My View of Life on the Dock
Joey… Let’s see who can identify this speedy old schooner. The photo is from GREEN DRAGON during a Gloucester Schooner Race.
Al Bezanson
For more info about the Gloucester Schooner Festival Check Out The Chamber of Commerce website-
Gloucester Schooner Festival Information
You will find this poster and much more at the Essex Shipbuilding Museum. Two good books on the topic:
A Race for Real Sailors “Bluenose and the International Fisherman’s Cup 1920 – 1938” by Keith McLaren
Caught in Irons “North Atlantic Fishermen in the Last Days of Sail” by Michael W Santos
The 28th Annual Gloucester Schooner Race will be upon us September 2nd.
Al Bezanson
For more info about the Gloucester Schooner Festival Check Out The Chamber of Commerce website-
Gloucester Schooner Festival Information
Thank you, Al Bezanson for the story of the beautiful schooner Bald Eagle. Here’s a shot of her in the Schooner Festival parade in 2010.
–Len Burgess
Marvelous Sunset Sunday NIght 8/19/12
–Len Burgess
Fred Bodin submits-
Nanette Benoit, Ginny Renehan, Fred Bodin Jaa Goduti, Major Marshall Plavan USAF, and girlfriend Fanony Buleje at Bodin Historic Photo during the second Block Party of 2012. Fanony left with the ‘sticka," and promises to represent from Machu Picchu when she visits her home in Peru.
Can you identify this schooner?
Hint – the photo is from GREEN DRAGON in one of the previous 27 Gloucester Schooner Races.
Al Bezanson
For more info about the Gloucester Schooner Festival Check Out The Chamber of Commerce website-
Gloucester Schooner Festival Information
Al Bezanson and I are determined To GET YOU INVOLVED IN WHAT SHOULD BE ONE OF THE TOP EVENTS HELD ALL YEAR IN THIS FINE PORT!
Joey…. TYRONE has a local connection as this schooner was designed by Sam Crocker of Manchester. This year she will be sailing in her first Gloucester Schooner Race in the Medium Class with ADVENTURER, ARDELLE and LANNON. She was built in 1939 at Simms Brothers in Dorchester, MA. Last month she was featured at the Crocker Memorial Race in Manchester and here you see Harold Simms, owner Matt Sutphin and Sam Crocker’s great grandson Skip Crocker. Harold was 14 when TYRONE was built. He had us enthralled at the Crocker event with fond recollections of Sam Crocker and building TYRONE.
Matt recently began a chartering operation and is seeking passengers for the race and the coming and going to Gloucester.
http://www.chathamclassicyachtcharters.com/
TYRONE is one of the featured schooners in this new book
Al Bezanson
For more info about the Gloucester Schooner Festival Check Out The Chamber of Commerce website-
Gloucester Schooner Festival Information
photo courtesy Cape Ann Museum
Fred writes-
joey – here’s the schooner with a broken mast on top of city hall. the copper model was created by washburn on rt. 114 in 1989 and donated to the city by the cape ann savings bank. this pic was taken just before she was hoisted up to her place of honor. it is, of course, the elsie, built in 1910 by a.d. story in essex. gordon thomas, in fast and able, called her "one of the greatest." if anyone can help bring her down for repairs, step forward! a model of the elsie by cape ann master craftsman erik ronnberg is on display at the cape ann museum. it’s a beautiful thing…
infamous fred
This post is in response to our August 16th photos from David Cox showing the Elsie weathervane in serious peril below-
Posted on August 16, 2012 by Manuel Simoes
Joey ….. When you look left from the end of your dock and you may see this schooner on her mooring in Smith Cove. BALD EAGLE will be racing again this year on September 2nd in the Small Schooners Class vying for the Betty Ramsey Plate along with ESTRELA, GREEN DRAGON, IRENA, LEWIS H STORY AND SUGAR BABE. Amy Beaudet got this photo from GREEN DRAGON in the 2011 race. Here are some words from her owner.
