for the Maine Windjammer Association. “It’s a very hands-on owner operation. The person who greets you is the owner and captain, the person that fixes and maintains everything. It’s a labor of love and they do it because they love sailing and love sharing their historic boats with guests.”

And those captains will tell you — there are plenty of reasons to try a different way of cruising:

If the spirit of St. Elmo moves you, step on board and jump into the experience. Guests are welcome to get as involved in sailing the ship as they like, but if sacking out on deck is more your speed, that’s fine, too. After all, it is a vacation.

Queasy sailors, take heart: Seasickness is not a problem. Maine has thousands of small islands off the coast, creating a protective barrier from the much wilder waters of the open ocean. There can be nice breezes, but not the massive waves that can be found much farther out.

There’s plenty to do. You are sailing as much as six hours a day, but everywhere you look there is new scenery, birds, whales and other guests to get to know.

Solo travelers are welcome. The ships can hold between 20 and 45 people and four to seven crew members, creating a much more intimate experience. The smaller setting provides a rare opportunity for people traveling in groups or sailing solo to get to know one another.

And it’s there that the experience begins to deviate from the typical cruise vacation. Excursions are included in the price, and ports of call are varied and never set in stone. Thanks to the nature of windjammer cruising, there is no set itinerary. Guests sail for about six hours during the day and then drop anchor in a new location each night.

Destinations

The captains follow the wind and the tide, as sailors have for countless generations. Using their vast knowledge of the area, they navigate a vacation based on “weather and whim.” The Maine coast is dotted­ with more than 3,000 islands, and is considered one of the most beautiful (if sometimes tricky) sailing areas in the world. The fleet’s captains are intimately familiar with Maine’s coastline and aware of passengers’ inclinations. They monitor the weather and gauge passengers’ interests. If a lobster bake piques interest, that’s factored in; if shopping is a priority, that’s put on the agenda. Cruisers say that once everyone drops the notion of a rigid travel plan, they can embrace the spontaneity of a windjammer cruise — one of the key idio­syncrasies of these vacations. Stops can include a tour of a Maine lighthouse, a couple of hours in coastal villages such as Stonington or Castine, a visit to the WoodenBoat School (41 Wooden­Boat Lane, Brooklin), not too far from the Little Deer Isle and Bear Island region, or hiking in a state or national park.

Many of Maine’s most beautiful spots are accessible only by small, shallow-draft vessels like the windjammers, which makes it possible to take passengers ashore on an uninhabited island for a hike or a swim. The captains all work with nature conservancies, and know where the best vistas and panoramic views are.

“They practice ‘leave no trace’ principles,” Maiden said. “We’re not tromping through the woods and causing harm. We really do try to leave (areas) just the way we found them.” This careful approach also includes the traditional lobster bake — this is Maine, after all. Once the beachside feast is complete, every­thing is removed — any waste, firewood and even the special pans that don’t scorch the rocks.

“You’d never know 25 people just enjoyed an amazing lobster bake,” Maiden said.

Dining

You may not encounter your ship’s bartender Isaac firing the double-guns on the lido deck, but you also won’t have to put on a jacket and tie for dinner. Guests are often awakened by the smell of coffee and fresh-baked muffins, prepared right on board. It’s small-scale dining­ prepared using fresh, local ingredients. Most boats source locally, working with CSAs when items like blueberries and strawberries come into season, and everything is cooked from scratch. There are no modern appliances, so ice cream is cranked out by hand, bread is kneaded by hand and meals are often cooked on a wood-fired, cast-iron stove.

Accommodations

The cabins on-board these historic ships (don’t call them staterooms) are cozy, which can sometimes be interpreted as “small.” Instead, try flexible, more than adequate and most importantly, you’ll find running water, showers and bathrooms. Guests in some cabins may share bathrooms, but others have private facilities.

“They’re cozy, but you’re not spending a lot of time there,” Maiden said. “There’s room for everything you need — although we advise people not to pack steamer trunks. Duffel bags are a great way to travel. People spend most of the time on-deck, where all the action is, or in the galley where the food is.”

Most rooms are double cabins, with upper and lower­ bunks or a double bed. There are some singles for a slight extra charge, providing a great option for solo travelers, and there are a few triple cabins. Some of the boats even have wood stove-fired baseboard heat. All linens and wool blankets are provided.

After dark, captain and crew members often moonlight as the on-board entertainment, weaving stories and pulling out instruments to play and sing songs.

For the particularly wired-in, it might take a day or two to get used to not having flawless cell coverage. It’s spotty.

“There are no TVs or faxes and people are pretty discrete with cellphones,” Maiden said. “It’s a nice break from all that.”

Rates are different for each ship in the Maine Windjammer Association fleet and depend on the length of the trip. Each ship offers a wide variety of vacation choices. A sample of prices — because these are not each ship’s only offerings — range from a one-night cruise aboard the Isaac H. Evans for $230; a two-night weekend cruise on the American Eagle for $595; a four-day trip on the Heritage for $725; a six-night cruise on the Lewis R. French for $965; or three-, four- and five-day cruises on the Victory Chimes for $625 to $900. Partial day sails are also available on some schooners; $50 to $70. A complete list of each ship and schedule can be found at sailmainecoast.com.

If you go

Excursions leave from ports in Rockland, Rockport and Camden, Maine. To book a Maine Windjammer Cruise, call 800-807-WIND or go to sailmainecoast.com.