Meet Our Fleet

Friend Ship and Wild Rose are classic sailing sloops featuring bronze hardware, intricate rigging, and rich, highly detailed woodwork reminiscent of a time gone by. Lake Champlain is exceptional sailing territory for these historic ships. Our knowledgeable crew members have a wealth of knowledge, stories, and legends that make this region so historically unique and interesting.

Sailing Lake Champlain In Classic Style

19th Century Design

Originally designed in 1904 for lobster and cod fishing in Maine, Friend Ship and Wild Rose are traditional, wooden-rigged Friendship Sloops. The folks in and around Friendship, Maine honed a design that could get them home in any kind of weather and were safe and sturdy enough to hold a good day's fishing haul. Due to their stability, comfort, and charm, Friendship sloops are the perfect vessels for experiencing Lake Champlain under sail.

Jarvis Newman built Friend Ship and Wild Rose in his Southwest Harbor, ME workshop

The Dictator under major renovations in Jarvis Newman's workshop.

The Dictator - The original 1904 Friendship Sloop from which our ships were replicated

Sailing Into The Past

On a gaff-rigged Friendship Sloop

Except for their capacity and seating space in the cockpit, our ships are so similar that most folks can't tell them apart!

Sometimes, in order to make things work logistically, we adjust public cruise reservations from Friend Ship to Wild Rose and vice versa.