Friendship Sloop Days
Friendship Sloop Days
WHERE
Rockland Harbor Park, Rockland, ME
WHEN
Held annually in July.
Friendship Sloop Days Photos
The Friendship Sloop Days is a homecoming and regatta with sloop races, demonstrations and visits to historic Friendship Sloops.
Friendship Sloop Days - An annual Rockland, Maine summer event to celebrate the famous marine vessels
Friendship Sloop Days takes place in Rockland every summer. In fact, this event sponsored by the Friendship Sloop Society, has happened every year for half a century. What exactly is this celebration? For those people that are not as nautical as some, there was a famous style of gaff-rigged sloop that originated in and is named for the small coastal town of Friendship, Maine. Each year, sloops of the Friendship design (and their sailors) gather from all over the East Coast to celebrate and commemorate the unique design style.
Local fishermen in Friendship and Bremen designed the sloop circa 1880. The Friendship quickly became the dominant style for lobster boats of Maine fishermen and stayed in fashion until the early 20th century. The sloop was, and is, highly maneuverable and sturdy by design, making it perfect for the short voyages of fishermen. Today, the Friendship Sloop is a popular charter vessel. Today they are typically constructed of fiberglass, but some wooden models (a throw back to earlier times) still exist.
In this celebration, sloops compete in a race on the first two days of the event. On the final day, these sloops line up for the Friendship parade off the Rockland Breakwater. Visitors can stand on the breakwater that extends for a mile out into the sea, and get amazing access to the event action as well as breathtaking photographs. .
During Friendship Sloop Days, the public is invited to attend the breakfast and skippers’ meeting each morning, and visit the sloops that are docked at the Public Landing. At night, people are encouraged to attend the “bring-your-own” community barbecue under the tent and star dotted sky.
