Crew Notes

Photos by Paul Brenner

The Captain and First Mate of the Surprise are Jack and Barbara Moore. That’s us! We have been offering sailing trips out of Camden since 1984 when Camden was just being discovered by tourists. We have been sailing together for all of our married life. What started out as an escape from the pressures of jobs while raising our four children soon turned into a passion. In the winter of 1978, during a brief trip to the island of Culebra, Puerto Rico, we found a 38 ft. steel ketch called Milky Way, which we purchased later that year. For the next seven years, Milky Way was our home, our kids’ school, and our “Rosinante” as we sailed throughout the eastern Caribbean and the East Coast of the U.S.

Cara, Heidi, Joshua, John

Milky Way 1978

In l984, we brought Milky Way to Camden and began offering two-hour trips on Penobscot Bay. From those humble beginnings came the business we now operate from Memorial Day until the middle of October on the Maine Coast. We have taken thousands of people sailing, many of whom return each year to sail with us, hear our stories and enjoy this beautiful area. We invite you to discover the magic of the Maine coast as only a fortunate few have seen it – from the deck of an historic windjammer like Surprise!

Our sales staff will be your first introduction to the world of Surprise and we are very proud of them. You will meet Sharon Pratt, who has been in charge of our reservation staff for three years now. She manages to juggle her schedule to find time to be a soccer coach, full time Mom and a great representative for us at the dock. We even get her to come sailing occasionally to see first hand what it’s like out on the Bay.

Sharon at the table

Another vital member of our sales staff is Amber Dickey.  This is her second year with us and she and her service dog Bronco (a miniature Australian Shepherd) spend lots of quality time at the table meeting and greeting locals and visitors alike.

Amber and Bronco

Eleanor Coleman, Susan Peck and Heidi Nolan round out our staff of ticket agents.  We hope you get a chance to visit with them soon.

Our youngest son Joshua, his wife Kristin Sidwell, and their children, Sophie and Max, moved back to Camden in 2002 after having spent several years in Durango, Colorado. They purchased a house in the village in Camden which was built in 1904, and they have done a great job renovating and expanding the living spaces. Josh has his Captain’s license, and acts as a relief captain for Mom and Dad whenever he can. After eight years working for Down East Magazine as Deputy Editor, Josh has joined U.S. Harbors.com as Executive Editor.  U.S. Harbors.com is a digital coastal guide for boaters and other  coastal enthusiasts.

Josh and Kristin purchased their own sailboat called Time Enough, so their children could grow up enjoying the wonders of Penobscot Bay under sail. Kristin is the Executive Director of the Children’s House Montessori School in Camden, so her days are very full, especially during the school year.

Capt. Josh and Family- Max, Kristin and Sophie

Capts. Perry and Bethany

On Labor Day weekend 2009, we were happy to attend the wedding of our relief crew .  Capts. Perry Davis and Bethany McNelly  ”got spliced” on a picture-perfect day overlooking the islands surrounding Bailey Island in Casco Bay.  The day was full of fiddling, sea chanteys, and great sailing yarns as we toasted a fine young couple who have embraced sailing as well as each other.  Bethany’s family owns Sea Escape Cottages on Bailey Island and Capt.Bethany will take you sailing on the ketch Tevake to complete your stay there.  When Capt. Perry is not sailing Surprise he is also on Tevake with Bethany.  If these newlyweds are sailing Surprise when you arrive you will hear about their exciting trip this inter to visit Perry’s family in Colorado, where they enjoyed summer like conditions during the Christmas/New Year Holidays.

Our other relief captain is Charlie Conlan who has sailed for many years aboard the windjammers of the New England Coast. Capt. Charlie has two overwhelming passions in addition to his two children. Besides being an accomplished sailor he is a skilled carpenter. When he is not working restoring boats you can find him building post and beam houses or completing a house renovation for a happy homeowner. A few winters back he built work spaces for well-known historian David McCullough, who lives in Camden. Last Fall he built  us a new workshop for Surprise in the backyard of our house on Harden Avenue.  You can see a photo of the raising of the frame on our NEWS page on this site.

