Margaret Radcliffe: Knitting on the High Seas

Every September, author Margaret Radcliffe sets sail for a week of knitting off the coast of Maine.

I just finished my favorite business trip of the year: sailing for one week on the historic J. & E. Riggin for the Maine Knitting Cruise.

Knitters ready to sail!

On this wooden ship, we ate wonderful food (locally sourced and cooked on a woodstove in the tiny galley) and enjoyed the hospitality of the two captains and the entire crew.

Ample sun to knit by

I love the intimacy of our small group. There are only about fifteen knitters, and sharing meals and living quarters for seven days lets us get to know each other and build a community. As a teacher, I love that I can wait for the “teachable moment” to show someone a new technique at the exact moment they need it, and that my cruise companions have the whole week to ask me questions they might not have thought of before.

Is there a better way to spend a week?

This year the weather was good, so we spent most of our time out on the deck, knitting while the rocky Penobscot Bay landscape slipped by; enjoying the sun, wind, and waves; and listening to the hum of the rigging. At night we slept in quiet, protected anchorages while a cold nip in the air after sunset and clear skies full of stars reminded us that fall was arriving and urged us to get on with our knitting.

All smiles

Photos courtesy of the author

Margaret Radcliffe is the author of The Knowledgeable Knitter (new!), The Knitting Answer Book (2nd edition — forthcoming), Circular Knitting Workshop, and The Essential Guide to Color Knitting Techniques. Find Margaret on her website and on Facebook and learn more about Maine Knitting Cruises on Facebook or the Maine Windjammer website.