On July 15 from 2:00-4:00 pm, more than a dozen windjammers will participate in a Parade of Sail past the mile-long Rockland Breakwater. The afternoon event will include close-up views of the entire fleet, tours of the Lighthouse, a flyover by the Owls Head Transportation Museum and free shuttle service between Harbor Plaza (behind Machias Savings Bank) and the Breakwater Parking area. For spectators who need help distinguishing a ketch from a schooner or a coaster from a pilot boat, Captain Jim Sharp of the Sail, Power and Steam Museum will narrate the parade over a PA system at the Lighthouse.

Immediately following the Parade, the windjammers will anchor off Sharp’s Point South, adjacent to the Sail, Power and Steam Museum at 75 Mechanic Street in anticipation of the 7:30 pm concert by Gordon Bok and Friends. Gordon Bok was deemed by Time Magazine the “poet laureate of those who go down to the sea in ships.” He will be joined by Nick Apollonio, a folk musician and guitar-maker, along with other special guests. Admission is free and there is plenty of parking at Snow Marine Park. Guests are encouraged to bring their own chairs for lawn seating.

As venue host, the Sail, Power and Steam Museum will also offer extended hours on Friday evening for visitors. Exhibits include a working lime kiln, shipbuilding displays, nautical tools, a navigation room, shipwreck photographs, a knot exhibit, architectural half models, steam engines, antique machinery and more.

On Saturday, July 16 from 2:00-4:00 pm, the Rockland windjammers in the Maine Windjammer Association will host Open Houses. Visitors can stop by North End Shipyard and Windjammer Wharf (off Tillson Avenue) for tours of the American Eagle, Heritage, Isaac H. Evans, Nathaniel Bowditch and Stephen Taber.

There’s still some space to sign up for this special cruise. Sailing schedules for 2011 for the entire fleet are available online or you can request a packet of brochures from all 13 members.