You’re standing on our top deck, and the Harbor is a churning mass of small vessels . . . Fishing boats, sail boats, tour boats full of passengers. Kids in row boats and dorys.

All of a sudden, someone spots the first prow to appear from behind Spruce Point in Linekin Bay and gives a shout. One after another they sail into Boothbay Harbor. First the American Eagle. Then the Heritage, the Eastwind, the Lazy Jack, and the Lewis R. French. Then comes the Spirit of Massachusetts, the Nathaniel Bowditch and the Sherman Zwicker.

Talk about taking your breath away.

This year is the 48th Annual celebration of Windjammer Days in Boothbay Harbor, and we’ll have eight Windjammers sailing into the Harbor for the two-day festival to be held on June 22nd and June 23rd. You can take a cruise on the Schooner Heritage, tour the Spirit of Massachusetts or just kick back and enjoy the live music.

We will even have an old-fashioned parade, (this year’s theme is “Our Happy Harbor”) and if it like previous festivals, there will be floats, marchers, bands and the Shriners in their little cars. Really!

Is that wicked cool or what? Nothing says “good times” like those guys and their little cars.

Finally, the two-day extravaganza will crescendo with fireworks and I can tell you with certainty that there is no better vantage point in Boothbay Harbor for watching the fireworks.

Click Here for the full two-day schedule of events.

Click Here for a full list of Schooners participating in this year’s Windjammer Days Festival.

Take a look at our “Cure for the Summertime Blues” Special and enjoy a reduced room rate AND a $50 dinner gift card at McSeagulls.

(Thanks to the Boothbay Harbor Chamber of Commerce for putting together the schedule of events and the list of participating Windjammers.)

People are always asking, “But Gee . . . What do you do in Boothbay Harbor in the off season?

While Mother Earth and her sadist lover, Winter, beat up the remainder of the East Coast, I’m happy to say that so far the Winter in Boothbay Harbor has been almost enjoyable.

How often does DC have to negociate daily life through a meter of snow, and in Boothbay Harbor the sun is shining and it’s a balmy 48 degrees. This, however, is not a case of schadenfreude. Other people should shovel snow once in a while, too.

So why come to the Welch House and spend a few days enjoing Boothbay Harbor and MidCoast Maine this time of year? You’ve got snow. So do we.

But we also have a fantastic view of Boothbay Harbor, comfy rooms with fireplaces, and breakfasts good enough to be written up in “Getaways for Gourmets”.

Get away from your snow for a couple of days . . . Sit by our living room fireplace with a glass of wine and catch up with old friends. Or make some new ones.

Stay two nights between now and May 27th, and you’ll get a king or queen bedroom with fireplace and private bath, two fabulous gourmet breakfasts, and dinner at our favorite local, McSeagulls. It’s a short walk into town.

Just $250.00/tax per couple.

No time until summer? How about Windjammer Days (June 22nd), Boatbuilder’s Festival (August 1st) or Fall Foliage Festival (October 9th)? Visit us anytime this year and bring this postcard.

Dinner at McSeagulls is still on us.

On Sunday, May 31st the Harvey Gamage will be docking at Wooton’s Wharf in beautiful Boothbay Harbor at one o”clock.

The Harvey Gamage has just returned from four months at sea with a full crew of High School students. Working with partner schools, the Ocean Classroom Foundation offers a multitude of programs on it’s three ships, including the “Semester at Sea” program and Seafaring Camps.

Congratulations to all our sailors and thanks to the Ocean Classroom Foundation for the use of the photo of the Harvey Gamage!

Well, the results are in . . . What are Yankee Magazine’s Top 20 best attractions in Maine? Well, you’ll find 2 of the right here in the Boothbay Region.

The Burnt Island Lighthouse here in Boothbay Harbor was rated the best Lighthouse tour, and with more than 60 Lightouses on our coast, that’s a pretty big deal.

Only accessible by boat, you can join a small cast of interpreters that represent the last lighthouse family to live on the island circa 1955. Thursday and Sunday evenings from June 28 through August 30.

Best Seaside Fragrance goes to The Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens. More than 250 acres of beautifully planned and maintained gardens, sculpture and access to the Sheepscot River.

Free tours, an excellent cafe and georgous gardens and forests that seem to go on forever.

And talking about their Top 20 choices, 2 of the Top 20 Events are right here, too.

June 23rd - 24th is Windjammer’s Days, with fully rigged schooners that sail into the harbor. There are tours, waterfront concerts and fireworks. Plus some really fine food.

Last, East Boothbay’s Boatbilder’s Festival is held August 1st & 2nd.

Art sales, demonstations, nautical lectures, both working and pleasure craft on display and a seafood festival. Come and see how we build boats in Maine!

I wanted to take several blog entries to talk about all of the activities going on during the summer  in Boothbay Harbor, Maine. This entry will deal with our favorite ocean activities, because, well, we live in a Harbor.

Cabbage Island Clambakes - A very well-run operation that combines a harbor tour with a true New England lobster bake on a privately owned island.

Schooner Sailing - A must for anyone visiting the Maine coast. See it the way the first visitors did - aboard one of the traditional wooden sailing vessels that call Boothbay Harbor home. Schooner Eastwind, a traditional wooden windjammer captained by world voyagers (and outstanding hosts) Herb & Doris Smith; Schooner Lazy Jack with Captain Joe Tassi; or Bay Lady, a friendship sloop run by Balmy Days Cruises.

Blackjack Sport Fishing - Captain Dan Stevens grew up on the bays and inlets of this region, and you won’t find a more knowledgeable or experienced guide. If its stripers you’re after, he’s your man. (207-633-64452 or cell: 207-380-5445)

Burnt Island Lighthouse Tour - A limited schedule, but worth going out of your way for this living history tour, seen through the eyes of the last lightkeeper’s family.

Go to the Welch House Inn’s “Innkeeper’s Picks” page to see more choices for great activities in the Boothbay Harbor region, or read what the Boston Globe has to say about our fair town.

April 24th, 25th & 26th right here in Boothbay Harbor, Maine.  Come and experience our own brand of harbor antics to herald in the start of spring and the beginning of the 2009 Fishing Season.

We’ll have Lobster Crate races, Trap hauling, Dory bailing, Tug of War, Fish Fry, the Miss Shrimp Pageant, and more!

Go to Welch House Inn Reservations to check room availability.

This is going to be my favorite posting category.  We’ll have an opportunity to review some of the best restaurants in the midcoast region.

Of course, we’ll be focusing on the best local resturants . . . the ones that you can walk to while enjoying the Harbor.

Here’s a hint: You know it’s Spring when Christa and Davide are back in town. This year, they have just come back from spending the winter in Davide’s home city of Milan, and we’re all really excited to see what new tricks he picked up while back in his old stomping grounds.

You can see last year’s menu at http://www.portsofitaly.com/.

Here it is . . .

In an effort to keep everyone out there up to date with the goings-on at the Welch House (and mid-coast Maine in particular), Susan & I have launched this blog to take an opportunity to talk to you folks on a regular basis.

We will have three blog categories . . . “Boothbay Harbor”, dealing with the best and not so best here in the Harbor, “Midcoast Foodies”, talking about the very best food from Portland to Rockland, and “Welch House Innformation”, where we’ll talk about the Inn and what we’re up to.

Take a look every once and a while because we promise to keep this fresh and topical, and we look forward to your comments and input.

Michael