Schooner Lois McClure - Canal System in '07

This summer the canal schooner Lois McClure drew the attention of 30,000 visitors to the Hudson River. Perhaps next summer she can work the same magic for the 524-mile New York State Canal System.

A canal boat that drew 30,000 visitors when it toured the Hudson River this summer will sail on the New York State Canal system in 2007 to draw tourists to businesses in canal towns. The "Lois McClure," a replica canal schooner, was built by the Lake Champlain Maritime Museum in Vergennes, Vt.
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The Lake Champlain Maritime Museum is committing the "Lois McClure" to the 2007 tour because the museum's educational mission includes teaching the public about the importance of the canal system in the region's maritime history, said museum director Arthur Cohn. Canal schooners were designed to sail from New York City up the Hudson River, be towed by a mule through the Champlain Canal, and then sail up Lake Champlain to a final destination, Cohn said. These boats were the long-haul trucks of the 19th century.

Boat will promote tourism along 524-mile canal system - The Business Review (Albany):

The news was announced at the 2006 New York State Canal Conference last weekend. The Lois McClure is an 88 foot two-masted schooner, a replica of a sailing-canal boat. Take a look at the Lois McClure website for information about the Louis McClure, canal schooners in general, and the remainder of the 2006 schedule (look for her in Grand Isle, VT, and Plattsburgh, NY)

K W Kerr

technorati tags: tall+ship, schooner, Lois+McClure, NY+Canal+System

Windsor, Ontario - The Tall Ship Fair Jeanne Is Coming!

The residents of Windsor, Ontario will have the chance to sail on and tour the Fair Jeanne this coming weekend, before she continues on her way to the Caribbean.

Sep 29, 2006 to Oct 2, 2006 - The famous Tall Ship from Ottawa, Ontario named The Fair Jeanne will be docked at Dieppe Gardens Sept.29-Oct.2nd for tours and to pick up passengers for trips going to Chicago and all the way to the Caribbean!

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The Fair Jeanne will be docked in Windsor at Dieppe Gardens for the weekend of September 29th to October 2nd; Sailing from Windsor to Cheybogan October 2 to October 6th; and from Cheybogan to Chicago October 9th to October 13th. Please refer to the website for the stops along the way to the Caribbean!

Voice of Windsor - Independent News in Windsor, Ontario » Square-Rigged Tall Ship Sailing

The Fair Jeanne is a 110 foot A-Class brigantine based in Ottowa. She was built on the Ottowa river in Captain Fuller's backyard, and has logged over 150,000 miles since she was competed in 1982.

Check out the ASTA video, below. I can see the Canadian flag on a ship at the front of the group -- the Fair Jeanne!!



Fair winds & following seas,
K W Kerr

technorati tags: tall+ship, brigantine, Fair+Jeanne

Tall Ship News - Schooner Amistad Coming to Poughkeepsie

Tall ship fans - mark this on your calendars. The Schooner Amistad will be in Poughkeepsie for two weekends in October. Along with ship tours, there will be lots of other exhibits and events. Check it out at the Poughkeepsie Journal:

Dutchess County's role in the Underground Railroad and its history of using slaves on farms will take center stage next month when a replica of a ship that has become a symbol of slavery in the United States visits Waryas Park in Poughkeepsie. A replica of the 19th-century schooner Amistad, a ship that in 1838 was the site of a slavery rebellion, will dock at Waryas Park Oct. 12-14, then sail to Kingston before returning to Poughkeepsie for another stay, from Oct. 19-21.

PoughkeepsieJournal.com - 1800s slave ship coming to valley

Thank you to John W. Barry and the Poughkeepsie Journal for telling us about this.

Fair winds & following seas,
K.W. Kerr

Related Tags: tall ship, schooner, amistad

Tall Ship News - Schooner Meerwald in Delaware

Hi, K W Kerr here -

I'm helping out Heidi with posting vintage yacht and tall ship news links here from time to time, and for the past week I have been watching the news about the tall ships in Lewes, Delaware. The Sail Lewes Festival is part of the Lewes 375th anniversary celebration. Five tall ships gathered in Lewes over last weekend, giving tours Friday through Sunday.


