All cruises depart from the historic port of Winterport, Maine. (how to get there)

The WANDERBIRD is now accepting bookings for the summer of 2005. Plan ahead and be sure you have your space reserved! WANDERBIRD is also available for charters between scheduled cruises.

Schedule your trip now or sending email to: info@windjammercentral.com.
You can also use this handy reservation form.

2005 SCHEDULE:

Our Special Interest Excursions for 2005:

June 2-5 - Spring on the Bay
Our first trip of the season finds lovely Penobscot Bay practically deserted. The air is clear and crisp with summer life emerging in full view. This is a great time of the season as we all find ourselves pleased to be back on the water after a long snowy winter.

June 7-10 - Early Bird Vegetarian Cruise
This is our first vegetarian cruise of the summer. Karen has been a practicing vegetarian for twenty years and she has a great variety of absolutely delicious recipes.... click here for a sample vegetarian menu. Captain Rick is a "meat and potatoes" type of guy- however, even he raves about Karen's veggie cooking. We would love to share our favorite recipes with you!

June 13-18 Explore Acadia National Park and Down East Maine
The Wanderbird heads east on this voyage to the less travelled areas along the coast of Maine. We will spend an entire day at Acadia National Park. We will pack a fine bag lunch for you and send you off to explore and enjoy the most beautiful of our National Parks. The shuttle bus departs just minutes from the dock and offers service throughout the Park. We will then continue on to witness the majestic coastline of Down East Maine.

June 20-25 - Maine's Fishing Villages
Commercial Fishing here in Maine is rapidly becoming a thing of the past. Over fishing by large, often foreign, factory trawlers has drastically reduced the resource to its now critical level. The economies of these tiny villages are dependent on the fisheries. The village communities hang on... like the tough little spruce trees that cling to these barren, rocky islands. The Lobster fishery, however, is still strong and we'll meet several colorful characters as we visit the island villages. We will invite some of the locals aboard Wanderbird for supper, stories and maybe just a wee bit of the old black rum. This is a fun trip!

A kayak excursion

June 28-July 2 - Lighthouses of The Maine Coast
Come aboard as we set a course for the lighthouses of Penobscot Bay. Each one is beautiful and unique with interesting history and even some spooky legends! Aboard the Wanderbird, we will have the special opportunity to view some of the remote offshore lighthouses such as Mt. Desert Rock , Matinicus Light, or Monhegan Light Some of the other lighthouses we are likely see are: Owl's Head, Whitehead, Pumpkin Island, Dice's Head, Grindle Point, Hockamock Head, Indian Island and many more. We'll spend time ashore, as well, where we can actually visit and explore Maine Lighthouses.

Puffin

July 5-9 - Birdwatching Cruise featuring Vegetarian Fare
Karen has been a practicing vegetarian for twenty years and she has a great variety of absolutely delicious recipes.... click here for a sample vegetarian menu. Captain Rick is a "meat and potatoes" type of guy- however, even he raves about Karen's veggie cooking. We would love to share our favorite recipes with you!

July 11-16 - Coastal Birdwatching Voyage
Karen's passion, besides her dog Maggie, is birding. This trip is for all of you who want to see and learn more about Maine's seabirds and spend time with others who share a passion for birdwatching. These trips fill quickly so let us know if you would like to reserve a berth. Bring your Audubon life list!

Our friends, Pilot and Maggie, relax on deck

July 20-23 - Knitters Cruise
Choose a kit from our knitting experts' basket or bring along your favorite knitting project and come aboard to sail with us as we explore the Coast of Maine! Karen has learned lots of helpful knitting techniques and we are sure that you will too. Beginners welcome!

July 25-30 - Our Famous Folk Music Cruise
Our good friend and wonderfully talented singer, songwriter and musician, Greg Descouteaux, will join us on this harmonious cruise on the coast of Maine. This cruise has been a favorite for more than ten years, and you will find that you can't help but sing along. Each evenings concert will feature Greg performing your requests as well as many of his own wonderful tunes. Bring your instrument if you like.

August 1-6 - Coastal Islands, Whales and Seabirds
The title says it all. These cruises offer a litle bit of all the things we love here on the wonderful coast of Maine. We head East out to the offshore waters of Mt. Desert and Matinicus Rocks where we will have a great chance to see many varieties of whales as they begin to arrive in our local waters. The hydrophone will be deployed to give us a chance to listen to, as well as observe these gentle giants. We will also look for Puffins, Shearwater, Gannets, and many other types of Pelagic seabirds.

August 8-11 - Island Hiking Cruise
One of our most popular cruises! We spend extra time each day hiking on some of Penobscot Bay's most beautiful Islands and State Parks. The exertion level is up to you. Some of our favorite hiking locations are; quaint North Haven Village and the surrounding countryside, Holbrook Island Wildlife Preserve, Fort Point Seaside Trails and State Park, picturesque Swan's Island and Warren Island State Park.

