Classic Sailmaker: Tall Ship News, Oct 16, 2006

A couple of things today: The Salinas Californian reports the Lynx was at Moss Landing for tours last weekend. That's a great photo. And The Delaware News Journal reports on the nomination of the skipjack Martha Lewis for Historic Site registration.

MOSS LANDING - Dozens of land lubbers and young, aspiring swashbucklers Friday stepped onto the deck of the Lynx, a replica of an early 19th century tall ship once used to train the crew and actors of the film "Pirates of the Caribbean." The 122-foot square top-sail schooner, built in 2001, sailed into Moss Landing Harbor with its main battery firing on Friday afternoon. She will offer dockside and adventure sails to the public through Sunday. The Lynx is an interpretation of the original Lynx, a privateer built to serve in the War of 1812. She represents a "letter of marque" Baltimore Clipper, considered one of the finest privateer schooners ever built, said Matt Oates, the ship's chief mate. The Lynx sails the West Coast today as a living history museum complete with period ordnance and flags and a crew of eight in period uniforms. Jarod Pompey, 6, of Salinas brought a costume of his own Friday, walking the deck dressed as a pirate with a hat and a plastic sword. "I like the ship's cannons," Jarod said, referring to the ship's main battery of 6-pound carronades, or short-barreled cannons, that fired upon the ship's entrance to Moss Landing. Oates said recent films like "Pirates of the Caribbean" and "Master and Commander" have renewed interest in the historic ship touring industry. Prior to filming, crew and actors from "Pirates of the Caribbean" learned about sailing a period pirate ship aboard the Lynx's decks. For the Pantzloff family of Watsonville, visiting historic tall ships in Moss Landing has become a tradition. "I got to steer the captain's wheel!" exclaimed Marcus Pantzloff, 6, as he stood next to his mother, Margaret, 10-year-old sister, Analise, and her two classmates Mari Nagaoka and Alysia Martinez. The Lynx ship also will take area schoolchildren on educational trips Monday and Tuesday before departing Wednesday morning. The ship was launched July 28, 2001, in Rockport, Maine. Her port of registry is Portsmouth, N.H.

Salinas Californian - www.thecalifornian.com - Salinas, CA

The last remining vessel to work under sail in North America has moved closer to being registered as a National Historic Site. Last week, the Governor’s Consulting Committee for the Maryland Historical Trust voted unanimously to nominate the Skipjack Martha Lewis, a working oyster dredge based in Havre de Grace, Md., for registration by the National Park Service. The next step in the process, which takes 6 months to a year to complete, is for the ship to be accepted by the National Park Service.