Camden Maine Schooner Cruises: Appledore II or Surprise

Two schooners take passengers on day sails out of Camden, and both board at the public landing in the middle of town. Appledore II is the larger: an 86-foot two-masted schooner launched in 1978, with room for 49 and a cash bar. Surprise is the older and smaller: a 57-foot topsail schooner built in 1918, listed on the National Register of Historic Places, which takes 18 guests and lets you bring your own beer and wine. Both sail for two hours past Curtis Island Light into Penobscot Bay. For a first sail with room to move about the deck, take Appledore II; for a small group and a picnic, take Surprise.

The two boats side by side

	Appledore II	Surprise
The boat	86 feet overall, two masts, launched 1978 at the Gamage Shipyard	57 feet overall, topsail schooner, built 1918 at Rockport, Massachusetts
Guests	49 at most	18 at most
Day sails	10:00 am, 12:30 pm and 3:00 pm	1 July to 15 September: 10:00 am, 12:30, 3:00 and 5:15 pm; spring and fall: 10:30 am, 1:00 and 3:30 pm
Sunset sail	Times vary with the sunset	7:15 pm in summer (7:30 pm in late June on the 2027 calendar); 5:30 pm from mid-September to 1 October
Drinks	Cash bar: cocktails, beer, wine, soft drinks	Bring your own beer, wine and food
Food	Your own snack; the sunset sail includes cheese, fresh fruit and vegetables	Your own picnic
Season	June 15 to October 11	Mid-May to mid-October
Price on its own site	Day $59.95 adult, $39.95 ages 6 to 11; sunset $64.95	Day $63 adult, $53 child; sunset $68, $58
Price on the listing	From $65	From $73

Boats, times, drinks, seasons and the operators’ prices from Schooner Appledore’s and Schooner Surprise’s own websites, which print no year on them; listing prices checked October 2026.

Illustration: guests walking along the float at Camden's public landing toward two wooden schooners tied up with their sails furled, the harbor and the Camden Hills behind — Illustration. Both Camden schooners board at the public landing, a short walk from Main Street.

Appledore II

Appledore II was the last schooner custom-built by the Gamage Shipyard in South Bristol, Maine, to a design by Bud McIntosh. She was launched on August 22, 1978, and left Portsmouth, New Hampshire, on an 18-month voyage around the world. For more than 25 years she has split her year between two home ports, Camden in summer and Key West in winter, sailing the 2,000 miles between them twice a year. Her decks are wide enough to walk around without ducking under the rigging, and the crew invites guests to help hoist the sails and take a turn at the wheel.

The day sails on this calendar run from 10 June to 11 October 2027 (read October 2026). Check in at the booth next to the boat, opposite Peter Ott’s on the Water restaurant, 30 minutes before; everyone signs a waiver, and anyone buying a drink needs a photo ID. The sunset sail, from $75 (checked October 2026), leaves earlier as the summer goes on, at about 6:30 pm in late June and 4:00 pm in October on the 2027 calendar.

Surprise

Surprise was designed by Thomas McManus and launched early in 1918 by the Waddell Shipyard in Rockport, Massachusetts. She came to Camden in 1986 and was entered on the National Register of Historic Places in 1991. Her owners, Ramiro and Nicole de Acevedo Ramos, run two-hour day sails, a sunset sail, evening sails with live music on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays in summer, and full-moon sails. Blankets and binoculars are on board, and the crew points out seals, bald eagles and porpoises. Depending on the wind she heads toward Islesboro or down the coast past the summer estates of Camden and Rockport.

See the Surprise sails

Her Viator calendar has 2027 dates from 10 May (read October 2026). A trip needs at least four passengers to go out. Her ticket booth is at the far side of the public landing car park, on the pier by the water, under a green umbrella.

Where you board

Map of Camden Harbor: Camden Public Landing, where Appledore II and Surprise board, Curtis Island Light at the harbor mouth, Mount Battie behind the town and Rockport to the south, on Penobscot Bay — Both schooners board at the public landing and leave the harbor past Curtis Island Light.

The public landing sits behind the buildings on Bayview Street. From Route 1, turn down the short steep hill between Camden National Bank and Sea Dog Brewing. Appledore II boards at Bayview Landing, 18 Bayview Street, behind the restaurant and hotel on the landing. Surprise’s booth is on the pier by the water at the far side of the car park.

Parking

At the public landing: paid by the hour, $2 an hour. Camden’s other town parking is limited to two hours and strictly enforced.
All day, free: the Town of Camden allows free all-day parking on Washington Street, next to the public safety building, a short walk from the harbor.

Parking from the two operators’ own websites, checked October 2026.

What you see

The sails leave Camden’s inner harbor past Curtis Island Light, which dates from 1836, and go out into Penobscot Bay. Behind the town rise the Camden Hills; look for Mount Battie above the harbor. The wildlife on these sails: porpoises, ospreys, eagles, seals and guillemots, and the occasional whale.

Who should pick something else

A sunset sail: both boats have one. The sunset sails guide gives the 2027 departure times beside the sunset.
More than a day: the windjammers moored in Camden Harbor take guests for three nights to a week; see the windjammer cruises guide.
The whole fleet at once: the Camden Windjammer Festival on Labor Day weekend brings the windjammers into the harbor.
Lighthouses close in: Boothbay Harbor’s sails pass three; see Boothbay Harbor schooners.

Camden Schooner Cruises