Virginia (schooner)

Last updated
Schooner Virginia Chester River MD2.jpg
Virginia on the Chester River in 2013
History
Flag of the United States.svg United States
NameVirginia
NamesakePilot schooner Virginia
OwnerCity of Norfolk and the Nauticus Foundation [1]
BuilderTri-Coastal Marine
Completed2005
HomeportNorfolk, Virginia
Identification
General characteristics
Displacement160 long tons
Length122 ft (37 m) overall; 84 ft (26 m) at waterline
Beam23.8 ft (7.3 m)
Draft12.25 ft (3.73 m)
Depth19.5 ft (5.9 m)
PropulsionSails; two auxiliary 120 bhp engines [2]
Sail planTwo-masted schooner, seven sails: gaff mainsail, gaff foresail, two gaff topsails, fisherman's staysail, staysail, two jibs
Crew10
Notes6,438 square feet (598.1 m2) sail area

Virginia is a wooden schooner that is a modern replica of an early twentieth century pilot vessel of the same name. She conducts educational programs and passenger trips along the Eastern Seaboard of the United States and Canada, and in the Caribbean.

Contents

The original Virginia

The original schooner Virginia was commissioned by the Virginia Pilots Association and designed by naval engineers Cox and Stevens. Pilots Association president William Rowe Boutwell instructed the designers to model the vessel after the America's Cup competitors of the day. She was built by A.C. Brown & Son of Tottenville, Staten Island, New York, and was completed in 1916. Although steamboats were readily available at the time, Virginia was built with no engines so as to maintain the pilots' sailing skills and train new apprentices. [3]

Virginia served actively as a pilot vessel during World War I. Following the war, she was fitted with two 75 hp diesel engines, which necessitated a shortening of her fore boom to accommodate a smokestack.

In 1939, Virginia was sold to Walter K. Queen of Boston. She was sold again in 1944, and in 1945 was sold to her final owner, William H. Hoeffer of New York. In 1947 she was reported "stranded." [3]

The modern Virginia

The replica Virginia was commissioned by the Virginia Maritime Heritage Foundation and built, with about $5 million in state and federal funding, [4] by Tri-Coastal Marine in Norfolk, Virginia. [5] She was completed in 2005. [6] She is a gaff rigged knockabout schooner, meaning she lacks a bowsprit; her headsails can be handled and furled from the deck.

In 2004, the Virginia Senate deferred a bill that would establish the Commonwealth of Virginia as a co-owner of the Virginia. [7]

In 2007, Virginia was awarded a $10,000 grant from the United States Department of Justice's Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Program, by way of the American Sail Training Association, for her youth sail training programs. [8]

In 2014 it was reported that Virginia was for sale, [9] with an asking price of $1.8 million. The Virginia Maritime Heritage Foundation's sail-training programme was proving unsustainable, it costing about $1 million a year to run the schooner. [4] In 2016 a listing on YachtWorld.com showed Virginia's asking price as $1.5m. [10]

Programs

In the summer, Virginia offers week-long educational programs for boys and girls aged 13–17. In conjunction with the professional crew, the trainees help to sail, maintain, and navigate the ship. [11] Virginia also provides scholarships to allow underserved youth to participate in these programs. [7]

Virginia also carries paying guests between various destination points. [12]

Virginia has raced in the Great Chesapeake Bay Schooner Race several times. [13]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Schooner</span> Sailing vessel

A schooner is a type of sailing vessel defined by its rig: fore-and-aft rigged on all of two or more masts and, in the case of a two-masted schooner, the foremast generally being shorter than the mainmast. A common variant, the topsail schooner also has a square topsail on the foremast, to which may be added a topgallant. Differing definitions leave uncertain whether the addition of a fore course would make such a vessel a brigantine. Many schooners are gaff-rigged, but other examples include Bermuda rig and the staysail schooner.

<i>Bluenose</i> Unbeaten racing schooner

Bluenose was a fishing and racing gaff rig schooner built in 1921 in Lunenburg, Nova Scotia, Canada. A celebrated racing ship and fishing vessel, Bluenose under the command of Angus Walters, became a provincial icon for Nova Scotia and an important Canadian symbol in the 1930s, serving as a working vessel until she was wrecked in 1946. Nicknamed the "Queen of the North Atlantic", she was later commemorated by a replica, Bluenose II, built in 1963. The name Bluenose originated as a nickname for Nova Scotians from as early as the late 18th century.

