For guests looking to enjoy a few extra days in downeast Maine either before or after their windjammer cruise, the Penobscot Marine Museum in Searsport is a must! As Maine’s oldest maritime museum, the campus consists of 13 historic buildings, including ship captains' homes, an early town hall, and two boat houses. Eight of the buildings are on the National Register of Historic Places, and together they represent Searsport when it was a bustling port during the Age of Sail.

Best of all, this summer the Museum is featuring the windjammer fleet in a new exhibit entitled: Earning Their Keep: Maine’s Windjammers. All winter long, the captains have been gathering models and artifacts to complement the historic photos from the museum’s collections and rotating exhibits by the following contemporary photographers:

Benjamin Mendlowitz is America's preeminent photographer of wooden boats. He is well known throughout the international boating world for his Calendar of Wooden Boats, which he has produced since 1983, and for his numerous contributions to nautical publications. Eight books of his photography have been published to date. Ben can frequently be found with a camera in one hand and a tiller in the other, sailing along Eggemoggin Reach, a favorite passage for the entire windjammer fleet.

With his 1950's designed camera, Michael Kahn travels extensively to photograph the world's finest boats and pristine seascapes. He collects his images on traditional black and white film; then, he produces his luminous silver gelatin photographs in his darkroom using skills that he has refined over the years.

Fred LeBlanc’s lifelong passion for classic wooden sailing vessels has led him, over the last decade, to document these historic windjammers as they sail in harmony with the wind and sea. Fred sails with several different windjammers every season, and recently has started offering photo workshops during his cruises. Fred’s photographs have graced the Maine Windjammer Association’s website, newsletters and promotional materials for many years.

Neal Parent is an extraordinary black and white photographer who started his career as a photojournalist. He has taught courses at WoodenBoat School, and on the ketch Angelique out of Camden. His studio is in Belfast, Maine. Neal shoots in the 35mm format that he believes enables him to photograph with greater spontaneity.

Searsport is located about an hour’s drive from the windjammer ports of Camden and Rockland, and it’s right on the way to Acadia National Park or the Narrows Bridge Observatory, two Sail & Parks Package hotspots! Ask your captain about discounted Penobscot Marine Museum coupons available for windjammer guests only!