“BALD EAGLE was designed and built by two men whose names are associated with sea-kindly and beautiful wooden vessels: Crocker and McIntosh. Sam Crocker designed more than 300 vessels. Bud McIntosh was a designer and builder of large and small cruising boats for more than 50 years and built many Crocker designs. Her graceful lines were taken from Gloucester fishing schooners. BALD EAGLE came out of McIntosh’s Piscataqua River boatyard in 1955. She is 37’ on deck, white oak frames, mahogany planking, fir spars and two tons of iron on the bottom of her full keel. She is gaff rigged, carrying a Yankee (jib) off her bowsprit, staysail, foresail and mainsail. Her name, BALD EAGLE, is because she is a bald headed schooner, carrying no topmasts. Her wheel is from the Lunenburg Foundry, her mast hoops were made by the skipper. In 2001 she spent 10 months in Harold Burnham’s boatyard in Essex getting an extensive rebuild that included replacement of 80% of her frames, 20% of her planks, new deadwood, cabin house and decks.”
Al Bezanson
WHERE?
Joey …. Schooners will be arriving for the Festival in less than two weeks. For some it will be a trek, but getting here can be half the fun. Sometimes. Depending on the breeze.
GREEN DRAGON is a ‘local’ boat but we are not always local. Here we were bound for the Festival. WHERE is this?
From Al Bezanson
The "Highlander Sea" an historic Essex built schooner now at the Gloucester Marine Railways from Len Burgess
Get ye over to the Gloucester Railways and see this Starling Burgess beautifully designed gaff-rigged topsail schooner that was built in 1924 in Essex, Massachusetts by J.F. James and Sons. She was designed in the typical Grand Banks tradition with a spoon bow, round bilge and full keel. Originally christened PILOT, she served 47 years as a Boston pilot ship. For a period of that time she served along side the pilot ship ROSEWAY.
In the 1970’s she was purchased to circumnavigate the globe. She got as far as Fiji and in 1976 was sold. Her next owner renamed her STAR PILOT and obtained a US Coast Guard certification to serve as a school ship. She passed ownership again in 1998. Then soon after sailed from San Diego, California, to Nova Scotia. In Nova Scotia she had a major refit and was used as a training ship for young seafarers. At that time her name was changed to HIGHLANDER SEA. In 2002 the vessel was purchased by her current owners. In 2004 she had a major refit. The HIGHLANDER SEA now serves as the community tall ship for Port Huron, Michigan.
Length 121’9"; Beam 25′; Draft 13’10"; Rig height: 131 feet; Sparred length: 154 feet; Sail area: 9,728 sq feet; Power: Twin Detroit diesel 8V-92, 350 HP each; Built in Essex, MA in 1924; Major refit in 2004; Builder J.F. James & Son; Now for sale at $2,000,000.
–Len Burgess
Schooner Adventure Gets A New Prop
Photos from Bruce Slifer
Tide Skipper From Ruth Curtis
Hi there Joey, I just love this boat in the Smith Cove and took the liberty of taking out the other boats ..
Ruth Curtis
Kellie Rich submits-
Double sunset 8-14. The lower one reflecting off the inner harbor between Captain Joe and sons and Cripple cove. I’m asking santa for one of those Sony Rx thingamajiggers!
Gloucester Harbor Schooner Race From Len Burgess
Last Monday evening was the first race between two schooners built by Master Shipwright, Harold Burnham, the Thomas E. Lannon Captained by Tom Ellis and the schooner Ardelle captained by Harold Burnham.
It proved to be great fun for all. Besides the schooner race itself, there was a lively contest between the ships guest crews for the best chanty song, knot tying, photography and a lifesaving test.
Here’s a few shots… and there is a slide show at…
–Len Burgess
The Brilliant was built in 1932, and is 61.5 feet long. She was designed for speed, and set the record for a Trans-Atlantic crossing for a vessel of her size at the time. This is an ocean-going, sail powered speedboat if ever there was one. As you can see, there was good wind during this Gloucester Schooner Race, where one competing schooner blew out her topsail, and there were a few green-looking photographers on the Committee/Press boat. Schooner Brilliant will compete in the Gloucester Schooner Races this year.
As with all historic schooners, paying passengers are essential to support the cost of Schooner Brilliant, sailing from her home port of Mystic (CT) to Gloucester, during the race itself, and the trip back to Mystic. Any leg of this voyage would certainly be an experience of a lifetime! I urge you to support Brilliant the other schooners during our annual Gloucester Schooner Races: Mystic Seaport: The Museum of America and the Sea™ : Sail Overnight on Schooner Brilliant For more information and to book passage call: 860-572-5331
Fred
Amandacakes writes-
http://www.historicnewengland.org/historic-properties/homes/Beauport/beauport
Bruce Slifer Submits-
The crew over in Burnhams Boat Yard in Essex building a new boom for Adventure !
