Nathaniel Bowditch Photo: Alex Plummer USHarbors.com

Sadly, just before Christmas, the schooner Nathaniel Bowditch, owned by Owen and Cathie Dorr, was seized at its Rockland Harbor berth in Lermond Cove by U.S. Marshals and towed to Camden Harbor, Maine.  The Nathaniel Bowditch is one of the fleet of schooners offering “windjammer cruises” in coastal Maine.  The Penobscott Bay Pilot reports that, according to court documents, the owners defaulted on a $375,000 mortgage on the vessel.

The Nathaniel Bowditch is a 1922 built, 82′ LOA schooner, certified to carry 30 passengers.  A recent survey valued the schooner at $700,000. When the schooner went to auction last Friday, the minimum required opening bid was $250,000.  Nevertheless, there were no bids and the auction ended after 27 seconds.  Lacking bidders, the schooner remains with the mortgage holder.

Timberwind

In related news, the schooner Timberwind, a long-time Rockport, Maine resident of  the town’s Marine Park wharf, has been moved to Rockland’s Lermond Cove in preparation for boat work related to the imminent sale of the vessel.   The Penobscot Bay Pilot reports that  the schooner’s owner, Bob Tassi said Jan. 31 that a deal was on the table to sell the 81-year-old vessel to an undisclosed buyer.  “She is in the process of being sold,” said Tassi, declining to identify the interested buyer. As to remaining in Rockport Harbor, he said: “I would doubt that. The buyer has other plans, but she will stay in the greater Penobscot Bay area.”  The Timberwind had been on the market priced at $410,000.

Thanks to Tom Russell of the Linkedin Traditional Sail Professionals group for contributing to this post.