Butch Harris, Owner and Builder of the 115 ft. Schooner – Halie & Matthew at Portland Yacht Services This Afternoon.
Fast Forward to 6/25/2025. The Halie & Matthew was Launched From Portland Yacht Services, Portland, This Afternoon at 3:00 pm For Her Return to Her Homeport of Eastport.
The 115 Ft. Schooner Halie & Matthew at Portland Yacht Services to be Launched Next Week for its Return Trip to Eastport. It’s Probably the Largest Fiberglass Schooner to be Maine Built.
It’s about 200 miles from Portland to Eastport by land. Next week Butch Harris, 59, one of the owners and the builder of Halie & Matthew plans to launch his 115 ft. two masted gaff rigged schooner from Portland Yacht Services on the west end of Portland. From here he will take the shorter route back to his home port of Eastport – by sea. Butch hopes the sail back will take him about 25 hours – depending on weather conditions – winds, tides, etc.
Butch, who comes from a boat building family, built this fiberglass schooner back in 2006 with the original purpose of overnight cruising and as a vehicle for whale watching. This year, following a break, he is returning to a 2 l/2 hour whale watching & wine daily trip. Before him, his father founded and owned Passamaquoddy Yacht Co. in Eastport where he built several thousand commercial boats according to Butch.
Whale watching is very popular in Eastport Butch said this afternoon as he took a break from painting the bottom of Halie & Mathew; named for his two children. It was recently certified by the US Coast Guard to carry 100 passengers in this capacity.
The reason whale watching is so popular in Eastport is because there are so many of them in the area. Easport borders the Bay of Fundy which is home to dozens of whales – humpbacks, finbacks, minke and an abundance of other marine life and bald eagles.
The reason there is an abundance of whales off Eastport is the cold water, a plentiful supply of food and because the Canadian government regulates the whale population more strictly than its US counterpart. HIs passengers come from all over the world, not just Canada and the US Butch said. There are two other boats, both lobster boats, in his fleet of whale watching boats.
“There is no other boat like it on the east coast,” said Butch. “She has 10 state rooms with a private head and shower for each state room.”
The historic Campobellow Island, in New Brunswick, Canada is just off the Maine coast. It was a summer home to President Franklin D. Roosevelt. It can be seen from Eastport. A passport is needed to visit the historic site.
For details on this “Whale Watch & Wine” opportunity, please call (207) 853-2500.