Schooner Days: Set sail - Captain Jack style

The tall ship "Lynx" as she enters the Baltimore harbor. Photo by Allen B. Graves

The Virginian-Pilot
© October 14, 2010

By Carrie White
Correspondent
The boat that served as training grounds for Capt. Jack Sparrow and his crew is coming to Portsmouth.
The 122-foot square-topsail schooner Lynx hosted cast members from "Pirates of the Caribbean" for training before the movie. The Lynx and about 40 other tall ships will sail into Portsmouth as they conclude the 21st annual 127-nautical-mile Great Chesapeake Bay Schooner Race from Baltimore.
The first race was in 1990, several years after Norfolk's Capt. Lane Briggs and his Tugantine Norfolk Rebel, the world's only schooner-rigged tugboat, challenged the 1812-era topsail-schooner replica Pride of Baltimore II to a race from Baltimore to Norfolk.

Capt. Lane Briggs Tugantine Norfolk Rebel, the world's only schooner-rigged tugboat.

 "The winner got a case of beer," laughed Jamie Trost, captain of the Lynx and co-captain of the Pride of Baltimore II.
The race moved from Norfolk to Portsmouth about seven years ago. Several days of festivities precede the race's start today in Baltimore. It will end anywhere from 11 to 44 hours later with Portsmouth's Schooner Days festival. (The race officially ends at 10 Saturday morning off Hampton's Thimble Shoal.)
Proceeds from the event go to the Chesapeake Bay Foundation. Portsmouth will celebrate with bands, exhibits, demonstrations and historical tours.
The Lynx was built in 2001 to be a traveling, living museum. The original Lynx sailed one mission during the War of 1812 before it was captured at anchor while waiting to begin its second. It was a privateer, a term that came from the U.S. government's endorsement of privately owned boats to take booty from foreign ships.

Color engraving of the Privateer "Lynx", circa 1813.

 Today the wooden "tops'l schooner" is crafted from Douglas fir, Southern pine and various tropical hardwoods. The cast of "Pirates" spent about a week aboard the Lynx to learn the ropes, Trost said.
On Sunday, the Lynx and the Pride of Baltimore II will host an "adventure sail," with room for about 40 people aboard each ship.

FANTASY MATCH UP
The Lynx won't battle Jack Sparrow's Black Pearl, but we wondered how they would match up.
Size
The Lynx is a two-masted, square-topsail schooner. It is 78 feet long on deck, 72 feet on the water line and 122 feet wide over the spars, and it has a draft of just under 9 feet.
The Black Pearl doesn't have specific dimensions - the original was basically a steel barge fashioned to look like a three-masted boat. For the next three "Pirates of the Caribbean" movies, a ship was built on the hull of another ship.

The"Black Pearl" created for Disney's film "Pirates of the Caribbean"

 Crew
The Lynx can be sailed with nine crew members, although during its heyday it would have carried 60 to 70 crew members "to work the guns, to board enemy ships and just because of attrition," Trost said. Some crew members likely would have died.
The Black Pearl would need about "twice the size of our crew - 120, maybe, although it's hard to say," Trost guessed of the larger vessel.
Sails
The Lynx White, rigged parallel to the ship fore and aft for speed and maneuverability.
The Black Pearl Black, rigged perpendicular to the body or "square-rigged": better for "long journeys on the open ocean," Trost said.
Speed
The Black Pearl is called "nigh uncatchable," but Trost was confident in the Lynx's ability to outrun and outmaneuver the pirate ship.
Hull
The Lynx Black, deadrise hull that shoots straight up (instead of jutting out at almost a 90-degree angle) and was built for speed.
The Black Pearl The jutting "full-bilged" hull, also black, was designed for storing treasure and booty and would be an extreme handicap in a race with the Lynx.
Weapons
The Lynx 6-pound carronades, or smooth-bore, cast-iron cannons.
The Black Pearl 12-pound cannons. "They've got more guns and people, so we'd just run away," Trost said.
Other differences
The Lynx "We can't flip upside down and go into the other realm" like the Black Pearl did in "Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End," Trost said. But then, the Lynx doesn't spend much time in the world of the dead.
Seaworthiness
The Black Pearl Leaky
The Lynx Not
Time in Davy Jones' locker
The Black Pearl Yes
The Lynx No
Captains' (moral) compass:
The Lynx Trost will not barter anyone's soul to captain the boat or win the Great Chesapeake Bay Schooner Race.
The Black Pearl Sparrow bartered his soul to captain the Pearl.