Today a great article was published in the Delaware Coast Press, highlighting the A.J. Meerwald. It was nice to see an article with some history, some crew comments, and good photos. The history of the vessel in particular was well covered:

After being restored, the A.J. Meerwald was launched in 1996 as an education vessel. The Meerwald was no longer sailing the Delaware Bay in search of oysters, but as crew member Cheyenna Weber explained to curious passengers, it does have a rich history in that industry. According to Weber during the 19th and early 20th century oysters were not considered the delicacy they are today. "They were kind of like French fries," Weber said. From 1928 to the early 1940s the Meerwald made its way around the bay hunting for oysters. In 1942, Weber said, the vessel was commandeered by the Coast Guard in order to assist in World War II efforts. Most of the Meerwald's sails were removed and it was used to fight fires. After the war was over the Meerwald was given back but it had no sails. Weber said it was used as an oyster dredge under power until 1957 when a parasite struck the oyster industry. "It devastated the oyster population," Weber said. "The oyster industry was completely out of luck." In 1959 Weber said the Meerwald was sold and was converted into a clamming boat. Unfortunately the Meerwald was not meant for this type of work and became damaged. In the 1970s the A.J. Meerwald was retired until it was donated to the Bayshore Discovery Project in 1989. Through the project the A.J. Meerwald was historically restored, much of the work done by volunteers. In 1996 the boat was ready to sail the seas once again and began its work as an educational vessel. In 1998 New Jersey named the Meerwald its official tall ship.

Tall ships commemorate 375th anniversary - Delaware Coast Press - delmarvanow.com

Thank you to Adam Donnelly and the Coast Press for this article. The Meerwald crew gave 47 passengers the chance to experience sailing on an oyster schooner.

The five tall ships participating in the festival were the A.J. Meerwald, the Alliance, Marland Dove, Kalmar Nyckle, and Virginia.

Classic Yacht News - Vintage Sails at Imperia

Vintage Sails is the fourth stage of the Panerai Classic Yachts Challenge 2006 Circuit. News just in the third day of the event finally resulted in good weather and a beautiful race. I have been looking at photos, and there are so many gorgeous classic yachts, I hardly know where to begin. I have posted here this nice photo of Moonbeam and Mariquita (click the link for the giant version). Thanks to Franco Pace and the Panerai Classic Yachts Challenge for that photo.

Sun, mild eastern wind, rough sea and finally a beautiful race, for the third day XIV Edition Vintage Sails, fourth stage of the Panerai Classic Yachts Challenge 2006 Circuit. Along the Porto Maurizio’s wharf movements since morning, ready the crews to set sail thanks to the good weather. The Comitato di Regata chose a coasty route with the bowline buoy in front of Capo Berta and the stern one in front of San Lorenzo al Mare. The finishing line has been set between a buoy and the harbour wharf. The race start has been at noon, with 8-9 knots of wind, going increasing until 10-12 knots along the day. The rough sea with southern roller made difficult the regatta for the 132 boats: big work on board, uneasy tactics choices, sailing close to the wind with unusual glides on good waves, wide rate with a lot of pitch against the waves.

http://www.bymnews.com/new/content/view/35311/48/

Thank you to Fabio Colivicchi for this article reporting the third day of racing. Dennis Connor is there in Cotton Blossom II. The big news is the contest between Cotton Blossom II (15 meters) and Bona Fide, 13 meters with gaff rig, built in 1899

I have found a fantastic page of photos of Liguria, Italy. Scroll to the bottom for lots of great pics of the classic yachts from the 2004 Panerai. Take a look also at the Panarai website. Many great classic yacht photos there as well (I don't speak Italian though).

K W Kerr

technorati tags:Vintage-Sails, classic-yacht

Welcome to the Classic Sailmaker blog!

Good morning fellow sailors! Welcome to the Classic Sailmaker blog, this is the place where I want to share information about traditional sailmaking, ships, schooners and sailboats of all sizes.