LOOKING BACK

Designed and built expressly for carrying passengers

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Sailing on a legacy of nearly three centuries of maritime tradition, Mary Day is a child of the times. Unlike her predecessors that carried cargoes of lumber, granite and fish, Mary Day was the first coaster built for the windjammer trade, and the first sailing passenger vessel built in the 20th century.

Designed with comfort and speed in mind

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 Mary Day was named for the wife of the late Capt. Havilah Hawkins, Sr, the designer and owner for two decades. Mary Day’s launching at the Harvey Gamage Shipyard on January 20, 1962 marked a resurgence of interest in building large commercial sailing vessels. Capt. Hawkins’ design inspiration came from the best of what he had grown to know from owning several other boats and rolled them all together to create Mary Day. The schooner’s hull was built and launched by six men in a period of six months.

Resembling the nineteen-century seafaring life

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Mary Day reflects centuries of traditional design, construction and rigging evolution. She takes advantage of large cabin houses, a unique centerboard arrangement, and an interesting truss rod system to prevent hogging. Her modern synthetic sails and lines, as well as navigational electronics and safety equipment, add to the ease and safety of operations. Underneath all the modern advances lies a hull, rigging and shipboard life having all the hallmarks of centuries long ago.

A constant reminder of hand-crafted simplicity and beauty

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During the winter of 1999/2000 Mary Day underwent a tremendous rebuild with 10,600 people hours along with 10,000 board feet new planking all with a crew of 10 and a dozen of volunteers. After 6 months, she was relaunched and rechristened with Mary Day present to bestow her blessing once again on this treasured vessel. Today Mary Day is stronger and more comfortable than ever as she majestically sails the Maine coast.