<i>Californian</i> (schooner)

Californian is a 1984 replica of the United States Revenue Marine cutter Lawrence, which operated off the coast of California in the 1850s. On July 23, 2003, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger signed Bill No. 965, making her the "official state tall ship" of California.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tall Ships America</span> Sail training association

Tall Ships America (TSA), previously known as the American Sail Training Association (ASTA), is the largest sail training association in the world and a founding member of Sail Training International. From starting with a handful of vessels sailing the New England waters, Tall Ships America has grown into an international institution with more than 250 tall ships and sail training vessels representing 25 different countries and navigating all the world's oceans. TSA was founded on April 3, 1973, by Barclay H. Warburton III, following his return from the Tall Ships Races in Europe in 1972 where he joined the USCGC Eagle with his brigantine Black Pearl as the first US vessels to participate in the races.

<i>America</i> (yacht) Racing yacht; 1st winner of the Americas Cup

America was a 19th-century racing yacht and first winner of the America's Cup international sailing trophy.

<i>Bluenose II</i> Canadian racing schooner

Bluenose II is a replica of the fishing and racing schooner Bluenose, commissioned by Sidney Culverwell Oland and built in 1963 as a promotional yacht for Oland Brewery. Sidney Oland donated the schooner to Nova Scotia in 1971 and it has since operated as a sailing ambassador and promotional device for Nova Scotia tourism. In honour of her predecessor's record, Bluenose II does not officially race.

<i>American Pride</i> (schooner)

American Pride is a three-masted schooner built in 1941 by Muller Boatworks in Brooklyn, New York. It was administrated by the Children's Maritime Foundation (CMF), her home port is Long Beach, California. She is easily recognized by her bright ochre sails.

<i>Zodiac</i> (schooner)

Zodiac is a two-masted schooner designed by William H. Hand, Jr. for Robert Wood Johnson and J. Seward Johnson, heirs to the Johnson & Johnson pharmaceuticals fortune. Hand intended to epitomize the best features of the American fishing schooner. The 160-foot-long (49 m), 145-ton vessel competed in transatlantic races. In 1931 the vessel was purchased by the San Francisco Bar Pilots Association, brought from the Atlantic, modified and placed in service as the pilot vessel California serving as such until retired in 1972.

Spirit of South Carolina is a "tall ship" built and home ported in Charleston, South Carolina. She was owned and operated by Tommy Baker and Michael Bennett till March 2016, when they donated it to the "Spirit of South Carolina Inc" a 501(c)(3) not for profit foundation. The Spirit of South Carolina is a certificated Sail Training Vessel, providing experiential education programs for the youth of South Carolina. Interdisciplinary programs focus on math, science, history and literature of South Carolina, and our relationship to the water.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sail and Life Training Society</span>

The Sail and Life Training Society (SALTS), founded in 1974, is a non-profit Christian organization based in Victoria, British Columbia. SALTS provides sail training and life lessons for 1,700 young people each year on tall ships and provides a valued link to the area's maritime heritage. Currently, SALTS administrative offices are located on Herald Street in downtown Victoria, with a shop space located nearby in the Rock Bay area.

<i>Maple Leaf</i> (schooner)

The Maple Leaf is a schooner built in 1904, making it British Columbia's oldest tall ship. In 1906, the Maple Leaf was the only Canadian vessel to qualify for the first ever Trans-Pac sailing race, which was slated to take place in San Francisco but never took place due to the massive earthquake that occurred in that year.

<i>Victory Chimes</i> (schooner)

The three-masted schooner Victory Chimes, also known as Edwin and Maud or Domino Effect, is a US National Historic Landmark. She is the last surviving Chesapeake Ram schooner. The boat on the Maine State Quarter is meant to resemble the Victory Chimes.

<i>Argo</i> (yacht)

S/Y Argo is a two-masted Marconi rigged schooner. She is owned and operated by Seamester Study Abroad Programs as one of three sail training vessels the company operates. Argo is certified and inspected by the British Maritime and Coastguard Agency as a Category “0” vessel, allowing her unrestricted operation in the world's oceans. She is registered in Road Town, Tortola, British Virgin Islands.

<i>American Spirit</i> (schooner)

American Spirit is a 65-foot gaff-rigged, steel-hulled schooner. She is owned and operated by the National Maritime Heritage Foundation in Washington, D.C. and is used as a "floating classroom" for teaching District of Columbia-area students about sailing and maritime history. American Spirit is also used for excursion cruises and private charters.

<i>S/Y Manitou</i>

Manitou is a 62-foot-long (18.9 m) performance cruising yacht designed and built for racing on the Great Lakes and specifically to win the Chicago-Mackinac Race. It notably served as a presidential yacht for United States president John F. Kennedy and was known as the "Floating White House." Manitou was built in 1937 at the M. M. Davis & Son shipyard in Solomons Island, Maryland. It was Design No. 99 of naval architects Sparkman & Stephens, who built many America's Cup racing yachts.

