You're invited: SailMaine's Annual Regatta and Festival

As you may recall, back in June Team Dockwa hosted a fundraising event to support our friends at SailMaine in their mission to make sailing more accessible. The event, Trivia Night, was a huge success, raising close to $3,000 towards SailMaine's low and no cost community sailing programs. (You can read more about that awesome event here.) We sparked what we hope to be a long lasting relationship with the team over at SailMaine!

We are thrilled to share this article from the team at SailMaine about the story behind their annual regatta and festival. Let it be a reminder about the impact of the boating community, and consider it your official invite to get involved with an amazing organization! 

Fourth Annual SailMaine Festival and Regatta
By Michele Smith, Volunteer Chairperson of the SailMaine Regatta

On August 10, 2024 SailMaine will be celebrating the Fourth Annual SailMaine Festival and Regatta. This is one of the largest sailing regattas of the summer on beautiful Casco Bay.

SailMaine is a nonprofit organization based on the Portland waterfront that supports sailing in Maine at the community level. SailMaine offers adaptive sailing, City Sailors programs for underserved youth, high school racing, junior summer camps, and adult lessons and rentals.  Their mission is to provide affordable access to the water through community sailing and educational programming, offering something for the entire community and encouraging people from all walks of life to get out on the water and enjoy Casco Bay.

My husband and I have been racing sailboats for 28 years and I have had 8 years of experience raising money through sailing regattas for nonprofit organizations.

I approached Micheal McAllister, executive director of SailMaine, in January 2019 with the proposal of having a regatta to raise money for the organization. Unfortunately, as we began planning for the event, COVID arrived and further planning was put on hold. We reconvened in early 2020 and began the planning phase. We had our first regatta in 2021, with proceeds dedicated to SailMaine’s scholarship and outreach programs. The event has continued to grow in terms of number of boats and money raised each year.

A very special aspect of the event last year was the recognition of Kevin Fahrman, who passed away in early 2023. Kevin was a very active volunteer at SailMaine, as well as an exceptional photographer. He was often seen on the dock as well as on the water at SailMaine and produced amazing action photos of all kinds of sailing. Following his death, we were informed that he was the original Valentine’s Day bandit in Portland (check out Kevin's legacy as the Valentine's Day Bandit here). During the 2023 race ALL boats in the regatta flew flags with the SailMaine logo and a heart to honor Kevin.

Lauren from Dockwa participating in the SailMaine parade of boats last year

The regatta starts with a parade of boats that begins in Falmouth and circles by SailMaine. As I watched from my boat last year and witnessed all the vessels with the flags flying, it was an emotional and heartwarming event for me. Big boats, medium sized boats, and small boats with children and their parents all joined in the event together. Casco Bay was all SailMaine that day!!!

Along with the regatta, there is a Festival on Fish Point offering activities for adults and children, an exhibition of sails painted by local artists, a “harbor cruise” course for sailors that want to be involved in the event but are not interested in racing, and a fun post-regatta party with food, music and awards hosted by Portland Yacht Services.

Come join us on the water or at the festival at Fish Point on August 10, and see for yourself how much fun this day is!!  More information and event registration here:  https://www.sailmaine.org/sailmainefest

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