Portland SchoonerFest 2018
Portland’s own spring regatta for traditional sail, Portland SchoonerFest and Regatta, kicks off the summer sailing season the last weekend of June, featuring 5 to 7 large, traditional schooners racing and parading under sail together in Portland Harbor with passengers participating onboard and ashore in the spectacular and historic second regatta. The 2018 event will feature several of the most famous schooners in the country, including Gloucester’s Schooner Adventure, the 131′ Harvey Gamage of Portland, and Bailey Island’s Schooner Alert. These classics are racing against hometown favorites Bagheera and Wendameen. And new in 2018 will be the first race for Marine Maritime Museum’s legendary Schooner Mary E., which is under restoration at the museum in Bath and ready in time to participate in this event. The festival and regatta was a memorable event for those able to sail in 2017, and we expect another successful event in 2018. Tickets are on sale below. Please volunteer at the event by signing up here.

Sponsors
Tall Ships Portland, a chapter of Tall Ships America, and the group responsible for the Iberdrola USA Tall Ships Portland 2015 festival, is a co-host for this event. Tall Ships Portland provides 1-week sail training opportunities with academic credit to high school students from all across Maine. It also hosts small and large tall ship events in Portland from time to time. Portland SchoonerFest is its first annual event.

Host Schooners
Host Schooners Wendameen and Bagheera, well known to local sailing fans, are both John Alden-designed schooners built in East Boothbay, Maine, in 1912 and 1924 respectively. These classics are the two oldest schooners in the fleet this year but are well known for their speed and comfort and are expected to be at the front of the fleet all weekend.

“You are welcome to Portland. We can’t wait to show you some local knowledge and not just on the race course!” said Michele Thresher, President of Portland Schooner Company

Groups
If you are looking to sail with a particular group of people, click on these links below to join them. If you would like to form your own group, email janelle@tallshipsmaine.org to set that up.

Participating Schooners

“We are really excited to join the racing and spend the weekend in Portland,” said Stefan Edick, Captain of Schooner Adventure of Gloucester. “Portland’s sail training community is growing and we look forward to showing Adventure’s transom to the other fine schooners.”

“I’m so pleased that the Harvey Gamage can support Tall Ships Portland. This effort is a great opportunity and we look forward to participating in SchoonerFest for years to come. There is an economic component that is very important for Portland,” said owner Phin Sprague.


	Schooner Alert, was designed and built by Paul Rollins with strong design influences from John Alden and Bud McIntosh. Launched in 1992 as a yacht, she shares part of her history as a commercial fishing schooner out of Portland. She is now based in Bailey Island, Maine, and is a USCG certified vessel taking 28 passengers.