Looks like the Appledore has some die-hard fans. Pennsylvania resident Lisa Kelley had been standing around the Camden wharf waiting all day for the schooner Appledore to finally arrive for the summer season. 

“I’ve been here since 11 a.m.,” she said.

It was now about 4:30 p.m. and people could see the masts of the 86-foot wooden windjammer, wending its way past Curtis Island.

“I’ve been coming here for 20 years with my parents,” she said. “And I’ve been on the Appledore every single summer.”

Kelley, wearing the Appledore T-shirt, craned her neck to see glimpses of it. Pretty soon, a large boom cracked across the harbor, the cannons fired, signaling its arrival.

Owner John McKean stood nearby, waiting for the crew to arrive. It took nearly two weeks to bring her up from Key West and celebration was in the air.

The Appledore is officially back. Now, summer can start.

Kay Stephens can be reached at news@penbaypilot.com