The Schooner Lewis R. French entered Great Cove at mid-afternoon Wednesday, which was a hot and hazy day. She first anchored off Babson Island, where passengers went ashore and explored, lolled on the beach, and a few went swimming in the 64-degree water. Later, a lobster bake was held there.
After a delicious dinner on Babson, the passengers re-boarded the French for a short trip of about 200 yards, so that the schooner could anchor close to the WoodenBoat School dock and float. It rained that night and into the foggy morning. The schooner kept her weather tarp up most of the morning. Nonetheless, several boatloads of the passengers were ferried ashore to explore the WBS campus and then return to the French for the rest of their cruise.
Soon the weather tarp was taken down and sails and anchor raised with the help of the passengers. Her mainsail, main topsail, and foresail were raised. There was virtually no wind, but the sun started to try to break through the overcast. It was one of those mornings when beams of sunlight came and went, sometimes creating intriguing reflections that lasted only minutes.
The French has no internal motor, so her powerful yawlboat was lashed to her stern as an outboard motor and she headed out of the Cove to the north. She might have been on her way to see nearby Pumpkin Island Lighthouse; her schedule says that she was on a four-night lighthouse tour..
The 101-foot French was launched in 1871 out of Christmas Cove, Maine. She was built there by the French brothers and named after their father. In her youth, her life was varied and hard. Among other things, she freighted bricks, granite, fish, lime, firewood, and Christmas trees, and at one time experienced a fire that nearly destroyed her. Now, the French is a classic cruiser out of Camden, Maine.
The schooner J&E Riggin also anchored Wednesday night in Great Cove and departed the next day. She arrived late and departed early on Thursday in the rain without raising a sail:
(Images taken in Brooklin, Maine, on July 17 and 18, 2024.)