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Think exciting cruises are only in the Caribbean? Try a cruise off the coast of Maine for something different and fun.

As rain clattered down on the bare granite shores of Nameless Island, petite blonde Alexa pushed back the hood of her poncho to admire the rainbow arcing above Northhaven. Shaun and his sister Frankie, sophisticated preteens from Long Island, New York, were too busy ripping apart pink soft-shell lobsters to put on their parkas. Regan, dragging his new L.L. Bean rain jacket across boulders and clusters of wildflowers, raved about the excellence of the barbecued burgers. Sarah was trying in vain to make the others listen as she pointed out north, south, east and west as we cruised off the coast of Maine.

Ignored, she watched ominous clouds swirl overhead as warm droplets, backlit by the setting sun, bounced off her olive skin. Though her sense of direction had been impaired by Maine's extraordinary summer weather, her importance to the schooner Isaac H. Evans had not. Five of the 22 guests enjoying this rustic lobster bake hosted by the windjammer's captain were under 12 years old.

That's pretty typical for the restored 114-year-old vessel, one of thousands of schooners that once hauled granite, ice and other cargo along Colonial America's eastern coast. Schooners (sail-powered ships whose rear mast is equal to or greater than any other mast) had been used since the 1700's for their speed and ease of operation by a small crew. The Evans, which was launched at the Mauricetown, New Jersey shipyards in 1886, had spent her first career oystering in Delaware Bay.

These dignified tall ships dominated Atlantic trade until the turn of the century. Once steam-powered cargo haulers began to outrun them, they earned the derisive nickname "windjammers" and quickly declined in use. In 1936, Captain Frank Swift of Maine, a painter by avocation, became intrigued by the abandoned schooners and envisioned their sails billowing above Maine's headlands once more. He cleaned out two derelict cargo ships, curtained off men's and women's areas in the hold, and invited paying guests aboard for a week-long "rusticators" cruise of Penobscot Bay.

As his classic adventure business thrived, the name 'windjammer' evolved into a compliment. A few other captains who had refurbished and renovated scrapped schooners formed the Maine Windjammer Association in 1977. Two of the vessels (Grace Bailey and Mercantile) in this 13-ship fleet, the largest in North America, date back to Captain Swift's original rusticator cruises.

Since her own restoration and refit to accommodate guests more comfortably, the Isaac H. Evans has been unique in welcoming children above 6 years on every sailing. The Evans' Captain Walker, or Brenda as the kids know her, is one of five women captains in the fleet, berthed along Rockland, Rockport and Camden harbors. As owner of this mid-sized National Historic Landmark (65 feet on deck), the single, young ex-banker saw that she could fill a niche in Maine's popular cruising market by welcoming children.

"Some of the vessels, such as the Timberwind and the J.& E. Riggin accept children on special family sailings," she explained. "I like to have them aboard all season. In fact, all 21 guests on my last four-day cruise were part of a family reunion, and ranged in age from 4 to 91!"