Join us and a science educator from our partners at Herring Gut Coastal Science Center in Port Clyde as we set sail to learn about the ecology of Penobscot Bay! This special adventure combines our popular Monroe Island Adventures with our Science Under Sail Tour.

Our trip starts at 9am. We will venture out into Penobscot Bay through Rockland Harbor, past Muscle Ridge Channel and Owl's Head Lighthouse and out to deeper waters past Monroe island. We will examine and discuss how the water around us changes with the tides, currents and geography as we sail from coastal and estuarine environments all the way out to the briny deep–past Monroe Island we often sail in over 300+ feet of water!

Volunteer scientists-in-training will have a chance to get their hands wet helping with plankton tows, deploying a secchi disk and using other oceanographic equipment. We also have an onboard microscope connected to a tablet so everyone gets a chance to see all the microscopic organisms we scoop up from the Bay! Mornings are a great time for wildlife viewing, and we often see seals, porpoises, ospreys, bald eagles and other seabirds!

We will travel to Monroe Island, a 250-acre preserve managed by the Maine Coast Heritage Trust, an organization devoted to preserving and stewarding coastal lands for public use. On the island, our friends from Herring Gut Coastal Science Center will lead the group on a informative tour of the islands rocky beaches and tidepools (~2 hours).

Back on the boat, we will have a lobster roll picnic lunch awaiting you (alternatives available upon request). We will sail into Penobscot Bay and see some of Monroe's rocky granite bluffs while we enjoy our lunch and then have a brisk sail back into Rockland on the afternoon breeze. Guests will have the opportunity to help raise the sails and steer the boat as we harness the breeze, shut down the engine and hopefully catch a little refreshing salt spray. We will return to Middle Pier in Rockland and disembark at 3pm.

Guests should be comfortable climbing down into a smaller (12ft) tender. Lifejackets must be worn by all guests at all times while shuttling to/from the island. You do not need to hike, but this is an active trip and guests will need to be able to access the ship's toilet, which is down a 6' wooden ladder. Please contact us at [email protected] with any questions or concerns.