Humpback whale

August 13-20 - Whale Research Cruise
We'll head offshore for this very special trip where we will be working with Dave Mellinger of Oregon State University. Here's how Dave describes what we will be doing on this incredible voyage; "This experiment is for monitoring the activities of Right Whales, the world's most endangered whales. We know that some of these whales show up each summer off the southern tip of Nova Scotia, where they fatten up by feeding on plankton. But we don't know how many might be present in other areas off the coast of Nova Scotia, nor do we know where many of them go in winter, when much of the population disappears to unknown places. The Scotian habitat appears good for them, and a few have been seen there in the past, but very few systematic surveys have been done. In this project, we'll do such a survey using autonomous hydrophones, instruments placed on the sea floor that record sound continuously for a year at a time. This year, we'll retrieve the hydrophones that we deployed 12 months ago aboard the Wanderbird, then analyze the sound recordings to see where, when, and how many right whales have been present. By doing this, we hope to find out where right whales move throughout the year, study how they use differing ocean habitats, and contribute to the understanding and conservation of these whales." This is the real thing for you whale enthusiasts. Please reserve early for this as there are only ten berths and they will fill very quickly. This is also a great trip for offshore pelagic bird watching.

Hiking on a forested island

August 22-27 - Island Hiking Cruise
One of our most popular cruises! We spend extra time each day hiking on some of Penobscot Bay's most beautiful Islands and State Parks. The exertion level is up to you. Some of our favorite hiking locations are; quaint North Haven Village and the surrounding countryside, Holbrook Island Wildlife Preserve, Fort Point Seaside Trails and State Park, picturesque Swan's Island and Warren Island State Park.

August 29-Sept Natural History Tour of the North Atlantic Coast with acclaimed wildlife photographer Gustav W. Verderber
This incredible wilfdlife photography tour will feature instruction by Gustav W. Verderber.

"Thar she blows!"

September 5-9 - Sail with the Whales featuring Vegetarian Fare
Karen has been a practicing vegetarian for twenty years and she has a great variety of absolutely delicious recipes.... click here for a sample vegetarian menu. Captain Rick is a "meat and potatoes" type of guy- however, even he raves about Karen's veggie cooking. We would love to share our favorite recipes with you!

September 12-16 - Lighthouses of the Maine Coast
Come aboard as we set a course for the lighthouses of Penobscot Bay. Each one is beautiful and unique with interesting history and even some spooky legends! Aboard the Wanderbird, we will have the special opportunity to view some of the remote offshore lighthouses such as Mt. Desert Rock , Matinicus Light, or Monhegan Light Some of the other lighthouses we are likely see are: Owl's Head, Whitehead, Pumpkin Island, Dice's Head, Grindle Point, Hockamock Head, Indian Island and many more. We'll spend time ashore, as well, where we can actually visit and explore Maine Lighthouses.

September 19-24 - Explore Acadia National Park and Down East Maine
The Wanderbird heads east on this voyage to the less travelled areas along the coast of Maine. We will spend an entire day at Acadia National Park. We will pack a fine bag lunch for you and send you off to explore and enjoy the most beautiful of our National Parks. The shuttle bus departs just minutes from the dock and offers service throughout the Park. We will then continue on to witness the majestic coastline of Down East Maine.

Green Island Light

September 26-October 1 - Photography Cruise to Grand Manan with Neal Parent
On board instruction by Maine's premiere photographer, Neal Parent We will voyage east to the incredibly beautiful Canadian Island of Grand Manan. Neal will not only instruct you in the art of photography but he will keep you laughing with his side spitting impersonations and wonderful sense of humor. We have been waiting for many years to do this trip with our old friend Neal and we are sure that it will become another of our annual classics. In addition to the photography, the Bay of Fundy boasts one of the largest tides in the world...up to 45 feet! This enormous movement of water, twice a day, contributes to the incredible abundance and large diversity of marine life found around Grand Manan. In past yeas we've spoted minke, endangered northern right, and humpback whales.

Photography Adventures

October 3-8 - Wines of the Maine Coast
What better way to sample the local wines than from the decks of the Wanderbird. We will be working with the Winterport Winery to blend thier local wines with our gourmet cuisine for a wonderful gastronomical treat as we voyage along our scenic coastline and explore island villages.

October 10-14 - Fall Colors Cruise
You've never seen the foliage like this before. Look across the decks toward the mainland for colors that go on as far as you can see. Northern Lights often grace our skies on these late season trips, and warm up with Karen's seasonal favorites from the galley!

October 17-22 - Winged Migration and Fall Colors Cruise
It's goodbye for some and hello for others. We witness the great "V" formations of Canadian geese and flocks of many others on their incredible yearly voyage. Northern Fulmar, other pelagics and winter ducks begin to turn up in great numbers too. The cool, clear fall air makes this an exceptional time for wildlife photography.

October 24-26 - Fall Colors Cruise
You've never seen the foliage like this before. Look across the decks toward the mainland for colors that go on as far as you can see. Northern Lights often grace our skies on these late season trips, and warm up with Karen's seasonal favorites from the galley!

October 28-30 - Old Salts' Winter Voyage
It's back... you know who you are. We've had numerous requests to bring back this old Timberwind Classic.. so here it is. Join us one for last weekend of crisp clear days and mulled cider on the wood stove!

Some of Our Destinations:

· Hebron Bay in Northern Labrador
· The Fjord at Gros Morne National Park, Newfoundland
· Anticosti Island at the Mouth of the Mighty St. Lawrence River
· The French Owned Islands of St. Pierre & Miquelon
· Cape Breton Island
· Prince Edward Island
· Lunenburg & Halifax, Nova Scotia
· Bay of Fundy, New Brunswick
· Penobscot Bay, Maine - Over 6000 Beautiful Islands!
· Stellwagen Bank, Off Cape Cod, Massachusetts