Here you see the STEPHEN TABER waking up in Great Cove early yesterday and moving a short distance to transport her passengers to the WoodenBoat Publications and School campus for a tour. There also were WBS sailing classes to watch. She was on a 5-night private cruise, according to her schedule.
Se soon put up sails and departed before noon, as you’ll see in the images below.
This classic schooner reportedly is the oldest documented sailing vessel in continuous service in the United States and is a National Historic Landmark. She was built and launched in Long Island, New York, in 1871. As was often done, she was named after a prominent and wealthy member of the community who could help when needed. Stepen Taber was a financier, lawyer and a U.S. Congressman.
The TABER was built to haul heavy cargo (e.g., bricks, lumber, coal) in New York Harbor and around Long Island, although she did some passenger work in the early 1900s when the freight business fell off.
She moved to Maine in 1920 where she continued to carry heavy cargo until she was converted into a coastal tourist cruiser in 1946. She’s 110 feet long overall (68 feet on deck) and now hails from Rockland, Maine.
(Images taken in Brooklin, Maine, on July 23, 2026.)