The passengers we meet aboard our schooners are often full of questions. How did we become the owners of Maine Windjammer Cruises and its three vessels? How old are the boats, and where were they built? What's it like to make our living doing what we obviously love, sailing among the islands of beautiful Penobscot Bay? How on earth did we raise our two little girls on board a boat, starting when one was just a toddler? Finally, and most frequently, do we have a cookbook?

Maine Windjammer Cruises Cookbook answers all of these questions about the schooners and about our summers living and working on them. Many of the recipes, which follow our story, are the ones we've used on our cruises and found popular with guests. Some have been shared by passengers who've sailed with us, while others are family favorites.

Great food is always on deck for passengers on Maine Windjammer Cruises, and now the best of MWC's recipes are available in one tasty volume. (Photo by Kevin Thomas)

Imagine now that you're walking down to the harbor in Camden, Maine on a bright summer morning where the Grace Bailey, Mercantile and Mistress are tied up and waiting for their passengers. Provisions for the upcoming cruises are neatly stowed in the galleys and the cooks are already busily preparing lunch.

With those words, Ann Williamson starts Maine Windjammer Cruises Cookbook, the collection of stories and recipes that represent her twenty years of training cooks, planning menus, ordering supplies and cooking aboard the Grace Bailey. The book is lavishly illustrated with photographs of the schooners, the food, the passengers, the crew and the Williamson family. It includes more than 150 recipes arranged in their own section in an easy-to-read format.

We expect the 240-page spiral-bound book to be available later this month. The cost is $22.95 plus $5.85 shipping and handling (Priority Mail) for a total of $28.80. For shipment to a Maine address, please add $1.15 sales tax.

To order a copy of Maine Windjammer Cruises Cookbook or for more information, use our online contact form, choosing Ships Store from the dropdown menu, or call 800-736-7981. If our machine picks up, please let us know why you are calling and leave your name, address, telephone number and email address.

If you would like to pick up a copy of the cookbook at our store on the Camden Public Landing, we suggest that you call 207-236-0567 or 207-236-2938 for availability and store hours.