CAMDEN — Beautiful fall weather late last week welcomed passengers aboard the schooner Mary Day, and kept them and the crew company throughout what was the last four-day sail of the 2013 tourist season.

The Mary Day is a 90-foot (125-foot sparred length) two-masted gaff topsail schooner designed by Havilah Hawkins Sr. and launched in 1962 by Harvey Gamage Shipyard in South Bristol. The windjammer is owned and operated by captains Jennifer Martin and Barry King, also husband and wife who live in Appleton with their two children, Sawyer and Courtney.

Sailing on this trip was Barry King and an all-female crew, including Rebecca "Becca" Johnson, Jenny Baxter, Jennifer Wiacek and Brittany Spear, who did a fine job maintaining the schooner, which included everything from manning the little boats, Anna, Rosey and Arno, to swabbing the decks each morning and cleaning both heads five times a day. The crew also mustered passengers to help hoist and furl sails, making light of the work by telling jokes and singing songs.

The ship's cook, Rick Caroselli, with assistance from Spear, spent early mornings and long days and evenings keeping everyone well-fed, serving three meals a day with snacks always around. He was up every morning by 4:30 to have coffee ready by 7 a.m. and breakfast for 36 by 8 a.m. Breakfasts included scrambled eggs, pancakes and frittatas chock full of veggies and sausage, with each main dish accompanied by an assortment of meats, fruits and coffee cakes. For lunches, Caroselli offered chicken and lentil stew, then chili and also a baked ziti with Caesar salad.

The final dinner was a Thanksgiving feast by candlelight, followed by passenger-churned fresh ice cream; but the first night's supper was a real Maine tradition - lobsters on the beach with corn on the cob and potatoes all steamed together in big metal tubs between mounds of fresh seaweed. There was so much lobster, many of the passengers and crew were offered seconds, sending some into blissful lobster comas that called for early bedtimes.

Passengers on the trip included Gary and Edith Land of Berrien Center, Mich., John and Ksenia Stumpf of Garden City, N.Y., Ken Switzer and Charlotte Redden of Denver, Colo., Edward and Petty Dickson of Carmel Valley, Calif., John Short and Gary Conover of Union Hall, Va., Will Richards of Amherst, Va., Joanna Knox of West Gardiner, Robert and Kim Day of Camden, David and Rita Lash of Wayland, Mass., Jim and Wendy Cahill of Concord, N.H., Roger and Connie Rohwedder of Ankeny, Iowa, Tim and Sue Allyn of Polk City, Iowa, Joe and Stephanie Deberandinis of Hudson, Mass., Bobby Jorgensen of Westwood, Mass., Lucy Harrington of Newcastle, Bob Mersfelder of Rockland and Jean Buermeyer of Brunswick.

This year's last sail, which departed Sept. 26 following breakfast on board the schooner, headed east out of Camden Harbor and sailed through the Oak Island passage, north of North Haven, through the Deer Isle Thoroughfare to Lobster Island for the beach feast. Anchorage that night was in Brooklin, at Wooden Boat School.

Friday morning, most of the passengers went ashore to Wooden Boat to explore the campus and visit the gift shop. After being brought back to the Mary Day by the small boats, the anchor was pulled and sails were set for a smooth ride back up Eggemoggin Reach and under the Deer Island Bridge. The bridge spans 1,088 feet and is the only vehicular connection from the Maine mainland to Little Deer Isle. In order to pass under the bridge, which has an 85-foot clearance below, the topmasts had to both be lowered, which involved sending three of the crew up the main and fore masts to make that happen.

Sailing dead center of the bridge, all eyes were skyward, watching the ladies aloft, the tops of the masts and the underside of the bridge until all were clear. The top masts were then reset and the Mary Day continued sailing all the way down East Penobscot Bay to Isle Au Haut.

The schooner arrived just before sunset, providing spectacular photos of the bright orange sun and the pink sky casting colors on the sails, smiling faces and the Isle au Haut lighthouse at the entrance to the Isle Au Haut thoroughfare.

