Lighthouse tours: Explore Maine Lighthouses
Grindel Point Lighthouse, Islesboro . Photo by Jim Dugan
Maine lighthouses: unique lighthouse tours under sail
- 4- and 6-day lighthouse tours aboard a true sailing legend, the schooner Mary Day
- Magnificent scenes of more than 20 Maine Lighthouses (views you just can't get from shore!)
Experienced and entertaining tour guides with expert local knowledge of Maine Lighthouses and their history
- Great food, great friends, sailing adventure, wildlife, islands
- 2008 Lighthouse Tour dates: Sailing June 4, June 9 and Sept. 1 (We see lighthouses on all our cruises. For a complete schedule, click here.)
- June 9 is a special Fundraising Cruise. Click here for more information.
Join us for a most unique lighthouse tour under sail aboard the Maine windjammer, Mary Day. Live the history of these magnificent coastal sentinels from the perspective of the mariners that used these lighthouses a hundred years ago. Local lighthouse experts Ted and Jo Panyatoff will be aboard to share their passion, knowledge and dedication to preserving these national treasures. This truly unique lighthouse tour gives you the opportunity to be a part of the sailing adventure or just relax as we share the wonders of the protected waters and islands of the Maine coast.
Of course, we see lighthouses on every cruise, but this is your chance to be guided by experts. And during these cruises, we make a special effort to get to as many lighthouses as possible.
Author Ted Panyatof, who has written about Maine lighthouses in the Camden area, joins us for these tours and shares his vast knowledge of the lighthouses.
Bass Harbor Head
2008 Lighthouse Tour dates: Sailing June 4, June 9 and Sept. 1
As retired innkeepers Ted and Jo have been guiding lighthouse tours by land and sea to some of Maine's finest examples of working and historic lighthouses for many years. Ted is the author of the recently published history of the Rockland Breakwater Lighthouse and is well versed in the history of Maine's lighthouses as well as in the amazing personal stories behind the lighthouses we will see. The Panyatoff's collection of lighthouse history and memorabilia is impressive and has been featured in many national and international magazines.
Ranger Terry Cole shows us
the original Fresnel Lens at Fort Point Lighthouse
Ted will offer 2 slide presentations covering the history of the lighthouses in this country. Jo creates a unique needle point kit featuring a light we will see, available for those who are interested.
We have seen as many as 9 lights in a single day and have 23 lighthouses in our area including one the Maine's most complete light stations. We will show you lights that just can't be seen from shore and it is always our goal to tour the inside of an actual working lighthouse. Mary Day is a pure sailing vessel so our itinerary is unpredictable and every lighthouse tour is a unique adventure aboard a fast and stable sailing legend.
The 21 lights we are likely to see in our normal cruising grounds each week: Curtis Island, Indian Island, Rockland Breakwater, Owls Head, Browns Head, Goose Rocks, Heron Neck, Saddleback Ledge, Deer Isle Thorofare (Mark Island), Robinson Pt (Isle Au Haut), Hockamock Head, Bear Island, Baker Island, Egg Rock, Bass Harbor Head, Blue Hill, Pumpkin Island, Dice Head, Eagle Island, Fort Point, Grindel Point
With a little extra effort and a fair breeze we can get out to see Mt Desert Rock or Matinicus Rock Lights.
Pumpkin Island Lighthouse, one of 20 Maine Lighthouses we may see on our expert-guided Lighthouse Tours.
June 6, 2008 Lighthouse Fundraiser Cruise
Keepers of the Pelagic
June 9-14, 2008
By the end of the 19th century there were only a handful of puffins breeding south of the Maine/Canada border. Terns, greater black back gulls, eiders, and other pelagic seabirds had been hunted to the brink of extinction and extirpated from their original breeding habitat in the Penobscot Bay region. The newly formed Audubon Society turned to the lighthouse keepers of Matinicus Rock and keepers at other lighthouses stretching from Maine to the Florida Keys to act as wardens protecting numerous endangered species and recording their observations. Those wardens changed the course of the natural and cultural history of Maine. Grab your binoculars and join Audubon naturalists Mike and Margi Shannon and lighthouse expert Ted Panayotoff as we devote this week to doing some observing of our own as well as raising funds for both Maine Audubon and the Maine lighthouse Museum. This cruise will be a rich and rare chance to hear the stories of the wildlife and people that define the uniqueness of the Maine coast and a great way to support two great causes.
This all-inclusive 6 day sailing adventure boards June 8 in Camden. Cost $900/person. Reservations can be made through the Mary Day office, 800-992-2218.
Help us support the Maine Lighthouse Museum and the American Lighthouse Foundation during this fun filled 6 day sailing cruise on Penobscot Bay. Learn more about the American Lighthouse Foundation and the Maine Lighthouse Museum.