Schooners began sailing along the coast of Maine in the 1700s. These tall ships had one purpose: to haul commercial cargo along the Eastern Seaboard. By the early 1930s, trains made these fleets obsolete. In 1936, a visionary named Frank Swift was the first person in Maine to convert a marvelous ship into a windjammer cruise. This sparked an industry in Penobscot Bay. There are now 12 vessels offering sightseeing cruises for the delight of tourists. The Schooner Mary Day is one of the dozen.