As the sun slipped below the horizon, the anchor was again set and it was a night to enjoy dessert on deck and marvel at the multitude of stars and planets visible overhead. It was so clear, the Milky Way, composed of approximately 100-400 billion stars, stretched on this trip from the west over the thoroughfare. Soon, the sounds of owls, identified as both great horned and barred, could be heard calling back and forth from the middle to the southern end of Isle Au Haut.

As one-by-one the passengers and crew headed off to their cabins for sleep, the calling of the owls, including the barred owl's distinctive "Who cooks for you? Who cook for you-all?" continued well into the late night.

Saturday morning was time to load into the yawl boat, Arno, and take a 90-minute tour of the island, half of which lies within Acadia National Park. Coming off the public dock, the walk north included the island store, the tiny 04645 post office, the one-room Isle Au Haut K-8 School and the island's Union Congregational Church.

The walk south led to just one place, Black Dinah Chocolatiers. Of course, you had to pass the Park Ranger station, which had restrooms, but the real star of this voyage, thanks to some locals-in-the-know, including the crew, was Black Dinah.

Nearly all the passengers brought back little brown bags with brown boxes tied with burgundy ribbon. Inside were pieces of Venezuelan bittersweet, dark and milk chocolate creations flavored with lavender, Earl Grey tea, lemon, Irish whiskey, Barbados molasses, crystalized ginger, blueberries and black pepper. As if that wasn't enough, Black Dinah also has a signature Tree to Sea Caramel comprised of their Maine-made caramel, bittersweet chocolate and apple smoked Maine sea salt.

Suffice it to say, that day's sail past Brimstone Island and up through Hurricane Sound was a chore, if only because everyone had a tough time not dipping into their little brown bags at least once an hour. But sail the Mary Day did, with passengers taking turns at the wheel as the schooner moved past Dogfish Island off Vinalhaven, through Leadbetter Narrows and back into Penobscot Bay for a late afternoon arrival in Pulpit Harbor.

Capt. King said the schooner sailed so far into Pulpit, the crew was tasked with moving the fore mast's boom and sails to port (left) and starboard (right) to catch the breeze and pull the boat backward.

"I can't remember sailing backwards so far -- 503-feet -- weaving back and forth through the moorings and other boats to end up where I wanted to anchor, but it was fun," said King.

That last night in Pulpit Harbor was spent anchored beside the three-masted schooner Victory Chimes, out of Rockland. Following the candlelight Thanksgiving-inspired supper, dessert was homemade ice cream and another beautiful night. After dinner, when the dishes had been cleared, everybody gathered again in the main saloon to listen as King played guitar, accompanied by crew member Baxter on mandolin and a passenger on banjo.

Low-lying fog on Vinalhaven and a long fog bank along the shore and across to the Camden Hills, greeted the passengers Sunday morning, Sept. 29. It was time to head back across Penobscot Bay to shore and homes in California, Michigan, Iowa, Virginia, New York, Massachusetts and even some locales in Maine.

Once back at the dock at the head of Camden Harbor, the passengers made their ways off the schooner and into Harbor Park, where cars were loaded and goodbyes were said.

The crew wasn't quite done though, as the schooner needed to be cleaned and prepared for the work-week ahead, which would see all the sails and rigging, among other items, removed and stored for the winter. Long poles were anchored across the decks, the entire length of the boat, and on Friday, King said he hoped to have the winter cover on and finally, a little break for everyone.

Each winter King and Baxter plan one large boat project, and then there's all the little things that need to repainted, re-varnished, repaired and refitted annually. If all goes smooth, the Mary Day will be uncovered and ready to sail for the first charter May 17, 2014. To first planned charter, a four-day lighthouse cruise, is on the books for June 4 and the reservation desk is always open.

Related photo gallery:

• Fall sail on schooner Mary Day, posted Oct. 7, 2013 (by Holly S. Edwards)

To learn more about the schooner Mary Day, visit schoonermaryday.com. To see additional photos of Mary Day from earlier sails this season, visit jimdugan.com.

Editorial Director Holly S. Edwards can be reached at hollyedwards@penbaypilot.com or 706-6655.