Carrie White, caramine@aol.com

Tall Ships, "Pride II" and "Lynx," Give Baltimore a Blast!

Sailing into Inner Harbor

 Pride of Baltimore II enters the city's Inner Harbor in the company of the Privateer Lynx. Pride II and Lynx sailed into the Inner Harbor at about 12:30 p.m. before going to dock in Fells Point and Canton. 

Watch this video taken during their arrival by clicking on the link below!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F5K5WqKXpFI

 

Pride of Baltimore II viewed from the deck of the USS Constellation as she enters Baltimore's Inner Harbor. Photo By Allen B. Graves

 

The Tall Ship Lynx arrives at Baltimore's Inner Harbor. Photo by Allen B. Graves

 

Privateer Lynx and Pride of Baltimore II Arrive in the Chesapeake Bay

11 October, 2010
Day Five: Mid-coast Maine to Baltimore
1200 Pos. 39° 22.8' N, 076° 03.4' W
79 NM Run since 1200 10 October.
Barometer at 1017Mb and steady
Flat Calm
Anchored at Mouth of Sassafras River off Betterton, Maryland.

'Lynx' position at the time of posting this update.

 A gorgeous and breathless Chesapeake Bay day for Lynx to get some details taken care of before making her second ever arrival to Baltimore tomorrow. And hot – the crew were in shorts for the first time since leaving Chicago six weeks ago! Arriving here in the midnight dark last night, we’ve been swinging lazily with the change of tides ever since. This morning we dragged the carronades out of the bilge and re-rigged them, and tinkered around with rigging work all through the day.

At the moment, we are gearing up to make an arrival into Baltimore tomorrow at roughly noon, in company with Pride of Baltimore II. Together we will salute Ft. McHenry, then carry on past Fells Point – where the original Lynx and Chasseur were built – to the Inner Harbor before securing at our respective docks. Given the amount of time the two vessels have spent together in the last four months, it seems only fitting that we should arrive together in the place we are historically indebted to.

Currently, Pride II is anchored in the Maggothy River, South of Baltimore. We saw her ghosting along off the Jersey Coast yesterday morning, and having waited for the breeze until evening, she sailed up the Delaware Bay last night, then motored past our anchorage just before dawn today. Interesting to see them again underway after over a week and 400nm of parting company.

And tomorrow, we will get to show both the vessels off together once again. But making our rendezvous will mean an early start, so it’s an early night as well.

All best,

Jamie Trost and the nearly to Baltimore Crew of Lynx.

Privateer LYNX reaches the Chesapeake Bay- Destination Fell's Point Baltimore, Maryland

Privateer LYNX en-route to Fells Point Baltimore, Maryland.

10 October, 2010
Day Four: Mid-coast Maine to Baltimore
1200 Pos. 38° 49.1' N, 075° 01.6' W
202 NM Run since 1200 9 October.
Barometer at 1017Mb and steady
Breeze at Force 2, ENE
Seas: < 1'.
Motoring at 1800 RPM, Pitch 2, with Fores'l and Stays'l set in hopes of the forecast Southwesterlies.

Lynx has made it to the Delaware before the Southwesterlies did. In rolling conditions across from Montauk Point to Cape May, we were anxious as to whether we'd encounter another violent onset of wind that could stop us in our tracks or force us to divert. But that weather hasn't arrived yet, and we are inside the relative protection of the Delaware Bay. Some hard pushing, but worth it to make the weather window that was available to us. By this evening, Lynx will be into the Chesapeake and Delaware Canal and on her way to three weeks in the Chesapeake Bay, the very place her ancestors were designed and built and sailed from with great success back in 1812.