2012 Schooner Festival with Adventure
HI Joey!
You’ve been in my gallery to see the ‘catch’ exhibit last yr, this yr., I’m featuring a guest artist to show with me –in my gallery: TUSINSKI GALLERY 2 Main St., Rockport, Ma
I’m hanging her work this Thursday evening so it will be up for the weekend, with a reception Sept.1st, 5-7 p.m.
Folks can re-visit my works, & ck out Kate’s amazing paintings as well ::: she will have several fish paintings that look just swimmingly!
Over ten years ago Kate & I used to share studio space for 3 yrs. in the former Blackburn Bldg….we had great views of ‘Fiesta’ as you can imagine.
http://www.karentusinskigallery.blogspot.com/
Melissa Cox Forwards-
Tracie Simonin writes-
While in Gloucester we will be opening to the public for dockside tours of
the ship during the Gloucester Schooner Festival. The cost will be $10
per adult, $5 per child and seniors and children under 5 are free. We
pride ourselves on bringing the ship to new places and sharing the story
of the Mutiny on the Bounty and what it is like to sail a traditional
square rigged vessel from the 1780’s. Although we are not a schooner, we
were anxious to be a part of the schooner festival that weekend and share
the Bounty with the town of Gloucester!
We would love it if you could share this info on your blog site. In the
meantime, feel free to link to our website where we too have a wonderful
blog that could get people excited about reading first hand from a crew
member her experiences with sailing with the ship this summer. Our link
is www.tallshipbounty.org.
Tracie Simonin
Director
HMS Bounty Organization, LLC
631-584-7900
www.tallshipbounty.org
Good morning, Joey:
As a longtime reader and friend of the blog, I know you are heavily into community service.
Each year, the members of Sandy Bay Engine Company 1 of the Rockport Fire Department raise money for a scholarship to honor the memory of one of our former officers, the late Fire Lieutenant Sheldon Knowles. Sheldon passed on many years ago, way too young, from the ravages of cancer but is still remembered by our department as a firefighter/EMT who served the town with a pride and a commitment to which we all aspire.
This year, the Engine Company is once again sponsoring a harbor cruise fundraiser on Cape Ann Whale Watch’s Hurricane II. I was hoping you could post the attached flyer on the blog to assist us with this.
Thanks very much for your help and for doing such a great job in promoting what’s truly the experience of living on Cape Ann .
Regards,
Capt Kris Juncker, Sr
Sandy Bay Engine Company 1
Rockport Fire Department
‘On Call Professionals Serving the Community with Pride.’
Hi Joey…… I managed to get this photo of ROSEWAY in the 2006 Gloucester Schooner Race from GREEN DRAGON. She is Essex-built, in 1925, and was purchased by the Boston Harbor Pilots in 1941. The pilots also worked from the schooner PILOT built at the same yard in 1924. Now that schooner is called HIGHLANDER SEA, berthed right here at Rocky Neck Railways.
I feel slightly connected to these two schooners for in 1962-63 I lived on Long Wharf with GREEN DRAGON right adjacent to the pilots office. The schooners alternated on station for a week, year round, and were a regular sight standing off Nahant under trysail. I think it was Monday mornings one or the other came alongside Long Wharf briefly to drop off or board pilots, and on one occasion I caught a glimpse from our window of ROSEWAY during a whiteout snowstorm.
Here is a 1963 Polaroid photo from our Long Wharf apartment looking over GREEN DRAGON’s masts at T-Wharf. The cooling water outflow from the Quincy Market Cold Storage warehouse kept the slip ice-free and we sailed year-round. This site is now occupied by Larry Cannon’s Waterboat Marina.
Al Bezanson
Ardelle vs Lannon From Bruce Slifer-
Great time last night on the Ardelle. Challenge race/knot tying/chanty singing/man overborard contest–wound up in a dead heat (right Tom?).
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Hi Joey,
Here’s a shot of the Gloucester Harbor Schooner Challenge just after it started Monday night!
Enjoy, ~Bill O’Connor North Shore Kid
Good Morning Gloucester 