CAMDEN — The Camden Yacht Club invites the public to four free Wednesday evening seminars in July and August.

The one-hour presentations will offer unique takes on boating in Penobscot Bay and beyond. Each program will start at 7 p.m. and include time for questions and answers:

July 5: Sailing and Writing: A Half Century of Adventure. Lifelong adventurers Bob and Mary Rubadeau will share video footage of a 2007 expedition to Cape Horn and highlight experiences that have inspired their stage performances, books, articles, video productions, and writings. 
 
July 12: Storm Warning – Behind the Scenes. Joe Sienkiewicz, Ocean Applications Branch Chief of the NOAA/NWS Ocean Prediction Center, will explain how technological advances are helping his team watch the Atlantic and Pacific 24/7 to issue weather warnings and forecasters for mariners.  

July 26: CIRRUS – A Case Study in Spirit of Tradition Design. Boat Designer Bob Stephens of Belfast-based Stephens Waring Design will explore the finer points of melding the aesthetics of classic or traditional yachts and working craft with the latest in modern technology, naval architecture, and structural design and materials. His talk, focusing on the 68-foot sloop Cirrus, will include images by top marine photographers, including Camden’s own Alison Langley.

August 23: Girl Turned Lobsterman. Sadie Samuels, who captains the F/V Must Be Nice out of Rockport Harbor, is one of the few Maine women with commercial lobster fishing licenses. Samuels learned the trade from her dad, made it her own, and established a retail business selling fresh lobster and prepared foods. This young entrepreneur will explain how she works from sunrise to 10 p.m. for months on end, energized by the joys, perils, and vicissitudes of commercial fishing. 

 
The seminars are free and open to the public. For more details, visit https://www.camdenyachtclub.org/sunset-seminars

The Yacht Club, at 68 Bay View Street in Camden, hosts the nonprofit Camden Area Youth Seamanship Program (CAYSP), which serves area youth regardless of their ability to pay. Donations for CAYSP scholarships will be welcomed at the seminars or on the club’s website.