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.
