Schooner Lewis R. French

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United States
Camden, ME
Schooner Lewis R. French

Windjammer homeported in Camden, Maine - offering 2,3,4,5 and 6 night sailing cruises along the coast
(55)

Join us for an all-inclusive vacation featuring tremendous sailing, homemade food and beautiful scenery. The French was built in 1871 and is the oldest commercial sailing vessel in the United States.

11/14/2024

Q: Are guests allowed to help sail the vessel?

A: Anything you may (within reason), and nothing you must.
We invite our shipmates to help with everything from heaving up the anchor and furling the mainsail, to peeling apples and chopping broccoli. Or read and take photos while the activity goes on around you.

The fun part is immersing yourself in the environment, whether it's taking a trick at the helm or absorbing the sunset as we ghost along to our anchorage.

Photo Credit: Anne Conover, the Maine Windjammer Association

11/12/2024

This summer we made it a few miles south of Camden, all the way to Christmas Cove, where the French was built!
Can you ID this lighthouse we passed on the way?

11/05/2024

You know what I love about windjamming?
We visit places you'd never see if you weren't cruising with us.
One evening this summer we had a lobster bake on an island, that didn't even have a name on the chart.
So we named it "Not-There-At-High-Tide Island"
You had to have been there...
🏖🚣⛵️

10/29/2024

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Email from Schooner Lewis R. French What happened in 2024?..... Big Things!!! Cheers to a Great Year! We've had a great year full of fun and good cheer, and we're so grateful to everyone who sailed

10/24/2024

Scott Marx is pretty skilled with a camera! Congratulations 🎉 I remember that storm

Shoutout to Scott Marx for winning the Landscape Award in this year's WideOpen: Excellence in Photography exhibition, for the piece Racing the Storm. This award was sponsored by the Ohio University Chaddock + Morrow College of Fine Arts.

09/25/2024

09/07/2024

Penobscot Bay winds have been great this year! We were hauling with only 4 of our sails up. Windjammer life is good!

&Captain

07/31/2024

Back in the day they used to carry larger cannons for different reasons.
Nowadays, at sunset exactly we lower our colors, and sometimes when the time is right we like to do it with a little fanfare! Our L.T. Snow “Strong” Cannon “Little Boomer” was gifted to the boat from the Gray Family in 1999 and it discharges a 12 gauge shell. It was built between 1886 and 1904 to be a yacht signaling canon for Isleboro Yacht Club to start their races.

07/10/2024

07/03/2024

A friend of ours shared his home bulletin board and you can see that in the center of it all is the map that each guest gets in their cabin on boarding day. Also visible is the route we took on that trip, drawn out by Captain Becky!

06/11/2024

06/03/2024

Captain Becky, Co-Owner of the Lewis R. French- Good morning from the sunny Coast of Maine. It’s not easy to get a shot of Captain Becky , she’s always moving around, at least until The French departs! As for co-owner Nathan, he’s always on the go! The French will be heading out of Camden Harbor this morning, I better hurry or I’ll miss the show!!

How is everyone? With my first cup of Bolivia almost gone I know I’ve been sitting longer than usual. Even being retired, Mondays are still Mondays. Lots of orders came in over the weekend and the local stores have certainly picked up on sales! One thing is certain, I’m going to need another cup of this Bolivia!

Enjoy the day my friends and have a safe and peaceful week.- Dan
com
Schooner Lewis R. French
Maine Windjammer Association
Camden Famous
Visit Maine

Address

11 Atlantic Avenue
Camden, ME
04843

Telephone

+12075421241

Website

http://www.schoonerfrench.com/, https://lewisrfrench.square.site/

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Videos

Penobscot Bay winds have been great this year! We were hauling with only 4 of our sails up. Windjammer life is good! #Thatswindjamming #sailinglife #Maine #Womenwhosail&Captain #sailingvactions

Back in the day they used to carry larger cannons for different reasons. Nowadays, at sunset exactly we lower our colors, and sometimes when the time is right we like to do it with a little fanfare! Our L.T. Snow “Strong” Cannon “Little Boomer” was gifted to the boat from the Gray Family in 1999 and it discharges a 12 gauge shell. It was built between 1886 and 1904 to be a yacht signaling canon for Isleboro Yacht Club to start their races. #Thatswindjamming #sailing #Maine #Womenwhosail #sailinglife

Enjoying delicious lunch while slowly sailing past Mark Island Lighthouse 😊

Our first trip was a total and beautiful success! Spent our last in gorgeous Pulpit harbor after a 3 day trip of lovely weather. Feeling thankful to be where we are ❤️

I found this lovely video that shows Captain Becky taking her turn to churn the ice cream.

Windjamming on Penobscot Bay

I found this lovely video that shows Captain Becky taking her turn to churn the ice cream.

This May we took down our spring stay for inspection and re-serving. All our shrouds and stays on the French are served at the ends, if not down the full length of the cable. Worming, parceling, and serving were particularly necessary before the advent of steel cable to prevent the Manila standing rigging from decay. These days, it’s still helpful in preventing deterioration in our steel cable rigging, but you won’t see service like this on modern boats! #thisiswindjamming #oldschoolcool#traditionalskills #1871

“Well a bowl of OB’s soup wouldn’t do us any harm” “And a tune sang by Becky wouldn’t do us any harm”

Here’s some great pics from our foggy kayaking trip last week! We had a grand time! #sailing #thisiswindjamming #lovewhatyoudo #kayaking #mainekayaking #getoutside