Sailing history on the Maine coast

Schooner Mary Day, right, sailed in a schooner race with other members of Maine’s windjammer fleet off Rockland, Maine. The 90-foot Mary Day, which is celebrating its 50th season, is the first schooner in the Maine windjammer fleet to be built specifically to accommodate passengers.

Captain Barry King manned the helm of the schooner earlier this month on a three-day cruise on Penobscot Bay off Camden, Maine. The ship’s sleeping cabins are heated and have nine feet of headroom.

Sawyer King, 12, the son of the captain, rode on the bowsprit.

Passengers on the Mary Day watched the American Eagle sail by on a foggy afternoon on Penobscot Bay.

Passengers gathered as they passed a rocky ledge occupied by seals.

On the three-day cruise the Mary Day’s passengers saw seals, porpoises and several types of seabirds.

Captain King drew various sailing vessels to help answer a passenger’s question.

Passenger Paul Ernest of Lynnfield, left, took a turn at the helm.

Passengers read, worked on crossword puzzles, and just relaxed on the deck during the cruise.

Kim Trankina of Marietta, Ga., relaxed in the morning sun with coffee and a book.

Captain King, on the guitar, joined passengers Sarah Washburn, playing violin, and her husband, Ryan Jesperson, during a musical evening aboard the Mary Day off Ilseboro, Maine.

Maggy Mulhern, left, and Katharine Mead, prepared a lobster bake for dinner on the shore of a small island in Penobscot Bay.

Passengers leapt from the bowsprit of the schooner.

David Ernest, of Lynnfield, backflipped off the schooner during a stop in Penobscot Bay, near Deer Isle.

Mary Day sat at anchor in the morning fog off South Brooksville, Maine. For sailing schedules and reservation information, visit schoonermaryday.com.