Yesterday’s dense fog prevented us from seeing Great Cove until about 4 p.m., when the lowering sun started extending exploratory rays here and there into those waters. It was then that I saw the top of a mast. Just the top. By the time that I got down to the shore for a look, the sun had become bolder and I discovered the schooner “Mary Day” lying there under the protection of Babson Island.
Not only that, but I could see through Mary’s rigging that another schooner was coming into the Cove out of densely-fogged Eggemoggin Reach. She was taking down her sails as she came in. It was the “J&E Riggin,” and she soon anchored safely, creating a contrast with Mary.
Mary is a high-riding, light-hulled schooner that runs 125 feet in overall length. She was launched in 1962 for tourist cruising and now hails from Camden, Maine. The Riggin is a low-slung, dark-hulled schooner that runs 120 feet overall. She was launched in 1927 for oyster dredging and now hails from Rockport, Maine. Neither Mary nor the Riggin has an inboard motor, which can make sailing in the fog on them even more of an adventure.
(Images taken in Brooklin, Maine, on July 1, 2025.)