My fiancé and I recently got back from a trip up the east coast, and one of our stops was in Portland, Maine. We had done a ton of research for most of our stops, but somehow Portland didn't get as much pre-trip attention as the other places. Seeing now that there are no Yelp reviews of SailMaine I'm glad we didn't plan, because I surely wouldn't have found it!
We were walking along the trail by the water when I noticed a sign advertising sailboat rentals and instruction. I checked out their website since we love sailing (the mister races sailboats), and was pleasantly surprised by the reasonable prices to rent a J/22 keelboat. We went in the next morning to discuss the details and see if they had availability, and were able to book a rental for that same evening. The staff was extremely pleasant and helpful, showing us depth charts and describing the best places to sail in the bay. They pointed out that we could get out near the Portland Head Lighthouse and get a view from the water, which was great! The boat was in great shape, and the staff was very prompt in getting us from the mooring ball when we radioed in.
All in all it was a wonderful experience that I would absolutely go back for if we're ever in the area! We also learned you can do a season pass, which I wouldn't be able to turn down if we were local. As an added bonus, they run a kids' camp and have a camp specifically for disabled children. We watched some of the drills and activities, and you could see the pure enjoyment on the kids' faces and tell the staff was doing an excellent job teaching them. I can't say enough good things about SailMaine! read more