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“Amity”
sails daily from the public docks in beautiful 207-323-1443 (daytime) 207-469-0849 (evening) Email Amity@Midcoast.com "Amity's"
Home Page | About
Friendship Sloops | Sailing on "Amity"
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As a former journalist and international travel writer/photographer I have seen much of the world. But it is here on the shore of the beautiful Penobscot Bay where my wife Diane and I decided to settle and raise a family. I have a BA in Asian Studies from Bates College in Maine, and a Diploma in Journalism from Massey University in New Zealand—where my wife was raised on a South Island sheep farm. As a boy learning to sail, I developed a deep interest in traditional sailing craft. I have a Coast Guard 100 ton master’s license and over the years I have cruised the length of the East Coast in a variety of vessels ranging from 115’ schooners to a 19’ Swampscott dory. |
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Hayden helps deliver Amity from Winterport to Belfast
on a cold May morning at the start of the '05 season. He looks civilized,
but......
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After the 2005 sailing season we took Hayden down
to Guatemala...just after massive landslides there killed hundreds and
destroyed roads and bridges. But we had already paid for our tickets
so off we went....Here Hayden is being helped around a section of missing
road by a young Mayan boy.
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This wee Guatemalan lass took one look at Hayden,
grabbed him, and ran. Hayden was happy to go...We finally retrieved
him, but not without a struggle.
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Hayden looks out for floating rocks (volcanic)
while blasting across Guatemala's Lake Atitlan.
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About the Captain - Steve O'Connell
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At age nine months, Darra proves her
worth as an obstacle to leap over.
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My more far-flung seafaring travel adventures have taken me to the waterways of Bangladesh, the remote Chatham Islands of the South Pacific, and the archipelago of Indonesia. |
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Our Friendship Sloop “Amity” is a part of this
country’s seafaring heritage and it is a pleasure to share her with
you. A century after her creation, “Amity” is again back to work, helping
her owners earn a living on the waters of Maine.
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My wife Diane - who now practices
law in Ellsworth , Maine - and son Hayden - who practices walking wherever
he happens to be.
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Four-month-old Hayden at the moment
of his realization that he is destined to be a deckhand.
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The young "Master and Commander," now
pushing two-years-old, boldly navigates his wagon through treacherous
shoals
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.....on the trip much time and effort was spent
trying to keep him from crawling overboard. Thus he is banned from sailing
the boat while we have passengers for yet another season.
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Hayden looks out for floating rocks (volcanic)
while blasting across Guatemala's Lake Atitlan.
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