Maine Filmmaker Releases "Windjammer" Documentary On DVD

Rockland, Me.- Maine filmmaker Doug Mills will releases his newest documentary “Windjammer” on DVD  Tuesday January 20,2015.   This film was produced by Doug Mills in association with The Maine Windjammer Project and The Camden Windjammer Festival.  Windjammer tells the story of the Maine Windjammer through the colorful history and stories of Captain Jim Sharp.

Timed to compliment the "Windjammer" release Doug Mills is also releasing his new book"The Great American Windjammer" Vol. 1.  This book is 200 pages with nearly 100 8x10 photographs of Maine's historic schooner fleet.

Penobscot Bay on the coast of Maine has come to be known as one of the best places in the world for sailing. On any given day in the summer and fall you may see as many as a dozen historic schooners some over 140 years old still sailing in these waters.

There was a time when sail was king on the coast of Maine. The lime trade, granite & marble, lumber from virgin forests, ice and the fishing trades all employed sailing craft to move their products. The lime trade alone employed over 200 two masted schooners in Rockland and the surrounding coastal Maine towns.

Steam powered vessels were making some of the longer trans-Atlantic runs and the passenger trade up and down the coast. However, for coastal trade and the hundreds of islands located just off the coast of Maine sail is still king.


The coastal waters would be filled with these two masted schooners delivering cargo to and from all the coastal towns. They are the lifeline for those living on the islands, delivering everything from lumber to butter and even your grandfather’s new Sunday suit.

Today only a handful of the sailing vessels remain. Many of them were simply used until they were worn out and replaced by a new one. During the Great Depression, thousands of these boats were just abandoned where they stood and left to rot.

There is, however a place where during the summer and fall you can still see these historic vessels sailing the clear blue waters the Atlantic much the way they have for the past 200 years.  On the west side of Penobscot Bay is the town of Camden. It was here in 1935 that Frank Swift started offering windjammer vacations and the Maine windjammer fleet was born.

Come experience the lore of the windjammer on the coast of Maine with Captain Jim Sharp.  With spectacular video archives provided by The Maine Windjammer Project  and working in association with the Camden Windjammer Festival.
Order the "Windjammer" DVD $20.00 plus shipping.

The Great American Windjammer Vol. 1  $20.00 plus shipping

Windjammer and The Great American Windjammer DVD $40.00 plus shipping.

Exclusive Preview of Movie "WINDJAMMER"

The movie “WINDJAMMER” is in production to be released in the fall of 2014. This movie is centered on the Maine windjammer fleet which sail the waters of Penobscot Bay in Maine, much the same as they have for nearly 150 years.

The RCN America Network is previewing the new trailer for this movie which presents the lore and history of the windjammer through the history and stories of Captain Jim Sharp and archival film footage from The Maine Windjammer Project.

“I had been working on this production for nearly a year, but it just was not coming together.” says WINDJAMMERS producer Doug Mills. “The Camden Windjammer Festival approached me, not knowing I was already working on a windjammer movie, requesting I produce a movie around aduio they provided from long time schooner captain and story teller Jim Sharp. It was the perfect framework on which to hang the movie I had started, and WINDJAMMER was conceived.”

Please enjoy the exclusive preview of WINDJAMMER.

Follow WINDJAMMER production on Facebook at: WINDJAMMER

The Movie "WINDJAMMER" Is In Production In Rockland

The movie WINDJAMMER is in production to be released in the fall of 2014.  This film is being produced by Doug Mills in association with The Maine Windjammer Project and The Camden Windjammer Project

Penobscot Bay on the coast of Maine has come to be known as one of the best places in the world for sailing. On any given day in the summer and fall you may see as many as a dozen historic schooners some over 140 years old still sailing in these waters.

There was a time when sail was king on the coast of Maine. The lime trade, granite & marble, lumber from virgin forests, ice and the fishing trades all employed sailing craft to move their products. The lime trade alone employed over 200 two masted schooners in Rockland and the surrounding coastal Maine towns.

Steam powered vessels were making some of the longer trans-Atlantic runs and the passenger trade up and down the coast. However, for coastal trade and the hundreds of islands located just off the coast of Maine sail is still king.

The coastal waters would be filled with these two masted schooners delivering cargo to and from all the coastal towns. They are the lifeline for those living on the islands, delivering everything from lumber to butter and even your grandfather’s new Sunday suit.

Today only a handful of the sailing vessels remain. Many of them were simply used until they were worn out and replaced by a new one. During the Great Depression, thousands of these boats were just abandoned where they stood and left to rot.

There is, however a place where during the summer and fall you can still see these historic vessels sailing the clear blue waters the Atlantic much the way they have for the past 200 years.  On the west side of Penobscot Bay is the town of Camden. It was here in 1935 that Frank Swift started offering windjammer vacations and the Maine windjammer fleet was born.

Come experience the lore of the windjammer on the coast of Maine with Captain Jim Sharp.  With video provided by The Maine Windjammer Project  and working in association with the Camden Windjammer Festival.

You can follow the progress of this exciting project on facebook at:
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Windjammer/1435898273319240

On The Set of "Catatonk Blues" Filming In Rockland Maine

Doug Mills
RCN America network

Rockland, Maine - Ever wonder what it would be like to be in a major motion picture?  We spent Tuesday on the set of "Catatonk Blues" starring Treat Williams, which has been filming in Rockland.  We followed a group of extras through the whole process.

The day starts for this group of actors at 2 in the afternoon when they report to the set.  First order of business, lunch.  I like this business.

The next stop is the holding room. Where the actors wait.

Casting director, James Stiles explains how the day will go and what the actors can expect next. 

More waiting.

Next the aspiring actors are taken to wardrobe five at a time for paperwork and wardrobe.

After wardrobe it is back outside for more waiting while all the actors get through wardrobe.

More waiting! 

All during this time the crew is moving equipment.

Like ants of bees they hurry in and out of the building, carrying wires , cables, clamps and chairs from the trucks parked out back.

Soon the auditorium is ready for the big town hall scene. The lights are up and the cameras are all in place.

The wait is over. The director calls for all the actors in the big auditorium scene.

Director, Jared Martin and writer/ director,Bob Mrazek go over last minute details for the town meeting scene.

The actors are brought in and take their places in the auditorium.

Treat Williams, who plays a congressman who returns to his Maine island district, goes over last minute details with the crew.

The camera crews do their last checks before the first take.

Almost ready!

Before the first take Treat Williams takes the time to fill the extras in on the movie, to set the scene and explain what is going to happen in this scene.

The set is locked, the sound is on and the cameras roll.

Shooting "Catatonk Blues"

Treat Williams in "Catatonk Blues.

Treat Williams filming "Catatonk Blues" in Rockland

The town hall scene of "Catatonk Blues"

At the end of the day every one went home tired, but with a great story to tell their grandchildren. 

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