We arrived in Boston, turned in our rental car, and took a shuttle to the hotel. We had the fun and unexpected experience of running into Sharon, a friend from Boise,  on the shuttle.  She was also in town for a cruise, but not the same one as we were.

In the morning we connected with our planned Boise friends Darrell and Cindy.   We headed to the pier and processed to  board our Holland America ship.  The lines were long as everyone went through COVID boarding protocols.

This is the Nieuw Statendam, the same ship we sailed on for 21 days from Fort Lauderdale to Rome earlier in the year.  We had mixed feelings.  We had enjoyed the ship previously, and knew our way around, but it would have been nice to experience a different ship as well.

We did get a complimentary upgrade in cabin.  It was still a verandah cabin but was the “spa version” with minor upgrades in the bathroom.  It was located near the spa on Deck 10 – an upgrade if price and location are considered.  What we lost in the upgrade was the extended balcony we had booked on Deck 4.  

Our itinerary was to go from Boston to Quebec City with stops in Maine, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, New Foundland, Prince Edward Island and Quebec.  

We left Boston in the evening. 

Early morning progress shown on the TV in our cabin..

Sailing into Portland, Maine.

Our first shore excursion was aboard the 91 year old schooner Timberwind. 

She served as a pilot boat in the harbor until 1969 under the name Portland Pilot. Built in 1931, she also served in Rockport, Maine and Belfast. She returned to her home waters in 2018 to be part of the Portland Schooner Company.  

Timberwind is 70 feet long with a beam of 14 feet. She has an oak frame, and is sheathed in yellow pine.  The deck planking is also yellow pine. Timberlwind was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1992.

On the day of our sail, the predominantly female crew asked for volunteers to help with the rigging and sails.

 Darrel and Randy volunteered.

We enjoyed our view back on the city and the commentary around the harbor.

It was a nice day to sail around the harbor with Cindy and Darrell!

Fort Gorges was planned as one of three forts in the Portland Harbor.  It was constructed entirely with local granite, and had 56 gun emplacements.  By the time it was completed in 1864, it was already considered obsolete. Fort Gorges had a live-in caretaker after the Civil War, and it was a storage facility in both World War I and World War II.  Fort Gorges was given to the city of Portland in 1960 and is community space,

Fort Scammel was built on an island in the harbor in 1808 as part of the national system of fortifications. Although it was armed over several wars and conflicts, only one shot was ever fired – that during the War of 1812.

A bastion on the opposite side was built to protect access through the main channel.  A third bastion was never completed.

The Portland Harbor was the closest, deepest naval port to Europe and there was lots happening during World War II.  It was the last fuel stop enroute to Europe. The harbor was guarded by submarine nets and patrolled by the same Portland Pilot for the US Coast Guard.  

Ten percent of all boats in the war were built in Portland area shipyards including 30 ocean cargo ships for the British government and 236 Liberty cargo ships for the United States government.  The shipyards employed 30,000 workers between 1941 and 1945. 

We had a view of the Portland Lighthouse from the water.  It is the oldest working lighthouse in United States, built by the Second Continental Congress.

We saw our ship as we headed back in to port.

We traveled to the lighthouse in more traditional transportation- a bus. The Portland Lighthouse is the most photographed lighthouses in the world. 

This church is the tallest structure in Maine. 

This church is from the 1700s and has damage from two cannonballs.

This building was the original library in Portland.   

And in some Maine trivia…

LL Bean is the largest private employer in Maine.  If you call them, someone in Maine answers. The company started with Mr. Bean marketing his waterproof boots to hunters after obtaining a list of those with licenses.    Ninety-eight of the first 110 pairs came back to the company.  Things improved with time!

We learned that Maine was once was part of Massachusetts so, in that way, was part of the original 13 colonies.  Mainers had campaigned for statehood following the American Revolution and the Massachusetts legislature agreed to let the territory go in 1819.  On March 15, 1820, Maine gained statehood. The quest became entangled in the slavery issue. Most people in Maine supported abolition, so their admission was linked to the admission of Missouri as a slave state.  The controversial “Missouri Compromise” preserved the balance between pro and anti slavery members in the US Congress for decades.  

We made our way back to the ship and had an enjoyable evening on board. Our next port was Saint John, New Brunswick, Canada.