The C&D Canal essentially makes one big, connected bay out the Chesapeake and Delaware. But as we motor up the Delaware, the contrast between these two mid-Atlantic Bays is striking. Delaware is wide open and has only one major tributary, making it a little light on coves and bays to thread up and anchor in. Unless your vessel only draws six feet.

The Chesapeake, on the other hand, has tributaries abounding. Lots of little rivers with twists and turns that reveal serene tidewater landscapes and protected anchorages. All these challenging waterways - and the need to navigate them - were part of the reason the Baltimore Schooner design evolved the way it did, allowing for quick turning and nimble navigation. After an action packed six months of voyaging from Florida to Chicago via Gaspe, the crew, and probably Lynx herself, is looking forward to enjoying some of those sedate anchorages.

We'll start with the Sassafras River, the first deep river we'll encounter after the canal. Before we can properly enter Baltimore, there are guns to hoist out of the bilge, stores to re-stow in anticipation of guests for the upcoming Great Chesapeake Bay Schooner Race, and details in the rig to deal with so we're ready for the race. A nice, quite Eastern Shore anchorage is perfect for all of that.

All best,

Jamie Trost and the crew of Lynx

Build and Launch Your Own Skiff During Schooner Days

Schooner Days was created to commemorate Portsmouth Virginia's rich maritime history with a variety of scheduled historical recreation events including demonstrations by shipwright artisans, maritime related musicians, costumed actors and even a hands-on activities.  One of those events is the opportunity to build and launch your own boat. What better way to celebrate Portsmouth Virginia's maritime heritage than by building your own boat on the Elizabeth River.

Joe Filipowski demonstrates the use of a plane to a young boat builder.

 The S.A.I.L. (Straight Ahead In Life) Boat Building Weekend is a unique opportunity to build your own Bevin’s Skiff rowboat during the Schooner Days in just one weekend!  You will be guided through the process by an expert team of S.A.I.L. Straight Ahead In Life wooden boat builders.
You will start on Saturday October 16th and complete your boat Sunday afternoon October 17th in time for a maiden voyage on the Elizabeth River. In addition to boat building, other fun activities such as model boat decorating will be on-hand for the children.

Build a wooden skiff at Schooner Days in Olde Towne Portsmouth, Virginia.

It all takes place in front of Skipjacks Nautical Wares & Marine Gallery on the riverfront at One High Street next to the High Street Landing in Olde Towne Portsmouth, Virginia.  Special thanks to W.F. Magann Corporation for sponsoring the outdoor tent for this event.
The event is limited to ten family/group teams.  Each team will build and take home a Bevin’s Skiff rowboat.  Building teams can be 2 to 6 people with at least one adult.

Here are the boat specifications:

Type: Bevin’s Skiff Rowboat

Length: 12.0 ft.

Width: 4.5 ft.

Weight : 120lbs

Capacity: 460lbs

Your boat features the following: very durable all-purpose rowboat design, room for fishing or camping gear, comfortably carries two adults and two children, oar locks for easy rowing and keel for straight tracking while rowing. Please preview the new S.A.I.L. Straight Ahead In Life Community Boat Building Preview below for information about the upcoming event!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qFHoXlc1b4s

Interested in building your own boat?  Applications can be obtained by contacting Travis Jordan at 757.374.729 or can be mailed to you by contacting the S.A.I.L. staff.
The participation fee for each build team is $500 which includes: Complete boat package, Space to build your boat in the park over the weekend; Instructors on-hand to lead you through the construction process. Your package will include a complete kit of parts and supplies (except paint) to build the Bevin’s Skiff rowboat plus two oars.  (Loaner life jackets will be available for launch)
Sponsorships are available for qualifying families/groups; to apply, please write us a short letter explaining your request.
All you need to bring to the event is your team of family and friends prepared to have fun!

