You never know who or what you will meet when sailing on the Coast of Maine.
Today we arrived in Belfast harbor at our usual berth at the public landing. Adjacent to us was a very unique looking "tall ship" that seemed somewhat familiar to me.
It turned out to be the Barquentine "Peacemaker" which had arrived in Portland Maine a couple of weeks back following in the wake of the USCG Cutter Eagle and berthed at the Maine State Pier at the same time we were boarding passengers for our 1st Maine Cruise of 2009.
This vessel and its "mission" is rather unique. Originally built in 1989 by a Brazillian industrialist to cruise abroad. The vessel was later acquired by a quasi-religious group known as the "tweleve tribes" and they are sailing the world in a somewhat "gypsy" like manner opening their ship to public visits and sharing their story of communal living in a spiritual way.
Peacemaker Specifications:
- Length Overall 150 feet
- Length on Deck 124 feet
- Length at Waterline 108 feet
- Beam 33 feet
- Draft 14 feet
- Displacement 380 tons
- Mast height 126 feet
- Sail area 10,000 square feet
Since the vessel was open to the public, I went aboard to meet the Captain and tour the ship. It was quite interesting and I could see how its original fitting out was intended to be luxurious and included a rather unique transom that drops down to form a large "swim deck" aft. Its present condition reflects the rather gypsy like usage of its owners and operators.
To learn more about this vessel and its mission you can visit their website at peacemakermarine
Many of our passengers visited the ship as well and found this surprise opportunity to be most interesting.
As I said above, you never know who or what you may find on a small ship cruise, but isn't that the fun of it?