<i>Moses H. Grinnell</i> (pilot boat) Sandy Hook Pilot boat

The Moses H. Grinnell was a 19th-century pilot boat built in 1850 for the New York maritime pilots. She was designed by the yacht designer George Steers. The Grinnell was the first pilot boat to feature a fully developed concave clipper-bow, which was to become the New York schooner-rigged pilot boat's trade mark. This new design was the basis for the celebrated yacht America.

<i>Coquette</i> (pilot boat) Boston Pilot boat

The Coquette was a 19th-century yacht and pilot boat, built in 1845 by Louis Winde, at the Winde & Clinkard shipyard in Chelsea, Massachusetts for yachtsmen James A. Perkins. Her design was based on a model by shipbuilder Dennison J. Lawlor. The Coquette was a good example of an early American yacht with a clipper bow. As a yacht, she won the attention for outsailing the larger New York yacht Maria at the second New York Yacht Club regatta in 1846. Perkins sold the Coquette to the Boston Pilots' Association for pilot service in 1848. She continued as a pilot boat until 1867 when she was sold as a Blackbirder to be used on the African coast.

<i>Thomas F. Bayard</i> (pilot boat) Delaware Pilot boat

The Thomas F. Bayard was a 19th-century Delaware River pilot schooner built by C. & R. Poillon shipyard in 1880. She spent sixteen years as a pilot boat before being sold during the Yukon Gold Rush in 1897. She was sold again in 1906 for Seal hunting, then purchased by the Department of Marine & Fisheries where she guided freighters into New Westminster, British Columbia for 43 years. She was then acquired by the Vancouver Maritime Museum in 1978. When she sank at her mooring in 2002, the International Yacht Restoration School, Mystic Seaport and the Vancouver Maritime Museum, removed the vessel in pieces for the archeological teams to study and document the remains of her hull. The Thomas F. Bayard Collection, at the Vancouver Maritime Museum, contains the documents, history and preservation efforts.

<i>William Starkey</i> (pilot boat) Boston Pilot boat

The William Starkey was a 19th-century pilot boat built in 1854, by Benjamin F. Delano at the Thatcher Magoun shipyard for W. W. Goddard, of Boston. Starkey helped transport Boston maritime pilots between inbound or outbound ships coming into the Boston Harbor. She was named for Captain William Starkey, one of the founders of the Boston Marine Society. The Virginia Pilots' Association purchased the Boston schooner William Starkey in 1865, where she became a pioneer of the associations' fleet and the oldest pilot boat on the Atlantic and Gulf coasts. In the age steam, she was sold in 1899 to Thomas Darling of Hampton, Virginia.

<i>Harvey Gamage</i> (schooner) Gaff rigged schooner launched in 1973

The Harvey Gamage is a 131' gaff rigged schooner launched in 1973 from the Harvey F. Gamage Shipyard in South Bristol, Maine. She was designed by McCurdy & Rhodes, Naval Architects in Cold Spring Harbor, New York and Frederick W. Bates of Damariscotta, Maine. She is a USCG inspected vessel both as a passenger vessel and a sail training vessel. As governments of maritime countries recognise Sail Training as an essential component of developing and maintaining an essential merchant marine force, the US Congress created a special service category of vessel for Sail Training and the Harvey Gamage is one of a handful of vessels licensed for this service. She has been educating students at sea along the east coast of North American almost continuously since her launch. She has 14 staterooms accommodating 39 people, including 9 professional crew, 22 youth sail trainees and up to 4 adult chaperones. As a training vessel, she takes crews of students along the eastern seaboard, from her home port in Maine to various destinations ranging from The Maritimes to the Caribbean

References

  1. "Schooner Virginia | Nauticus & the Battleship Wisconsin".
  2. Tri-Coastal Marine's Virginia profile
  3. 1 2 Schooner Virginia history, from the Virginia Maritime Heritage Foundation
  4. 1 2 Applegate, Aaron (15 June 2015). "For $1.8 million, the schooner Virginia could be yours". Virginian-Pilot . Retrieved 2016-04-23.
  5. Tri-Coastal Marine's construction of Virginia, with structural photographs
  6. Coast Guard registration for Virginia
  7. 1 2 Virginia bill tracking 2004
  8. "Schooner Virginia Awarded Grant from The American Sail Training Association (ASTA) for it Youth Sail Training Program" (PDF) (Press release). 2007-04-07. Retrieved 2008-09-05.
  9. "Schooner Virginia Will Go Up for Sale". SpinSheet. July 25, 2014. Retrieved 2016-04-23.
  10. "2005 Custom Sail Training Schooner Sail Boat For Sale". YachtWorld.com . Archived from the original on 2016-02-09. Retrieved 2016-04-23.
  11. Virginia's youth sail training programs
  12. Virginia's guest passages
  13. Ayo, Julius (October 13, 2021). "Schooner Virginia wins 2021 Great Chesapeake Bay Schooner Race". Wavy.com . Retrieved December 19, 2022.