About S.A.I.L. Straight Ahead In Life:
S.A.I.L. Straight Ahead In Life is a non-profit Christian organization dedicated to building the lives of young men and women through Strength, Attitude, Intellect, and Love.
S.A.I.L.'s vision is to develop world-wide programs that empower youth to take hold of their destiny and find their purpose in life as they begin to chart and navigate their future.
S.A.I.L. takes young men and women through the process of boat-building and sailing, and uses it as an educational metaphor for building a successful life.  Participants further their educational development in areas of math, science, history, and English as they learn to build classic wooden sailing skiffs through experiential education. Participants simultaneously learn about self-development as they proceed through the stepwise progression model of the S.A.I.L. program which incorporates core life values found in Strength, Attitude, Intellect, and Love.  These values are strategically emphasized through each stage of the boat-building process and parallel the development found in building a successful life.  Participants also gain leadership and entrepreneurship skill development by building a product (boat), marketing and selling that product.
S.A.I.L. Straight Ahead In Life was developed in 2007 by William Travis Jordan, Doctoral Candidate in Clinical Psychology, Regent University, and is based upon research literature in the areas of psychology, child development, adventure therapy, and experiential education.
S.A.I.L. Straight Ahead In Life currently develops 10 foot to 15 foot, wooden rowing/sailing skiffs designed by Joseph Filipowski. The skiffs are made from Marine-grade African “okoume” hardwood. Proceeds from the sale of the skiffs benefit the S.A.I.L. program, along with the youth who participate in building the boats and receive a percentage of the proceeds.
During the summer of 2008, S.A.I.L. worked with more than 50 youth in the Hampton Roads area through the sponsorship of Operation Blessing. The youth who participated built the “Psalty X”, developed by Joseph Filipowski, which was exhibited at the 4th Annual Virginia In-Water Boat and Sailfest in Norfolk, Virginia.
For more information, contact S.A.I.L. Straight Ahead In Life 110 Kristen Lane Suffolk, VA 22313  Tel. 757.374.7297  E-mail. sail.mk1230@gmail.com;  Their website is www.sailenterprises.org.

 
About Schooner Days
Schooner Days is a celebration of the world’s largest gathering of schooners along the waterfront of Olde Towne Portsmouth. It's held this year in conjunction with the 21st Annual Great Chesapeake Bay Schooner Race from Baltimore to Portsmouth- racing to save the bay!
Schooner Days was created in 2009 to commemorate Portsmouth, Virginia's rich maritime history with a variety of scheduled historical recreation events including demonstrations by shipwright artisans, maritime related musicians, costumed actors and even a hands-on building of a skiff!  Other exhibits will be on hand to bring awareness for the need to preserve and improve the natural resources of the Chesapeake Bay.
For more information, go to www.schoonerdays.com

About the Great Chesapeake Bay Schooner Race
The Great Chesapeake Bay Schooner Race (GCBSR) was founded to promote public awareness of the Chesapeake Bay's maritime heritage and to encourage the preservation and improvement of the bays natural resources.
Proceeds of the race are donated to one or more charitable organizations involved in conservation of the natural resources of the Chesapeake Bay.  To date, $137,624 has been donated to support children's education programs of the Chesapeake Bay Foundation.
The race begins in Fells Point, in Baltimore, Maryland, and ends 127 nautical miles down the Chesapeake Bay in Portsmouth, Virginia.  Entry is open to all schooner-rigged vessels.
More than 40 schooners are participating in this year's 21st annual race.
For more information, go to www.schoonerrace.org

Privateer LYNX Underway- Destination Baltimore, Maryland and the Great Chesapeake Bay Schooner Race

Privateer LYNX en-route to Baltimore, Maryland for the start of the Great Chesapeake Bay Schooner Race.

09 October, 2010
Day Three: Mid-Coast Maine to Baltimore, MD
1200 Pos. 41° 03.5' N, 071° 32.3' W - Due South of Block Island
56 NM Run since Weighing Anchor at 0530 off New Bedford.
Barometer at 1020Mb and falling slowly
Breeze at Force 3, NW
Seas: 2-4' swell out of the WNW.
Motorsailing under Fores'l and Stays'l at 1800 RPM, Pitch 2, 8-9 knots.

A strange week of weather and ship delays for Lynx ended on Wednesday when we departed Boothbay, ME ahead of a North Easterly Gale, and made it to Portland to snug in for 24 hours as the winds veered toward the South West - exactly the wrong direction - at nearly Gale strength, and then eventually moderated while becoming due West. Leaving at sunset on Thursday, 7 October we motorsailed to keep a healthy pace and reach the Cape Cod Canal on a fair tide.

