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Don your foul-weather gear, ready your thumbs, and hoist your sails (mechanically). The Spruce Point Inn Cup is about to begin!
Midcoast Maine has lured vacationers from the crowded ports of Boston and New York for centuries. Steamer service started in the 1870s, attracting rusticators looking to escape the hot summers of both urban centers. At first, these vacationers were office workers ready to swap office life for the thrill of a fish on a line. Or a cooling ocean breeze paired with a whiskey in hand (sounds pretty leisurely). Soon, more people followed, and rustic lodges dotted the rugged Maine coast.
This is about when, in 1892, the main building of the Spruce Point Inn was built as a hunting and fishing lodge on the outer edge of Boothbay Harbor. It soon became a tea house and inn operated by Mrs. Holland, adding a touch of refinement to the Spruce Point peninsula. She was ever resourceful–when Prohibition hit in the 1920s, fine whiskies were substituted with locally distilled juniper berries.
The Inn expanded by buying private cottages nearby and adding on to the original hunting lodge. These upgrades have attracted the likes of many New England politicians, the Kennedys included! Contemporary weekenders continue to make memories at the Spruce Point Inn, within the very rooms built one hundred years ago.
This storied inn continues to birth new traditions. Or have you forgotten about the fabled Spruce Point Inn Cup?
Model yacht races have graced the Maine coast since the early 1900s when model schooners drifted the seas. Remote control racing started in the 1940s, and today, over 80 micro vessels are registered with the Maine Model Yacht Club.
The Spruce Point Inn Cup race takes place every June in the open waters of Boothbay Harbor. It is one of a series of events that take place during Windjammer Days, a multi-week-long celebration that welcomes the start of summer. (A Windjammer, for the landlubbers, is a multi-mast sailing ship). Skippers, Captains, and Commodores alike attempt to outsail one another, with their remote control techniques of course. The rules are simple–the fastest boat around the course wins. But no foul play! Lazy thumbs and reckless sailing will be given a penalty-and you don’t want your mechanical sailors to mutiny for bad leadership!
Now fetch your gin, take a seat (since you can’t ride the boats themselves), and watch to see who will add their name to the Spruce Point Inn Cup.
