Tag Archives: historic vessel
Effort builds to save historic legacy of sardine carrier ‘Jacob Pike’
At one stretch in Maine’s maritime history, the sardine was as mighty as the lobster, a fishery that employed thousands along the coast. Sardine canneries were a common sight beside busy harbors, and carriers plied the Gulf of Maine, especially in the warmer months. Thomaston was in the thick of the industry, a boatbuilding hub for sturdy fishing vessels that included the Jacob Pike. “The sardine industry back in the days was a big deal, rivaling what lobsters are today,” said Rockport Marine owner Taylor Allen, who himself spent several years restoring and then relaunching in 2020 the William Underwood, a sardine carrier built in 1941. “A lot of real estate along the coast was bought up by captains back in the day.” The Jacob Pike, built in 1949 at the Newbert and Wallace yard in Thomaston, was in the thick of it all from launching day. Photos, more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 06:41
Fire Dept. Honored On 5th Anniversary of Saving Historic Workboat from Flames
It is nearly five years to the day after a waterfront fire threatened to destroy a beloved 1931 workboat. Thanks to the hard work of local firefighters, the deck boat is still around. Those firefighters were honored last weekend for their role in saving history. The York County and City of Poquoson fire departments were recognized at the Yorktown Workboat Races for their remarkable effort on June 12, 2019 in saving the 55’ deck boat Linda Carol from fire. The Linda Carol was moored beside the Surf Rider Restaurant in Poquoson when the restaurant caught fire and was totally destroyed. Surrounded by raging smoke and flames, firefighters working from boats and shore kept the fire from spreading to the Linda Carol and other vessels by constantly spraying water on the boats. Photos, more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 08:39
Christmas Comes Early: Reedville Fisherman’s Museum Gifted Historic Draketail
Reedville Fishermen’s Museum (RFM) has a special new resident at its dock. The museum was recently gifted a 99-year-old Chesapeake deadrise draketail boat with a unique dolphin nose stern by Bill and Beverly Pickens of Ware Neck, Va. Guests will have a chance to take tours on her beginning next year. Fannie is 36’ x 6’ x 2’6” and was built in 1924 by Charles Spencer. He built two boats of this style in his yard at Brick Inn on Main Street in St. Michaels, Md. One of the boats was named Fannie, after his daughter. The draketail stern, sometimes called a Hooper’s Island draketail because so many of this design was built in that area, was modeled after early motor-powered racing launches and torpedo boats. photos, more, >>click to read<< 06:20
Call for the return of historic 232 year-old boat Peggy to Castletown
Peggy is the only surviving vessel of its kind and one of the few remaining boats from the 18th Century. Calling for the return of the schooner to Castletown, Tony Brown said there was “no enthusiasm” from Manx National Heritage (MNH) to do so. Built in 1789 for Captain George Quayle, who was an MHK for 51 years, the vessel remained hidden in a walled-up cellar following his death. After being discovered it was given to the Manx Museum in 1941, and the site was opened as a Nautical Museum 10 years later, with the boat in situ. The boat was lifted out for conservation in 2015 amid concerns over the ongoing corrosion of the structure by the incoming tides in the cellar. >click to read< 12:19
Righting John Steinbeck’s Storied Ship, Western Flyer Gets a Plank-by-Plank Restoration and Soul Re-Infusion
In 2013, the fishing vessel Gemini, a purse seiner built in 1937, was hauled up from the bottom of the Swinomish Channel in the Pacific Northwest. The event wouldn’t have drawn much attention had this old wooden fishing boat not had such a storied past. In 1940, the novelist John Steinbeck and his friend, marine biologist Ed Ricketts, chartered the sardine fisher under the name Western Flyer,,, Luckily, when the boat sank for what was the third (or maybe even fourth) time in her history, she was not far from Port Townsend, the Northwest’s hub of wooden-boat restoration. The Western Flyer soon found a home at the Port Townsend Shipwrights Co-Op, and her new owner started a nonprofit foundation to oversee an ambitious—and expensive—restoration project. >Video, photos, click to read< 20:19
