Some Sailing History in the Present

I went to the 14th Downrigging Weekend event at Chestertown, Maryland on Sunday, November 3. It was a bit chilly and windy on the river so not all the ships\boats went out for the morning sail and none of them let out all their sails, but it was bright and sunny. Below are photos of some of the boats that participated. All of these vessels are involved in educational programs. I've linked the names of the ships\boats (in bold) to their websites. This event is near the end of the sailing season, so look for them again in the spring.  Except for the Kalmar Nyckel, the rest of the vessels do represent something of a history of sail on the Chesapeake from the late 1700's to the early 1900s.

Kalmar Nyckel

Kalmar Nyckel

Recreation of a three masted square rigged gun-armed merchant ship or "Dutch Pinnace"

Original was built around 1625 in Holland and carried the first Swedish settlers to the Delaware River in 1638. And it made three more successful trans-Atlantic voyages.

Original had 12 six pound cannons and 2 swivel guns

Reproduction built in 1997

Sparred length 141 feet

Rig Height 105 feet

168 Gross Tons

Draft 12 feet 5 inches

Home port is Wilmington Delaware

Sultana

Sultana

Recreation of a topsail schooner 

Original was built in Boston in 1767 and purchased by the British Navy in 1768 and sailed the Atlantic coast preventing smuggling and collecting duties for four years, enforcing the "tea tax"

Original had 8  1/2 pound swivel guns

Reproduction built in 2001

Sparred length is 97 feet
Rig Height 70 feet

43 Gross Tons

Draft 8 feet

Home port is Chestertown, Maryland

Pride of Baltimore II

Pride of Baltimore II

Recreation of a topsail schooner known as a "Baltimore Clipper". A number of such ships served as privateers in the War of 1812 The first recreation, the Pride of Baltimore was lost at sea in a storm in 1986.

The Chasseur, one of the more famous Baltimore Clippers had 16  12 pound cannons

Reproduction built in 1988

Sparred length 170 feet
Rig Height 107 feet
97 Gross Tons
Draft 12 feet 4 inches
Home port is Baltimore, Maryland

Schooner Virginia

Schooner Virginia

Recreation of a two masted, gaff topsail schooner, the last pure sailing vessel used by the Virginia Pilot Association to train pilots in the Chesapeake Bay between 1917 and 1926. It was the first tall ship built on the Norfolk waterfront in 80 years.
Reproduction built in 2004
Sparred length 126 feet
Rig Height 112 feet
98 Gross Tons
Draft 12 ft 3in
Home port is Norfolk, Virgina

Lady Maryland

Lady Maryland
Recreation of a Pungy Schooner, a two mated gaff-rigged schooner. They were built originally between the mid to late 1800's. The name is believed to derive from the Pungoteague region of Accomack County, Virginia, where the design was developed in the 1840's. They were use for in oystering and carrying cargo like watermelons, tomatoes, fish, peaches, grain, mail and lumber. She is the only Pungy Schooner in the world.
Reproduction built in 1985
Sparred length 104 feet
Rig Height 92 feet
60 Gross Tons
Draft 7 ft 6 in
Home port is Baltimore, Maryland

Skipjack Sigsbee

Sigsbee
I don't have my own good picture of the Sigsbee because I was on her when I took the other pictures. Sigsbee was originally built in 1901 and dredged oysters for 88 years. She is named for Charles Sigsbee, the commanding officer of the USS Maine, sunk in Havana harbor in 1898. Sigsbee was the first skipjack captained by a woman in the early 1980s.
Built in 1901
Sparred length 75 feet
Rig Height 65 feet
25 Gross Tons
Draft 3 ft
Home port Baltimore, Maryland