Although yesterday dawned gray and cloudy, there was an uplifting sight in Great Cove: The schooner Stephen Taber had overnighted and would soon sail out in wind gusts of up to 19 miles per hour. Here, you see the Taber just after its yawlboat, Babe, had returned its passengers from a morning visit ashore on the WoodenBoat Campus:
There reportedly have been only three large schooners cruising in our area during the plague and the Taber is one of them. She’s 110 feet in overall length and was launched in 1871. She hails from Rockland, Maine, and is a National Historic Landmark.
Below, you’ll see her going through sailing preparations yesterday that are not that much different from those in the old days:
However, sailing on the Taber now is a bit more refined than it was in 1871. For example, according to her website, what you’re seeing here is part of a six-day wine-tasting cruise that features wines from a different country every night to accompany delicious food. It costs only $1,318 per person. After this cruise, she’ll be on a Fall Colors cruise along the coast.
Here, she’s turning into the wind yesterday, with a little help from Babe:
As with many 19th Century cargo cruisers, the Taber was built with a flat bottom to “ground out” and discharge her cargo without the need for a pier. She does have a centerboard to lower during cruising but has no motor. However, she does have trusty Babe, her yawlboat with a 230 horsepower inboard engine; Babe pushes the 16-ton Taber in light air and assists with other maneuvers.
There was plenty of air yesterday, though. Here she’s passing Babson Island and nearby ledges to leave Great Cove and enter hazy Eggemoggin Reach headed southwest in a following wind
(Brooklin, Maine)