There was a 2-for-1 “Sail” here yesterday. It began Tuesday when the sleek J&E RIGGIN slid into Great Cove during a hazy dusk:
She anchored off Babson Island and spent the night. The following morning’s dawn light found her asleep in Great Cove. She soon woke up, raised sails, and headed out at mid-day:
As the RIGGIN was going out of the Cove, old STEPHEN TABER came in. They hailed each other in passing:
The TABER circled the Cove looking for a good acnchorage in the incoming tide. Her maneuvers were a joy to watch:
She stayed only a few hours in the Cove, perhaps to allow her passengers to tour the WoodenBoat School campus there.
The RIGGIN is a 120-foot schooner out of Rockport, Maine, that was launched in 1927. According to her schedule, she was on – don’t laugh – a “Maine Knitting Retreat.” (You’d be surprised at how many knitters, male and female, there are.)
The TABER is a 110-foot schooner out of Rockland that was launched in 1871. She reportedly was on a “Captain’s Choice” cruise of Co-Captain Noah Barnes’s favorite spots. (His wife Jane apparently is the other Captain.)
(Images taken in Brooklin, Maine, on August 7, 2025.)