Friendship…after hours

I look forward to getting out for night photography when the weather warms up!  This is a night shot of The Friendship docked at Pickering Wharf in Salem.

The Salem East Indiaman Friendship was launched in 1797. She made 15 voyages during her career to Batavia, India, China, South America, the Caribbean, England, Germany, the Mediterranean, and Russia. Built for the Salem mercantile firm Waite and Peirce in the South River shipyard of Enos Briggs, she ended her activities as an American merchant vessel when she was captured as a prize of war by the British Sloop of War HMS Rosamond in September 1812.

The Friendship of Salem that now sits at Pickering Wharf is a 171-foot replica of the 1797 East Indiaman. It was built in 2000 in the Scarano Brothers Shipyard in Albany, New York. The shipsually operates as a stationary museum ship during most of the year. But it is a fully functioning United States Coast Guard-certified vessel capable of passenger and crew voyages; it makes special sailings during various times of the year. The Friendship of Salem is docked at the Salem Maritime National Historic Site, established in 1938 as the first such site in the United States. The site, which includes several structures, artifacts and records, is operated by the National Park Service.