Nautilus Sailing Company

12/02/2024

I am overjoyed to announce that Nautilus Sailing Company's 2025 calendar is now open for booking! As December settles in, give yourself and your loved ones something to look forward to through the winter: joining us in the summer sun on our traditional friendship sloop, as we sail between the islands, forts and lighthouses of beautiful Casco Bay! Link in bio ⛵

As ever, our profound gratitude to everyone who has supported Captain Crow and I through this rollercoaster of a year. We're beyond excited to be back on Casco Bay in 2025!

-Captain Sam

(In the meantime, work on our dear ketch Nautilus is continuing. Now that both boats are prepared for winter, we are building the perfectly level 50' table on which the new main mast will be constructed, along with a host of smaller maintenance projects. Keep an eye out for workshop photos!)

10/26/2024

Update 10/26: Winter covers, and a little insurance update! I’ve gone into more detail on the GoFundMe page for those curious, but in short, our insurance has indeed stated that Nautilus is a loss. They’ve written us a check for what she’s insured for, less the cost of her salvage. After we pay off the loan which we took out to buy her this spring, we’ll have enough to launch the new boat in spring (insurance/marina fees/haul and tow) which leaves us free to use the proceeds of the fundraiser to make a start on repairs this winter! The primary project is building a new main mast; right now we’re doing some work around the shipyard to clear the space needed for the project. We will also start tearing up her teak deck to access the damaged fiberglass below, and going through the damaged rigging to see what may be salvageable (to our delight, although the jib furler sheared in half, the jib itself is almost unscathed, despite literally being jammed through the mast!) Essentially, we have a clear path through this, and the means to get started. It’s impossible to say how much that means to us both, and how excited we are to leave the terrible waiting period and begin the real work. Thank you all so, so much for helping us get our feet back under us! (We plan on getting the 2025 calendar up in the next few weeks, keep an eye out!⛵️)

10/16/2024

10/16 Update: for the first time in far too long, we have some good news to share! I’m very excited to say that as of this week, Crow and I are the new owners of the lovely friendship sloop Eleanor Hawkes. Nautilus Sailing Company will be back on Casco Bay in 2025!

Although Hawkes is new to NSC, she’s not new to Crow and I. We were lucky enough to be Hawkes’s crew in 2022 and 2023, under her previous owner, the wonderful . On Monday we sailed her from Portland to Freeport for haul-out, and despite the weather, it was like reuniting with an old friend. Crow and I are beyond excited to share her with you next summer!

Practically: keeping NSC running will allow us to earn and set aside money for Nautilus’s repair fund, while giving us the freedom to restore her on our own schedule. The end goal is still to repair Nautilus! But since that will take some time, we’ll keep our Nautilus flag flying on Hawkes’ mast through the next few seasons on Casco Bay.

Personally: Crow and I only had two and a half months sailing together on the Nautilus, but it was the happiest and proudest two months of my life. To know for a certainty that we will be back on the water next year, together, sailing Maine’s coast on a boat we both already love, is more than I believed possible.

I have said thanks in so many ways I fear it’s starting to lose meaning. But let me do so one more time. To everyone who has contributed to the fundraiser, your generosity is the only reason we have enough of a safety net to make this possible. You have given us the means to continue forward together, and the means to make the time and money to repair Nautilus ourselves. Of all the ways through this mess, I cannot imagine a better path forward. Thank you, thank you, thank you. It’s impossible to say what it means to me. You have changed our lives.

What comes next: Crow and I will get a cover on her, get winter jobs, and wait for the wheels of insurance to turn. Once that resolves, we’ll be able to begin repairs. And in May 2025, we will see you on the water.

With all my heart, I can’t wait.

Love and gratitude,
Sam

09/25/2024

Update 9/25: Nautilus was surveyed yesterday, a joint survey between our insurer and that of the other vessel. Although it will be several weeks before we have the official paperwork, the consensus is that Nautilus will almost certainly be written off as a total loss. The estimated cost of the damage to the mast, deck, and hull is beyond her total value, in part because the teak deck would have to come up to deal with the damage below.

Due to this, and the subsequent complications, it no longer seems feasible to fix her in time for next summer. Neither of us are ready to give up on Nautilus just yet, let alone see her salvaged for parts. But repairing her will more likely be over several years, largely out of pocket, in what time we have. In the meantime, Crow and I need to figure out what comes next for the two of us, for Nautilus Sailing Company, and for Nautilus herself. We’ll keep you posted as we know more.

