Angelique is a Maine Windjammer. She is a 41 metre steel hulled ketch with dramatic, red-coloured sails. The sailing ship carries guests sailing for days at a time cruising among the hundreds of islands off the mid-coast of Maine in the USA.
Her homeport is Camden, Maine. It is a port she shares with several other vessels from the Maine Windjammer Association. Almost all of the other ships are schooner-rigged. Angelique‘s rig and her seven red sails are however, distinctive among her fellow Windjammers. The sail colour is known as tanbark. It harks back to the days when sails were treated with tallow, tannic acid, and red ochre. That made the cotton canvas more resistant to mildew. Today, sails are made out of synthetic material — as are Angelique‘s. But the red remains a nod to tradition.
Immero Gobato
Angelique was built in 1980 in Palatka, Florida. The designer was a local artist named Immero Gobato who drew inspiration for Angelique from the Brixham fishing trawlers that worked the North Sea in the late 19th century. The plumb bow, fantail stern, ketch rig, and red sails are similar to these Brixham trawlers. Angelique was built with wind-jamming in mind.
Passenger amenities on board include standing headroom in the cabins, a deckhouse to shelter guests from weather or sun, and heads below decks. She has two inboard diesel engines.
Most cruises aboard Angelique last between three and six days. They’re unscripted with no particular destination in mind. The captain and crew decide on direction and anchorages by utilising the wind in the most efficient way. Guests can learn about sailing the boat and help with raising and lowering the sails, tacking, and taking a turn at the helm.
After each day of sailing, Angelique anchors overnight in a new harbour or cove. At anchor, guests will enjoy a chance to swim off the ship or row in the small skiff named Grimsby. Or they can choose to take the larger rowing boat named Cappy ashore to explore whatever is on land. The anchorage may be near a small fishing village, a town, a nature sanctuary, or a deserted island.
Lobster bake
On one night of every cruise, the captain will seek out an uninhabited island. There, the crew cooks up an authentic New England lobster bake on the shore with all the fixings. That includes s’mores, a marshmallow dessert cooked over the smouldering coals of the fire.
All the other meals onboard are prepared from scratch by the galley crew. They do so with love and attention. Food always tastes so good in the fresh, salty air!
Sunsets from the deck of Angelique are unparalleled. And they are followed by beautiful, starry night skies on a cloudless night.
Angelique cruises from May to October every year. Find out more at sailmainecoast.com.