DATE: Sunday, April 20, 1997                TAG: 9704220340

SECTION: DAILY BREAK             PAGE: E1   EDITION: FINAL 

SOURCE: BY RUTH FANTASIA, STAFF WRITER 

DATELINE: SOMEWHERE OFF THE MAINE COAST     LENGTH:  228 lines

RELAXATION IS THE MAINE THING IN OLD-FASHIONED CRUISE TO NOWHERE

``AND HEAVE, and ho . . . and two, and six . . .

``HOLD IT!

``Walk forward . . . and . . . drop.''

Ben's talking about the rope, but I let my body collapse as if I'm playing Ring Around the Rosie.

Sailing off the coast of Maine on the J&E Riggin alternates between painfully exercising seldom-used parts of my middle-aged body and total relaxation. Fortunately, there's little of the first part and a lot of the second part.

Raising the mainsail is a bit of the first part.

Ben Eriksen and Jason Drinkwater, both able deck hands, guide willing passengers and the few crew members through the exercise at least once a day. Next there's the foresail to raise, then the staysail and the jib. When we're done, 3,500 square feet of canvas stretches above and we're being pulled over the water by a gentle breeze.

My husband and I had always wanted to take a cruise, but the ``Love Boat'' was not quite our style. We wanted to get away from the restraints of appointments, voice mail and fancy dinners. We escaped on a casual cruise to nowhere.

Unlike large cruise lines with set itineraries and ports of call, Maine windjammers go where the wind takes them, a facet that some passengers find unsettling.

``Where we goin', Captain?'' says Frank Wainwright the first day out of the Riggin's home port of Rockland, Maine.

``Don' know,'' replies Capt. Dave.

``Where we goin', Captain?'' Frank says, again on day two.

``Don' know,'' replies Capt. Dave.

``Where we goin', Captain?'' Frank says, on day three.

``Frank?''

``Yes, Captain?''

``Is there somewhere you need to be?''

If so, don't windjam in Maine.

Windjamming is something like ``Gilligan's Island'' sans the shipwreck. A bunch of strangers sharing limited space, water and the AC Delcos used to run cabin lights.

The downside:

There's little privacy - one passenger recited the evening cabin conversations of others.

Cabin space is limited - we couldn't both stand up at the same time.

Standing under a long, hot shower is not allowed or feasible - the shower head is one of those spray hoses you find on kitchen sinks.

On the other hand:

The slap of water against an engineless boat qualifies as audio-therapy. The ultimate in relaxation.

You can snuggle into your bunk under wool blankets - even in July you'll need wool blankets - and listen to the foghorns.

No one cares if you don't take a shower.

As at a good high school reunion, a camaraderie develops among the passengers as they crew the best ship in the fleet. It doesn't matter which of Maine's 18 or so passenger-carrying wooden boats you sail on, it's always the best.

The J&E Riggin is an 89-foot schooner that was built in Dorchester, N.J., in 1927. Designed for oyster dredging on the Delaware Bay, the Riggin won the only race ever held for Delaware oystermen, making her the fastest oyster dredger for all time. The year was 1929.

After years as a fishing and cargo vessel, the Riggin was bought by Capt. Dave Allen and his wife, Sue. They refitted her and launched her as a passenger vessel.

Everyone on the Riggin understands she's a legendary boat. There's a plaque mounted on the main cabin from the National Park Service naming her a landmark.

As a passenger, you find yourself trying to keep the legend alive.

With Jason or Ben barking orders, we try to raise the mainsail faster or fold it more sharply than people on other boats. And when watching another vessel's crew make an attempt, we jeer and holler.

The friendly competition reaches its peak at the annual schooner races, to be held this year the week of June 30.

This whole business of taking passengers on wooden boats was started by a man named Frank Swift in 1936. By then, the majestic schooners had all but lost their commercial viability to steam, according to ``Windjammer Watching on the Coast of Maine'' by Virginia L. Thorndike (Down East Books, 1993).

Swift began his fleet with two small vessels carrying bales of hay in the bilges for bunks and a curtain hung down the center to divide the sexes. Nevertheless, the idea of sailing a wooden boat for vacation took off, and the fleet has grown ever since.

Some boats, like the Riggin, are refitted vessels from an earlier life of working the Atlantic waters. Others, such as the Mary Day, Heritage and Angelique, were built specifically for the tourist trade. Regardless of why they were built, all must pass meticulous Coast Guard inspections and carry the standard safety equipment such as depth sounders, life vests and radios.

Although you're never out of sight of land on a Maine windjammer, it's the radio that reminds you of the foibles of mankind.

Just out of Rockland on Monday afternoon we hear:

``Mayday, mayday.''

A boat has run aground in the harbor and the man on board sounds a bit panicky.

The Coast Guard answers swiftly. ``Do you have a life jacket on at this time?''

``No, but I'll put one on now.''

``We're dispatching a 21-footer.''

A short while later the Coast Guard dispatch checks in: ``Rockland Coast Guard, be advised that he's high and dry.''

Shallow water and lobster pots: Those are the treacheries of sailing in Maine. Unlike the smooth beaches of the mid-Atlantic, Maine's shoreline is dotted with thousands of small islands, some inhabited and some not.

We spend the days cruising between the islands, looking at lighthouses, small towns and other schooners on the water. Being the first to correctly identify a far-off schooner becomes a game. You can spend the afternoon on deck reading a book, taking a nap or, if you are so inclined, swabbing the deck while Ben and Jason throw cold sea water at your feet to rinse away the grime.

