Locals and tourists alike will be encouraged to travel to the 4-Port Loop communities and all the adjoining towns and historical societies in between. Visit 4portloop.me to download a map of riverfront picnic, launching and viewing sites and a historical site map to use with the app.

Penobscot Maritime

Heritage Association

P.O. Box 123

Orrington, Maine 04474

Leave message or text: 207-745-7748

The Waters of the Penobscot are Alive with Activity!

Penobscot Maritime Heritage Association (PMHa) is bringing the Pentagoet tug boat from Maine Maritime Academy and the U.S. Coast Guard's ice breaker Tackle to the Bangor Waterfront for FREE onboard tours July 22-23, 2022. These in-the-water vessels will join smaller historic on-land vessels and displays in the Exhibit Tent... all commemmorating the maritime history of the lower Penobscot River basin.. and all FREE! PMHa are planning to bring schooners and tall ships back to the Penobscot River in 2023! The Tall Ships, Harvey Gamage and the Maine's First Ship are expected to ply the waters in July, 2023!

Friday, July 22 • 12 Noon-6 p.m.

Saturday, July 23 • 10 a.m.- 12 Noon

FREE dockside Tours of the Pentagoet & the Tackle

FREE onshore displays in Exhibition Tent • Crusie Ship Dock #5

Educational & Career Opportunities

See a handcrafted 40' birch bark canoe!

Sailing Ships Maine (Harvey Gamage) & Maine's First Ship (Virginia) Displays!

Artist Ken Hendrickon's select Maritime paintings"

4-Port Loop information and more!

Food Trucks • Photo opportunities

The Pentagoet is the heart of Maine Maritime Academy's tug and barge operations program. It provides students with unique hands-on opportunities on the waters of Penobscot Bay to learn and practice the art of hawser towing, towing alongside, and a wide range of close-quarters boat handling skills. The Academy acquired the Pentagoet, formerly the Jekyll Isle, in 1984. Built by Gladding and Hearn in 1980, she has a beam of 24.5 feet and is equipped with two Caterpillar C18 ACERT Tier 3,670 horsepower each, for a total of 1342 horsepower.

The Rockland based U.S. Coast Guard cutter Tackle, serves many purposes, but one of the things the ship and crew does best is crush ice. The Tackle, a small harbor tug, is responsible for domestic icebreaking in the midcoast Maine area, including the Penobscot Bay, Penobscot River, and Kennebec River, as well as maintaining over fifty aids to navigation including several lighthouses, search and rescue, operations and law enforcement. It takes toughness and skill to handle the icebreaking operations on the Penobscot and other Maine rivers. The tugs are capable of breaking 18 inches of ice with propulsion ahead and 21 inches) of ice backing and ramming. The Tackle, along with other ice breakers in Maine's fleet, the 140-foot Thunder Bay from Rockland, the 65-foot Bridle from Southwest Harbor and the 65-foot Shackle from South Portland, carry out the Coast Guard's mission to clear a navigable path through frozen rivers, making sure that important commerce interests can reach their destination or that critical flood control measures are enacted, all for the good and well-being of Maine residents and our nation as a whole.

Penobscot River Boat Tours will be on hand help you plan trip down the scenic Penobscot River aboard the A'Boat Time, a 1991 Eastern 27. Regular tours are 2 hours and take up to 6 passengers. Longer trips travel into Penobscot Bay and cruise under the famous Penobscot Narrows Bridge and by Fort Knox and even take a ride during one of Bangor's waterfront concerts or events! Capt. Sennett can make this happen.

See a 42' ceremonial long canoe build, and meet the builder, Ken Weeks! The birch bark canoe will be under construction LIVE under the tent. See the amazing craftsmanship underwayin a remarkable educational experience.

Sailing Ships Maine will have information about their educational program aboard the schooner, Harvey Gamage, which is planning to visit the Penobscot River in 2023. Sailing Ships Maine creates life-changing opportunities for teens of all abilities and income levels to discover the ocean environment and expand leadership skills while encouraging them to consider further maritime training.

Maine's First Ship, the Maine-made 51-foot replica of the 1607 pinnace Virginia, will have a display and prepare guests for an anticipated visit in 2023. The Virginia was the first English ocean-going vessel built in the Americas. This reconstruction has been done by volunteers in and around the Bath Freight Shed in Bath Maine. The Virginia meets Coast Guard requirements allowing it to be used as a floating classroom for students of all ages.

Interested in carers on the water? Find out how to achieve your goals with representatives from Maine Maritime Academy and the U.S. Coast Guard.

The 4-Port Loop and Penobscot Maritime Heritage Association will be on hand also.

In The Exhibit Tent

Artist Ken Hendrickson of Rockport, Maine will be showing a special selection his maritime paintings. These large format works of art will surely impress.