"On April 9, 1921, a schooner came down the ways at Hodgdon Brothers in East Boothbay, Maine, one schooner within a long line of schooners, but unlike any other before or since. For the Bowdoin was built with an unusual mission, and cat-like, she has lived several lives.

The schooner's design and construction were carefully considered and well-executed, although neither was radical for their day. The vessel is unique today because of her specialized purpose - she is heavy and carries less sail for her displacement than most schooners because, in addition to the obvious ice hazards, the Arctic is known for having either no wind at all or too much.

Through seven decades, so many of the people who have sailed or worked on the Bowdoin hold her in a special place in their hearts. Their lives were affected by her; she brought something significant to them. 'The Bowdoin is the best,' say more than one of her people, or 'the Bowdoin is special.'

The Bowdoin first crossed the Arctic Circle on August 23, 1921. A place unknown to most of the world, the Arctic had had few visitors from the South. Only sixteen years before, the goal of many generations of Arctic explorers had been reached when a northwest passage was traversed - a route which was, practically speaking, unusable, and after the construction of the Panama Canal, no longer necessary. Peary's North Pole expedition was merely a dozen years past. The last few Hudson's Bay and Davis Strait whalers had made their final trip home two years before.

The Bowdoin sailed north with Macmillan two dozen times, carrying scientists, adventurers and students. On July 30, 1991, again with students aboard, she came full circle, crossing once more to the sea where the summer sun never sets.

The past informs the future; for many, the journey to the far north mirrors a journey into themselves. It has been a long time since the Bowdoin was on the leading edge of science, but her contributions to those fortunate souls who sail with her are as great as ever. In people's search beyond the horizons, they can profit from looking to the past. The Bowdoin was a part of the quest for understanding for decades and now, under the ownership of Maine Maritime Academy , she has turned to her own milieu, the North."

Virginia Thorndike