A trip on the Schooner J & E Riggin is a magical thing. To hoist the sails of a historic vessel, a two masted, gaff rigged schooner; so that they catch the winds that whip creamy crests on an endless sea of deep ultramarine blue is the very essence of the stories of childhood imaginings.

The experience is fascinating to watch and ultimately to become a part of. The perfect way to steep oneself in the wonder of living history and now presence, of reaching back to days when human interaction meant more than the beeping pocket monsters that enslave us to the busy-ness of non-events. In a world of priorities that place things over people, a ride on the Schooner J & E Riggin is a refreshing taste of people before things.

Captains Jon Finger and Annie Mahle are at the helm of the Riggin. From garden row to chicken coop, from stern to masts to bow and all points of sail and management in between, these two have a knack for providing a personally engaging experience that thrills the heart with childlike wonder, refreshes the eye with new vistas to behold and warms the spirit with the effervescent joy.

The alchemy begins from the combination of 22 strangers and 4 crew, each from unique places, different backgrounds and each with a share of valued experiences. Place them for a week of close but comfortable quarters, guide them in making conscious choices in the use of resources, and provide opportunities for both warmth and laughter shared in the summer sun and near the galley woodstove. Sail the deep ultramarine, confetti lobster float scattered sea of Maine’s Penobscot Bay, allow their eyes to alight on towering emerald fir trees that reach viridian hued fingers to boulder strewn beaches and periwinkle covered shores.

Let them sample the wonder of fresh locally harvested comfort food prepared on a woodstove in a galley filled with love and song, yet appropriately absent of modern conveniences.

Invite them to taste succulent, fresh caught lobster, baked in a tub with corn and covered with furry green kelp from the sea. Let them dip toes (and whatever else can withstand it) into icy clear waters of the shore, feel the brisk salt spray breeze of the sea and the chilly drizzle damp of a rainy day.

Provide a place where fun is made on the go and experienced in the right now, where working together to hoist sails is a valuable team effort with an instant reward of seeing the beauty of canvas filled with wind, and the result is so much more than a vacation.

It’s a delightful knitting of close friendships and sharing, of becoming the extended family of our hearts choosing, an experience that is nearly impossible to repeat again because it happens anew with each sail.

Captains Jon Finger and Annie Malley have a 63% return rate for passengers who want to repeat the experience. Some marry on the vessel and return for an anniversary. Others are grandfathered in, having sailed so many times and years that the counting of them is moot. Even the crew are former apprentices some of whom vacationed on the vessel being their first exposure to the experience of being on board.

The pathways of origin are unique, but the result is the same. A sail on the J & E Riggin is an unforgettably positive experience that brings together a group of people for an enchanted week of sailing on Penobscot Bay.