
Fun Photo Friday – Schooner Shenanigans

A glimpse back in time aboard the oyster schooner J. & E. Riggin long before she became a member of the Maine windjammer fleet. Photo courtesy of Ken Bowman.
In the fall, we removed the masts and bowsprit so that we could get at the deck up forward and replace deck planks and any deck beams that needed tending. While we were at it, we also removed the anchors and three out of the four spars. Now that the winter deck project is complete, it was time to put all of those sticks back in place so we could look like a schooner again.
Early yesterday morning, we set out to North End Shipyard where the masts and spars were stored. With the help of a masterful crane operator, we had everything back in place by lunch time. What a difference a couple of hours make!
Merry Christmas to us!
All summer long Jon and I could see the Schooner Timberwind from the deck of the Riggin. We would say to each other that someone should buy that boat. She’s so pretty. She deserves a new life. But when we said “someone” we were NOT meaning us.
However, life had other plans and within a short time after our season ended, we found ourselves on another schooner adventure as the owner of not one, but two Maine windjammers! We are the proud owners of the Schooner Timberwind.
There is still a lot to figure out, but we do know that she’ll be run as a daysailer from a Midcoast town by our former Mate, Lance Meadows. The rest is yet to be confirmed and we’ll look forward to sharing more, when we, ourselves, discover it!
Annie
Our fleet expands yet again
We’d like to introduce you to the newest boat in our fleet. Meet Iolaire (pronounced yawl’-a-rah), which means “eagle” in Gaelic. She is a Scottish sixern, a Shetland Island fishing boat. The sixern is descended from the Norse seksæring, meaning six-oared boat – ancestor of the schooner.
Iolaire only has four oars and is a standing lug-rigged schooner. Her masts are nearly equal in height and both are removable for easy storage.
Built in 1984 for Dr. Kenneth Leighton, author of Oar and Sail (Creekstone Press, 1999), she was also once owned by Maynard Bray’s grandson. We found her in Vermont and she made her way to us this fall.
Our hope is that she’ll be a more stable small boat that we can launch once the big schooner is at anchor – for those who didn’t get enough sailing during the day.
When E needs a little chocolate pick-me-up, this is one of the recipes she turns to. I never knew. Until last week. The combination of buttery shortbread crust, tart raspberry jam, crisp almonds and rich chocolate is an unbeatable one.
Great, now I have another chocolate recipe to turn to as well. Oh sigh, what’s another mile or two of running in the whole scheme of things?
Dawn’s Raspberry Squares
This recipe is inspired by Dawn, a former schooner chef, who got it from the Brown Bag a long while ago. This is my own iteration of this deliciousness.
1 1/2 cups (3 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
1 1/4 cups sugar
Pinch of salt
1 egg
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 cup raspberry jam
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
1/2 cup slivered almonds
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a 9×13 pan with parchment paper. In a mixing bowl, cream the butter and sugar together and then add the egg. Mix until well incorporated. Add the flour and mix using your fingers until the dough is a coarse crumble. Transfer 2/3rds of the dough to the pan and press flat with your fingers. Spread the jam evenly over the dough and then sprinkle the remaining dough over top of the jam. Layer with the chocolate chips and then almonds. Bake for 30 minutes or until the top is golden brown. Cool in the pan and lift out before cutting.
Makes 24 squares
Annie
You’ll be happy you tried them