ROCKLAND — What does a captain do, when the schooner he’s been restoring for more than a year needs an anchor windlass, standing rigging and deck hardware to finally return to active to service as a sail training and windjamming adventure vessel in Maine’s Penobscot Bay? Well, if you are schooner Ladona’s owners, Capt. Noah and Jane Barnes, you create the Ladona Limerick Challenge.

The Barneses purchased the 93-year-old schooner in August 2014. The Barnes's have been owners and operators of the schooner Stephen Taber out of Rockland since Noah's parents retired in 2003. Noah has been sailing aboard the Taber since he was 7 years old, as his parents, Capts. Ken and Ellen Barnes, were at the helm for 25 years before their retirement after the 2003 season.

Ladona was originally built in 1922 as a private yacht for ocean racing, came in first in her class in the 1923 Bermuda Cup race and was commissioned by the U.S. Navy to assist in patrolling for submarines during World War II. Formerly named and well-known in the Midcoast as Nathaniel Bowditch, the Barnes’ returned the 82-foot gaff-rigged classic schooner to her original name, Ladona, when they acquired the vessel that had also served time as a dragger in the Connecticut fishing fleet before being rescued by Roger Brainerd, of Union, and Carl Chase, of Brooksville, who relocated her to Maine in 1971. At that time, Ladona was named Jane Doré, before being named Nathaniel Bowditch by Brainerd and Chase.

As the Barneses move closer to their goal of putting the renamed, reclaimed, refurbished and renewed windjammer back into service offering multi-day trips to tour around and visit the islands and shorelines of Penobscot Bay, they announced the limerick fundraiser to help them get there.

In a news release, they said, “Many who hold her dear have graciously asked what they can do to help with her rebirth. In response [we] have announced The Ladona Limerick Challenge as a fun way to provide the opportunity to contribute to Ladona's legacy and a chance to win passage for two on any trip in the 2016 season.”

The entry fee is $100 for the first limerick and $50 for each additional limerick. Proceeds will help pay for critical remaining gear necessary for Ladona's return to active service, they said in the release.

Limericks should be loosely topical: “They do not have to be about the restoration, anything topical will do.”

The to-be-named Maine “celebrity” guest judge will select the winner of the double cabin trip for two, which includes all cruise expenses except transportation to Rockland. Select limerick submissions and photographs from Ladona's inaugural season will be published in a future book. In addition, 30 finalists will also be selected and will receive a free copy of the book, signed by the captain and restoration principals.

The contest runs through Jan. 31, 2016. Winners will be announced Feb. 28, 2016. For more information or to enter, visit schoonerladona.com/contest.html.

Related stories:

• The Ladona gets rebuilt, stem to stern, keel to deck, to rejoin windjammer fleet

• Familiar faces hard at work to resurrect the historic schooner Nathaniel Bowditch

** Limerick. (n.d.). The American Heritage New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition. Retrieved Nov. 11, 2015, from Dictionary.com website: dictionary.reference.com/browse/limerick.