Occasionally you'll pass an island, or maybe just a big rock sticking above the water of Penobscot Bay where a group of seals are sunbathing. A shiny, brown porpoise or two could decide to follow, feeding in the water churning near the hull. And a flock of loons may exercise acrobatic landings in the sea.

But the most popular of Maine wildlife are the lobsters. You'll see hundreds of pot markers and frequently get to watch the watermen hauling in their catch.

Capt. Dave anchors near Stonington, and takes a wash bucket and the yawl - a little motorized job - into town to buy lobsters. He returns with a washtubful, and we haul anchor (hard work) and raise the sails (more hard work) and set out for Two Dory Island.

You won't find Two Dory Island on a map. It's more a collection of rocks, about the size of two football fields, covered with a stand of hemlock trees and mussels. It's called Two Dory because, a while back, someone hauled two dories up into the woods and left them there to rot. Now it's ``half a dory,'' says Capt. Dave.

A dory, by the way, is a small wooden boat that seems to be the Maine coast's equivalent of a Chevy van. ``It's many a Maine fisherman that's pleasured his first woman in a dory,'' Dave says.

With the Riggin anchored, the crew treats the passengers to an authentic Maine feast. They build a fire on the rocky shore and collect mussels and seaweed. With dinner steaming in the washtub, there's time for shelling, and for watching starfish feeding in tidal pools. These are sidelines for the most important activity - finding the perfect rock for cracking lobster.

Served with tossed salad, corn on the cob and drawn butter, there's plenty of lobster for all. Some passengers eat one or two. Others have five, even seven. Scooping dinner up from its bed of seaweed on the rocks bothers no one. Afterwards there are Sue Allen's brown sugar brownies and the Captain's coffee, plenty of good conversation and bad jokes. (See story on Sue Allen in today's Flavor section, Page F1).

Bad jokes are as much of a hallmark of Capt. Dave as the stogie that's perpetually between his fingers. Evenings on the Riggin are filled with talk such as: ``Thar's two men hanging around the window, what are thar names?

``Curt an' Rod.'' The captain has a collection of inoffensive humor that lasts the cruise's five nights and six days.

This is a man who's comfortable on the water. And equally comfortable to hand over the wheel of his 89-foot boat to an inexperienced sailor. There's little Navy lingo on the Riggin. It's left and right instead of port and starboard. And ``just keep the point of the boat on that lighthouse over thar'' instead of compass directions and degrees.

It's a comfortable life, windjamming in Maine. As long as there's nowhere you need to be. ILLUSTRATION: Paul Fantasia color photo

The windjammer J&E Riggin goes where the wind takes it. (Related

story, Page F1.)

Photo

PAUL FANTASIA

Capt. Dave Allen made the trip even more enjoyable with his

easygoing manner and bad jokes.

Graphic

TRAVELER'S ADVISORY

Whom to call:

For information on booking a Maine sailing cruise, contact:

The Maine Windjammer Association, P.O. Box 1144, Blue Hill, Maine

04614 or call (800) 807 WIND. Member vessels include the Angelique,

Grace Bailey, J&E Riggin, Lewis R. French, Mary Day, Mercantile,

Nathaniel Bowditch, Roseway, Timberwind and the Victory Chimes. The

association has a web page on the Internet at

http://www.midcoast.com/(tilde) sailmwa.

To contact Dave and Sue Allen at the J&E Riggin, call (207)

594-2923 or (800) 869-0604.

North End Shipyard Schooners also offers cruises. Write P.O. Box

482, Rockland, Maine 04841 or call (800) 648-4544. Member vessels

are the American Eagle, Heritage and Isaac H. Evans.

How to get there:

Air and ground transportation is available via Portland (Maine)

International Jetport, with limousine and bus service to the coast.

Nonstop flights from Boston to Rockland are available via Colgan

Air.

Driving time from Boston is about four hours. Boats represented

by the Maine Windjammer Association offer free outdoor parking

during the cruise or garage parking for a nominal fee.

Picking a boat:

Maine's wooden boats, from 64 to 132 feet long, usually carry 20

to 44 passengers per cruise. Accommodations are simple but all

include comfortable bunks with clean linens and hot and cold

showers.

A list of boats and their facilities is available from the Maine

Windjammer Association.

What to take:

Pack lightly but take the essentials. Leave behind the makeup,

fancy clothes and small appliances. Include shorts, T-shirts, sweat

pants and jackets. A good pair of deck shoes is a must, as is rain

gear.

Non-essential items that are nice to have include a camera, a

pair of binoculars and a sleeping bag. Bug spray (Maine mosquitoes

can be brutal in the summer) is usually available, but it wouldn't

hurt to bring your own.

Money. You won't need thousands, but you may have a port call or

two during the trip. Take enough to buy a souvenir or two from one

of the small shops or galleries in towns such as Stonington and

Rockland. Copies of ``Windjammer Watching on the Coast of Maine,''

posters, T-shirts, etc., are for sale on board before and after

cruises.

When to go:

Vessels sail three-, four- and six-day cruises from mid-May

through mid-October. Summer months offer warmer days and less rain.

Fall trips are usually colder but with better winds.

The lobster feast is guaranteed on six-day cruises but not always

on shorter trips, because itineraries depend on which way the wind

blows.

Rates:

Prices range from $295 to $400 per person for three-day cruises,

$565 to $725 for six days, including all meals. This year's rates on

the J&E Riggin are $370 per person for three days, $675 for six

days.

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