The Schooner Lily

December 3, 2013

 

Fred and Jamie performing during our sunset sail aboard Lily.

Four years ago our friends Fred & Jamie took a risk and trucked the Schooner Lily from Maine to Florida to start Treasure Coast Sailing Adventures, a charter company that would bring the joy of sailing aboard a traditionally-rigged wooden schooner to the St. Lucie River.

Fred and Jamie worked hard to make their dream a reality, pouring their energy into caring for Lily, and providing their guests with a relaxing, entertaining, and enjoyable experience.  Lily is now in her fourth season, and for four years Lou and I have been wanting to visit Fred and Jamie, and see the Lily in action!

But during those four years we never managed to make the trip, and so when we found ourselves in Florida this December due to the delivery we crewed aboard from New England to the Keys, we knew it was finally time for a visit.  So as we drove North from Southern Florida back to our own trip aboard Evelyn, now in North Carolina, we made a stop in Stuart, Florida and enjoyed a wonderful sunset sail aboard the Schooner Lily with Captain Fred and First Mate Jamie.  It’s impossible of course to capture the true feel of wind and water as you sail, but I tried to do the Lily some justice in the photos below.

Lily is perfect for her sailing environment—she is a scow schooner with a shallow draft, so can easily maneuver around the shallow St. Lucie River.  She was built on Martha’s Vineyard in the 1970s to haul cargo during the oil embargo; having no engine, Lily uses the Lily Pad as a pushboat to return to the dock.  But she has no need for her engine once underway...her new sails help her move effortlessly in the lightest airs.  Each summer, Fred & Jamie haul Lily from the water to undertake maintenance projects and repairs, critical to keeping Lily a healthy wooden boat despite the hot Florida sun.

Captain Fred

A passenger, eager to participate in the raising of the sails.

 

Most of the time sailing the Lily is a quiet affair...
until the conch shell or the canon come out!

Lou at the helm--the last time he sailed Lily was in Frenchman's Bay, Maine.

Fred and Jamie performing as the sun sets over the St. Lucie River.

For more photos of the Lily, visit Fred & Jamie's Facebook Page.  
To learn more about her history, visit their website.

And in an exciting update, we were anxious to visit Fred, Jamie, and the Lily again...so we continued South into Florida and reached Stuart aboard Evelyn on New Year's Eve!  But we did not manage to sneak up on Captain Fred...he had sensed our arrival, and spotted Evelyn the moment she rounded the bend.

Evelyn chasing Lily on New Year's Eve 2013