62nd Annual Windjammer Days Celebrates Boothbay Harbor's Boat Builders

Beloved festival ushers in summer with a week of activities for all ages with most events free to the public.

BOOTHBAY HARBOR, Maine, April 12, 2024 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ -- The 62nd annual Windjammer Days, a celebration of summer and of Boothbay Harbor's rich maritime history, will pay homage to the skillful boat builders of the region. The festival will take place Sunday, June 23 through Saturday, June 29, 2024.

From the Grand Gathering of the Windjammer Fleet on Wednesday, June 26 to pirate duels and fireworks, the festival has something for everyone. Returning events this year will include Harbor Aglow, a lighted boat parade in the harbor, a Street Parade, fireworks over the Harbor and Artists Alley. Most events are free to the public.

This year's Vintage Boat Parade, a crowd favorite, will take place Friday, June 28 and this year will include a Pier Party to continue the fun on shore. On Saturday, June 29, Orne's Candy Store will sponsor its 18th annual International Rock Skipping Contest in memory of Arthur Webster, to benefit the Boothbay Region Health Center and the Maine Lobstermen's Association.

Each year, the festival centers around a theme that celebrates the maritime heritage of the region. This year, the event will highlight the legacy of shipbuilding in the region that dates back more than three centuries, and the boat builders who carry on this proud tradition today.

One of the boatbuilders being recognized is Skip Orne, who began when he was around 12 or 13 years old when he helped his father, Kenneth Orne, rebuild a smaller lobster boat on the weekends. He was able to learn a lot about boats, fairness of hulls and a lot of sanding! They used the boat to go lobstering in Linekin Bay that summer, which gave Skip an appreciation of what all the hard work had been for. Skip's 30-year career in boat building has been influenced by his work at Goudy and Stevens and especially by Tim Hodgdon of Hodgdon Yachts, where Skip worked on "Mako," a Navy Seal Technology Demonstrator and "Comanche," the last large boat built at Hodgdon. Skip has been a mentor to local high school students and helped establish the Maine Advanced Technologies Center, now part of Southern Maine Community College in Brunswick, where Skip is an adjunct professor, passing along his knowledge of advanced composite boat building to the next generation.

Bruce Washburn is another well-known name in Boothbay's boatbuilding heritage. He also started from a young age, helping with boat repairs and maintenance at his father's boat yard in Rhode Island. After earning his degree in naval architecture, he was hired as an associate engineer at Bath Iron Works, where he met Bruce Doughty, who shared his desire to build working boats. In 1977, with "the assistance of several guys who knew what they were doing," they built a 70 foot dragger and their business, Washburn & Doughty Associates, was born. They built 20 boats in Woolwich before relocating their yard to East Boothbay in 1985, where they built over 130 boats ranging from oil recovery barges to 180 ft plus passenger vessels. About 75% of the vessels were their own designs. In 1999 they won a contract to build six 92-ft tugboats, which set them on a new course.

To learn more about Skip Orne, Bruce Washburn and the other boatbuilders being celebrated, visit https://www.boothbayharborwindjammerdays.org/boatbuilders-of-the-region, or come out to an informal meet and greet with the boat builders at Boothbay Harbor Oceanside Golf Resort on Monday, June 24 from 3:30 to 5:00 PM.

More information about the festival and schedule of events is available at http://www.boothbaywindjammerdays.org.

Windjammer Days is presented by Friends of Windjammer Days with generous support from sponsors: Pine State Trading, Forj-Tom/Debra Yale, Mark/Kathie Eldridge, Shoreline Capital, Ralph Doering Family, Jeff Suyematsu/Elaine Hebert, Downeast Magazine, Bangor Savings Bank, Gena Canning, Lafayette Group, Knickerbocker Group, J Edward Knight, Pepsico, Valley Beverage, Bristol Marine, Tindal and Callahan, Boothbay Harbor Oceanside Golf Resort, First National Bank, Rugged Seas, Windjammer Emporium, Xtratuf, Vacasa, Cabbage Island Clambakes, Rick and Carmela Wise, Dix and Nancy Druce, and Alison and Todd Prawer

SOURCE Windjammer Days