For the second year in a row, Round Pond children and grownups gathered around the harbor at 6 p.m. on Nov. 26, the Friday after Thanksgiving, in hopes of glimpsing the mysterious Christmas Ship. Local legend says that Christmas Ships often visit ports where folks are known to be kind.
As in 2020, a small lone vessel with sail alit appeared in Round Pond Harbor weaving back and forth within its confines. Bells rung on land signaling the tiny ship and the ship replied with its bell. However, unlike the 2020 visitation of the Christmas Ship, the ship arrived early and disappeared in Muscongus Bay around 6 p.m. leaving the harbor just as some spectators were arriving.
The first mate was responsible for timing and sends sincere apologies to both the captain and the disappointed folks who came out in the damp and cold to see the dancing Christmas Ship.
Whether the Christmas Ship will shine a light next Black Friday at 6 p.m. in Round Pond Harbor is unknown at this time. But if the mysterious ship does appear, those gathering to “ring the bells that still can ring” can be assured that all attention will be paid to accurate timing.
