CAMDEN, Maine — The Camden Windjammer Festival, abbreviated by the threat of hurricane winds but promising two days of activities nonetheless, got off to a thunderous start Saturday with a bang of cannons and a bevy of maritime enthusiasts.
Gone were the threat of Hurricane Earl, the downpour and the oppressive heat as the clouds parted and a refreshing breeze tousled Camden Harbor, causing the flags atop several windjammers to flutter over the festivities.
“Everything is working out,” said Dan Bookham, executive director of the Camden-Rockport-Lincolnville Chamber of Commerce, one of the organizers of the 16th annual festival.
Under a nearby tent, former windjammer Capt. Jim Sharp made adjustments to a 1902 Fairbanks Bulldog engine, whose piston fired once for every four or five revolutions. The clunky old piece of iron — which he affectionately called “Bertha” — was once used by Sharp to haul anchors weighing as much as 1,500 pounds. On a true windjammer, explained Sharp, engines were for lifting anchors or turning bilge pumps, not propulsion. Today, very few vessels of any significant size run without engine power.
“An engine will forgive a lot of sin by a captain,” said Sharp.
Click for the rest of the story by Christopher Cousins in the Bangor Daily News.
A full schedule of events is available at the web site, http://www.camdenwindjammerfestival.com/.
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