A more detailed update is available on the GoFundMe (link in bio), for those who would like to know more about the insurance process and next steps. We’ve changed the goal amount to reflect the current estimated cost of the damage, although we’re very aware the number is more aspirational than anything at this point. If we don’t meet it (I don’t honestly believe either of us expects to), we’re both keenly aware it’s not for lack of generosity in our community, from our family and our friends and folks we’ve sailed with before and folks we’ve never even met. We are endlessly and profoundly grateful to everyone who has helped us so far, and humbled by the outpouring of support and sympathy and incredible kindness from you all. It has let us meet the costs of getting her to dry storage, keeping up with bills, and dealing with the weeks after. Crow and I are so, so grateful to each and every one of you.

With love and gratitude,
Sam and Crow

09/05/2024

09/04/24 Update: Nautilus is out of the water! On Tuesday her mizzen mast was craned out, and today she was hauled to the yard where she has spent the last few winters. She’s safe and sound on the hard, and we’re going to spend the next few days making her easily accessible inside and out by setting up scaffolding, removing cushions, etc.

The next step is a joint survey between the surveyor from our insurance and the surveyor from that of the other vessel, to determine the extent and expense of the damage. At the moment it seems like that may take place the third week of September. We have our fingers crossed, and will share more when we know! For anyone interested, we’ve posted a slightly longer update on the Gofundme (link in bio).

Once again, thank you all, more than I can say. We have been warned that this whole process may take some time, and in the meantime there are payments to make which simply can’t wait that long. Thanks entirely to everyone who has donated, we should be able to deal with those expenses in the interim. I was honestly very frightened of the immediate future when this first happened, and I am finally beginning to truly believe that however the cards fall, Crow and I will get through this. I am more grateful than I can say for the overwhelming generosity and kindness of each and every one of you.

Thank you sincerely, from the bottom of our hearts.
-Sam and Crow

08/30/2024

We got the official go-ahead to get Nautilus out of the water, so we’ve left Portland Head Light behind us for the last time this summer, and we’re on our way down the coast. Despite everything, it’s a good day to be out on the water - although it’s a sad trip, it’s a beautiful one. The plan is to haul her out after the holiday weekend, and have her surveyed soon after. It is a relief to get this process started; the worst part has been the waiting without knowing the state of the boat, and as a result, our livelihoods.

Words fail to express our gratitude to everyone who has helped us in this last week. The outpouring of support — be it donations, hugs, words of support, or offers of coffee and food — have been keeping us afloat. Neither Sam nor I have ever felt so fully the protective embrace of the Portland community and the sailing community. Thank you all.

For anyone generously wishing to help support us in the weeks ahead, our GoFundMe link is in our bio.

Fair winds and following seas,
Crow

08/25/2024

We now have a GoFundMe: https://gofund.me/5187e71a

Before anything else, I want to say thank you. Even the smallest kindnesses over this last day have been helping us keep it together. Despite the terrible situation, we are so, so grateful for how many people took the time to reach out. Thank you, truly.

If you would like to help us with the next steps, as well, we now have this fundraiser. Although we don’t yet know much in detail, and do not know how things may shake out in the long term, our hope is that in the short term this fundraiser will help us with the initial expenses of repairing Nautilus (hauling her out, getting her looked at properly, and whatever comes next) and our own living expenses now that our sole source of income is gone and a lot of our time will likely be dedicated to repairing her.

Any help, in any way, means the world to us. Sharing this fundraiser is just as appreciated. We will update about the state of Nautilus as we learn more, and dearly hope to sail with you again.

Much love,
Sam and Crow

Hello to our community, friends, family, and everyone who has been lucky enough to… Sam Dow needs your support for Help Sam and Crow Keep the Nautilus Sailing

08/24/2024

I am profoundly sad to say that this afternoon Nautilus was badly damaged by another vessel while at her slip. We are extremely grateful that at the moment it seems there were no injuries, but the 2024 season is over for us. We are still in the process of figuring out the next steps.

For those of you with reservations for the remainder of August, September, and October: we are in the process of cancelling and refunding those bookings over the next few days, and appreciate your patience more than I can say. Crow and I can both whole-heartedly recommend and as possible alternatives, which in addition to being lovely vessels in their own right, are crewed by incredible individuals who have been unimaginably kind and supportive to us.

To those of you whom we have already had the joy of sailing with this season, thank you. To everyone who has helped us this season, with skill or advice or encouragement, thank you. Crow and I feel lucky to have shared this summer with you all.

-Captain Sam

08/22/2024