ROCKLAND – Twenty eighth grade students from Kimberton Waldorf School, Kimberton, Pennsylvania, arrived at Rockland Harbor, Sunday evening, May 28, after a 10-hour drive. They were about to embark on a four-day adventure onboard the schooner Victory Chimes.

Kimberton is approximately 25 miles outside Valley Forge and Philadelphia.

Kevin Hughes, dean of school, said they didn't start out headed to Maine, but were glad they had arrived.

"The eighth grade traditionally does a big trip at the end of their year," he said. " Elan Leibner is their teacher. Elan had arranged a sailing trip out of New Bedford, Connecticut. But the boat we had contracted with had contacted Elan and said they were behind schedule. They were waiting on a Coast Guard inspection."

Hughes said the trip was supposed to be last week.

"Indeed, they did contact us and said they would not be able to take us out," he said. "Elan spent two days on the telephone calling up and down the east coast from Virginia to Maine trying to find someone who could take us and the Victory Chimes was available."

Hughes said they looked at the boat and said, “Wow, we lucked out.”

He hopes the students will work on the boat and not just sail.

"We would rather see them work," he said. "It's not for a grade, it a just for fun trip. Last year, the eighth grade did some hiking on the Appalachian Trail. They've done community service type work and planted trees. We always try to incorporate doing something."

Hughes said the students are bright and fun to be around. He said he was sure they would enjoy being on the four-day trip around Penobscot Bay.

A couple of the students said they had been on a cruise ship, but nothing like the Victory Chimes.

The Victory Chimes was built around the turn of the 20th Century. It has a rich history of plying the waters. It was even owned by Domino's Pizza for a while in 1987. Her named had been changed to Domino Effect.

Captain Kip Files and Captain Paul DeGaeta, who oversaw Domino's restoration, purchased the vessel to keep her from leaving the country. They immediately change her name back to Victory Chimes and returned her to the Maine windjammer trade. The Maine Legislature welcomes her back with a special resolution.

Victory Chimes is the only three masted schooner in the Maine Windjammer Fleet.

In 1997, Victory Chimes was named an American National Historic Landmark under the Maritime Heritage Program of the National Park Service.

It's the Victory Chimes that you find on the back of the state's quarter.

Captain Kip Files addressed the group before they boarded the vessel, cautioning them about the toilets, which are mechanical and do not use the amount of water that is used by toilets on land.

"If you didn't eat it, and you didn't drink it and it's not toilet paper, then you cannot put it in the toilet."

That said, Files welcomed the students aboard. He said he was not scheduled to start his season for another week.

"I had two weeks before my first scheduled sail," he said. "When I got your call I decided to take you out and my crew worked hard to complete two weeks worth of work in just five and a half days."

Files invited the students to help with the last-minute tasks, like bending on the last sail, carrying down a small boat and polishing brass.

The students were assigned cabins and spent Sunday night aboard the vessel. On Monday, Memorial Day, after a big breakfast of pancakes, sausage and fruit, the Victory Chimes departed its dock for the students sailing adventure.