Clearing the canal, we expected to motor into moderate conditions, based on the forecast for W to NW winds 10-15 knots. But in reality, just past New Bedford, we got it handed to us. The breeze was consistently over 25, gusting close to gale force, and worse yet, it was WSW, so dead on the nose. The seas quickly built to nearly 5' and stopped us cold. With no good harbor ahead, we turned back 12 miles to anchor in the famous whaling town of New Bedford at 1630.

Actual position of the Privateer LYNX.

After 11 hours of building, then moderating conditions, we weighed anchor just before dawn and are making all speed toward the lee of the Jersey Coast. Conditions are supposed to be mild and favorable for tonight, but then come contrary again mid-day tomorrow. With luck, we will be into the Delaware Bay and experiencing milder conditions by then. We are hoping for a landfall off North of Cape May, and then follow the coast into the Delaware. It is a bit of a gamble - and appropriately so as Atlantic City's Casinos will likely be our first sight of shore - because there are Southerlies to come later on Sunday. But with luck, we'll get there ahead of them and maybe even use them coming up the Delaware.

The Lynx Educational Foundation is a non-profit, non-partisan, educational organization, dedicated to hands-on educational programs that teach the history of America's struggle to preserve its independence. Visit their web site at http://www.privateerlynx.com/.

The Great Chesapeake Bay Schooner Race- Racing to Save the Bay!

Schooners gather at the starting line near the Chesapeake Bay Bridge.

HISTORY

Reprinted from the GCBSR web site. 

Schooner racing on the Chesapeake Bay is rooted in the trade rivalry between Baltimore, Maryland, at the northern end of the Bay, and Portsmouth/Norfolk, Virginia, at the southern end. The fastest sailing vessels delivered goods and people to their destinations and often garnered the best price for their cargo by beating slower schooners into port. Over the years, commercial schooner designs evolved for the bay's routes — taking into consideration shallow waters, local crops and regional needs, with speed being a primary concern to beat competitively loaded vessels into port. These schooners also played a critical role in our nation's early wars. While there are no cargo-hauling schooners now working the Bay, there are a considerable number of schooners still in use as cruising vessels and privately owned boats.

 Historic view of Victory Chimes underway with cargo below decks.

 

 In 1988, when the City of Baltimore launched her flagship modeled on those earlier vessels, Captain Lane Briggs of the Tugantine Norfolk Rebel — the world's only sail-powered schooner-rigged tugboat — challenged the Pride of Baltimore II to a race from Baltimore to Norfolk, reviving an historic rivalry between schooners, captains and cities on the Bay. With the challenge accepted, the Great Chesapeake Bay Schooner Race (GCBSR) was born.

Captain Lane Briggs with Tugantine Norfolk Rebel under construction.

In 1990, a weekend in October was set aside for what had become an annual event, and yacht clubs at the northern and southern ends of the race volunteered to support the schooners and crews in their efforts.

Over the 19 years of the Great Chesapeake Bay Schooner Race, there have been some incredible races with schooners going to the wire to win. Harsh weather conditions in some of the races have tested the mettle of the vessels, crews and captains. As many as 56 schooners have signed up for a single race, and more than 100 — with vessels from as far away as California - have enjoyed the fall race on the Bay. The 2007 race was the fastest race in this long series. With strong following winds, several schooners set new records for both elapsed and corrected time. The schooner Virginia set a new time to beat of 11 hours, 18 minutes and 53 seconds, beating the previous record of 12:57:51 set by Imagine...! in the 2005 GCBSR.

Schooner Virginia with Pride of Baltimore II trailing behind. Photo by Fred LeBlanc.

 With the growth of the event and the resulting focus on these vintage sailing craft, the organizers and sponsors elected soon after the start of the event to maximize the value of the race in very special ways. The race brings focus to the maritime traditions of schooners on the Chesapeake and brings attention to the environmental issues facing the Chesapeake. All net proceeds of the race are donated to support youth education efforts aimed at saving the bay. This is why the Great Chesapeake Bay Schooner Race is proud to say that we are "Racing to Save the Bay!"