Our daughter Heidi Tucker, who sold tickets for us every summer from 1984 until she graduated from Wesleyan University, works at Mid Coast Hospital in Brunswick as a Parent Outreach Specialist in substance abuse prevention. When she isn’t competing in one of her many summer triathlons, Heidi serves as weekend first-mate on Surprise. Heidi balances being a mother of precocious ten-year old Katy, and dynamic seven-year old Owen, with all of the other demands of today’s parents. Heidi’s husband Michael is the “Course Materials and General Book Manager” at Bowdoin College in Brunswick. Michael is leading the effort at Bowdoin to transition from strictly printed textbooks to a combination with e-books. Having met Heidi when they were both employed by Barnes & Noble, this position in the book world of academia seems like a great fit for Michael. The whole family enjoys visiting him on campus. The Peary-MacMillan Arctic Museum at Bowdoin should not be missed if you are in the Brunswick area.

Heidi, Michael, Katy and Owen on Surprise, October 17

Our son John, who skippers a former America’s Cup boat (America II) on the Hawaiian island of Maui doesn’t get much “off-season” time to visit us since his weather is relentlessly nice for sailing. John is captain/papa to three active children Malia, Keoni and Nainoa. The kids seem quite eager to see some real Maine snow so we are hoping to get them to swap their island paradise for some time in the winter Currier & Ives scene in Maine. Snowshoeing can rival surfing when the conditions are just right and you are dressed for it. Capt. Jack and Barb visited them in Maui in December 2008 and celebrated Christmas and Malia’s 15th birthday on December 26. We had a family reunion with them here in Maine in June of 2009.

John loves to relate the story of how, in the middle of a trip on America II, two of his passengers revealed that they had sailed only once before. They said it was in Camden, Maine with an older couple that had raised and educated their four children while cruising. John had to tell them that they were now in the hands of one of those children. Welcome to the very small world of the sailing community!

Here are a couple of pictures taken during our Christmas 2008 visit to Maui.

Jack, Barb, John, Keoni and Malia; Nainoa and Keoni

Sailing on America II

Our daughter, Cara, and her husband, Brad Read, are enjoying keeping up with their son Brendan and daughter Becca who have become much more adventuresome ice skaters since the “warmer” climate of Rhode Island has had some real winter weather recently. We’ve had a great time watching Brendan and Becca excel on the ice in the youth hockey program. Cara’s husband, Brad is the Executive Director of Sail Newport, a non-profit sailing center at Fort Adams in Newport, RI. Brad focuses his love of sailing into competitive pursuits, having won the J 24 World Championship twice in recent years. Cara, who was crew on the womens’ J-24 Worlds has also won that championship twice. Cara continues her career working for Hall Spars & Rigging, a major supplier of equipment for racing and cruising sailboats. If you call Hall Rigging, you may get some practical advice from Cara.

Cara, Brad, Bendan and Becca

Welcome aboard Lily !!  Late spring brought changes in weather and sadly also the passing of our faithful ship’s mascot, Robbie after 18 years of faithful service on deck.  We didn’t have much time to grieve because spring for us means many hours of sanding and painting.  However, one bright Saturday in late April the good foster family at the animal shelter in Yarmouth (HART) delivered Lily, a six-year old Snowshoe Siamese to us at the boatyard.  She is still “interviewing” us to see if we qualify as adoptive parents.  She purrs often, loves to eat and enjoys sunny mornings in the window.  We are confident that she will accept us.  We are waiting for the perfect warm summer day to introduce her to Surprise.

Lily at Home

Barb and Robbie

We purchased the rights to reproduce a wonderful painting of Surprise sailing past Curtis Island Light by Maryland artist Bill Younger. We have made full size prints (16″x 12.5″) and note cards (5″ x 7″) that are available for sale. While we normally sell them on board, you may send us a note or an email and we can arrange to ship them to you if you are not going to make it to Camden this year. The cost of the print is $30, and the note cards are $10 for a package of 10 with envelopes. If you would like a print matted and framed, Small Wonder Gallery can do it for about $100 and ship it to you for an additional $18 (approx.).

Surprise at Curtis Island Light

by Bill Younger

If you are planning on spending a week or more in the Camden area, take a look at the House Rental page for some details of our cozy cottage in Cushing (Wyeth country) which is available for rent during the Summer and Fall.  If you would like more information, email us at surprise@camdenmainesailing.com