About Us

Morning in Maine is a coastal ketch designed and built by the noted Pete Culler, a renowned designer of vessels from Dartmouth, MA. Her overall length is 55 ft with a 12-ft beam, 17 tons dead weight, and an easily-handled marconi rig. She was built to be a traditional sailing vessel with modern conveniences and electronics. Built of the finest oak frames and Atlantic cedar planks, she has been meticulously maintained.

Morning in Maine was launched in So. Dartmouth, MA in 1970 at the Concordia Yacht Co. as the Swan V. After her initial career as a private yacht, she was later donated to the Maine Maritime Academy, where she was found by her previous owner, Captain Bob Pratt in 1998. After winning the prestigious award for best classic yacht at the Boston Boat Show, Morning in Maine became a passenger vessel in Rockland.  Captain Pratt served the passengers of Rockland for 23 years aboard Morning in Maine before making the decision to keep her rich history alive by donating her to the Sail, Power and Steam Museum of Rockland.

Under her current ownership, Morning in Maine has undergone extensive upgrades and restoration, returning her to her initial glory and yacht-finish.  With new sails and standing rigging, rebuilt decks and steering system, she is ready for decades of service providing meaningful memories on the coast of Maine.

Sarah Mead is a 42’ Friendship Sloop built in 1965 at the Newbert & Wallace Shipyard in Thomaston, Maine. Carrying two headsails and a gaff-rigged main, she is built in traditional Maine fashion with cedar planks over white oak frames.    After spending the last two decades showcasing the history of Maine lobster boats on Muscongus Bay, Sarah Mead brings her legacy back to her original home waters of Penobscot Bay.

An early adopter of electric propulsion, Sarah Mead combines a 19th century tradition with a vision for a sustainable future. Replacing her diesel engine in 2013, she now sports a whisper quiet electric engine allowing guests to enjoy a zero-emmission, peaceful experience on the water when the wind dies down.

Carrying a maximum of 6 passengers, Sarah Mead provides an intimate setting for families who want an educational and fun lobstering experience, friends looking for an invigorating sail to a secluded island hiking destination, or couples on a relaxing sunset private charter with wine and oysters. Whether you are looking for close-up views of the iconic lighthouses, seeing seals and porpoises feeding on the bay, or hauling lobster traps under sail as fishermen did in the 19th century, Sarah Mead offers an unforgettable Maine experience.

Captain Tyler Waterson grew up sailing the coast of Maine from the age of 7 and first got his Captain’s License at the age of 17 while teaching youth sailing programs. He studied Marine Biology and Environmental Studies before working as a naturalist on board whale-watching trips and later running eco-tours on the 78-foot gaff-rigged Schooner Freda B in San Francisco Bay, where he worked his way through the ranks to earn his Master’s license. In his travels, Tyler has sailed from Los Angeles to Seattle and from Florida to Maine. Tyler has also worked as a commercial fisherman in Alaska and Hawai’i, guided kayak tours on the remote Na Pali Coast of Kaua’i and even worked below the water’s surface as a snorkel guide. Before returning home to New England in 2020 to be closer to family, Tyler and his fiance Tiffany ran the bed and breakfast in the historic East Brother Light Station on San Francisco Bay where they had the honor of hosting over a thousand guests in a restored Victorian lighthouse.  Tyler has run A Morning in Maine Sailing Tours since 2022 and is passionate about using his experience to curate the best sailing experiences on the coast of Maine.

Tyler lives with his wife Tiffany, and his two sons Oakley and Fisher in Rockland year-round. On any given day, you might see them enjoying a sail on Morning in Maine, training to be the next generation of captains!

Kyle von Neumann is entering his fourth season aboard Morning in Maine. Having learned to sail here in Rockland Harbor, Kyle brings his experience in education and organizational leadership to his roles as our operations manager, captain of Sarah Mead, and chief mate of Morning in Maine. A licensed captain with a passion for teaching, Kyle brings an educator’s curiosity and enthusiasm to every sail.

Growing up in landlocked Dayton, Ohio, Kyle began his professional journey far from the sea. After studying music education, he moved to Atlanta, Georgia, where he started a decade-long career as an educator. Kyle’s eclectic interests, passion for place-based, experiential learning, and pursuit of personal growth brought him to Rockland to study traditional boatbuilding and seamanship at The Apprenticeshop. He loves exploring the science and beauty of sailing, the history of midcoast Maine, and the marine life and natural phenomena that shape Penobscot Bay. Morning in Maine has been Kyle’s favorite boat on the bay since he began learning to sail and he considers it a privilege to get to share the beauty of Penobscot Bay aboard her and Sarah Mead with our guests.

Off the water, Kyle serves on the board of directors for the Midcoast Music Academy, teaches classes in marlinespike seamanship, and runs midcoast Maine’s community steel drum band, Pen Bay Pan.

Although Jeff has been sailing less than half his life (only 31 years now) he has gained a vast amount of experience on vessels from small daysailers to a 135 foot racing cutter as racing helmsman. He has held a 100 GT Mater’s license with sailing and tow endorsements since 2003. Jeff has taught sailing in Brookline, Maine, Key West, Punta Gorda and Hilton Head Island, Myrtle Beach, Abbaco Bahamas and the Virgin Islands.
Building boats in Maine and St Croix, USVI and working as a master rigger along the way throughout the East Coast as well as competing in regional and national regattas he has acquired knowledge of what makes a sailboat work and go fast. These qualifications have Jeff registered as a Professional Yacht Racer with the World Sailing Federation.

Jeff has completed tens of thousands of miles of offshore deliveries covering the globe from Halifax, Novi Scotia to the Rio Dulce in Guatemala and including the Eastern Caribbean and the Gulf Coast.

Jeff has been involved with yachting and charters here in Maine for a decade of this career.

A graduate of the United States Coast Guard Academy, Leigh had her first sailing experience at the academy in which she turtled a laser within a few boat lengths of the dock. A common first experience, her skills only improved from there with two summers spent on the Coast Guard’s square-rigger EAGLE. After graduation, she served on active duty for five years, first as a deck watch officer on a sea-going buoy tender, and later as a vessel inspector and marine casualty investigator. Since then, Leigh has spent time as an off-grid homesteader, an environmental consultant working with family farms, and as a customer service rep for the Maine State Ferry System. She holds a 100-ton masters license, is a Registered Maine Guide, runs lobster tours in Camden, and has a passion for open water rowing. She has twice completed the 750-mile Race to Alaska, rowing a double sliding-seat row boat from Port Townsend, WA to Ketchikan, AK. (Ask her about eeking out a campsite on unknown, bear-infested shores each night.) Leigh is the owner and principal guide of Rowing to Wild, a rowing excursion company. She is a long-time rower and volunteer coxswain with ComeBoating!, a community rowing organization offering public rows on Belfast Bay, and serves on the board of Penobscot Bay Waterkeeper.

Leigh is most at home on the water. She loves the sense of wonder, connection and camaraderie that a boat provides, and believes in the power of an adventure on the water to bring people together. She appreciates each opportunity to share her delight in the sea with others.

This is the third season that Pam Vasso has been manning our ticket booth.

A Morning in Maine merchandise and meeting and greeting our guests. She was born and grew up right here in Rockland and has many stories to share about how the waterfront and downtown have changed. She enjoys answering your questions about the boat, what you might expect on your sail and also making recommendations for places to go and things to do in the Midcoast area.