THE FLEET

 

KALMAR NYCKEL - State Ship of Delaware
Wilmington, Delaware
Full-rigged ship, 141' sparred length, 25' beam, 168 gross tons
Owner - Kalmar Nyckel Foundation

The Kalmar Nyckel is a re-creation of the first colonial Swedish settlement ship to arrive in America at what is now Wilmington, Delaware. Launched in the fall of 1997, this ornately carved 17th century reproduction ship sails seasonally, carrying out her mission of goodwill. The vessel provides hands-on educational opportunities for school children and serves as Delaware’s official tall ship ambassador.

 


photo courtesy of
Aloft Aerial Photography

PRIDE OF BALTIMORE II
State Ship of Maryland

Baltimore, Maryland
Square Topsail schooner, two masted, 170' sparred length, 26' beam, 97 gross tons
Owner - Pride of Baltimore, Inc.

Pride of Baltimore, II was commissioned in 1988 two years after the original Pride of Baltimore fell victim to a violent squall and was lost along with her captain and three crew members. Modeled after the famous Baltimore clippers, Pride II sails the globe as Maryland’s goodwill ambassador.

 

SCHOONER VIRGINIA
State Ship of Virginia

Norfolk, Virginia
Two-masted pilot schooner 122' sparred length, 24' beam, 99 gross tons
Owner - Virginia Maritime Heritage Foundation,

The schooner Virginia is a reproduction of an early 20th century Virginia pilot schooner, originally used to help guide vessels into Virginia’s ports at the mouth of the Chesapeake Bay. Launched in December 2004, the Virginia is one of the newest Tall Ships in the United States.

 

AMISTAD
New Haven, Connecticut
Square topsail schooner, two masts, 129’ sparred length, 23 beam Owner - Amistad America, Inc., New Haven Connecticut\

Amistad is a recreation of La Amistad, a vessel that was commandeered by Africans who had been captured in 1839. The Africans were subsequently recaptured and then involved in a famous Supreme Court case that led to their return to Africa in 1841. The vessel is used as a classroom to foster discussion about the impact of the trans-Atlantic slave trade and related issues

 

A.J. MEERWALD - State Ship of New Jersey
Bivalve, New Jersey
Two masted Oyster Schooner, 115’ sparred length, 22’ beam, 57 gross tons
Owner- The Bayshore Discovery Project

Built in Dorchester, New Jersey in 1928, the A.J. Meerwald is an authentic, restored Delaware Bay oyster schooner built specifically for that industry. Named New Jersey’s official Tall Ship in 1998, the A.J. Meerwald promotes Delaware Bay’s oystering history and offers experiential educational opportunities throughout Delaware Bay and the Mid-Atlantic region.

 

LADY MARYLAND - Living Classrooms Foundation
Baltimore, Maryland
Two masted Pungy schooner, 104' sparred length, 22' beam, 60 gross tons
Owner - Living Classrooms Foundation

The schooner and flagship, Lady Maryland, is a full-scale reproduction of a traditional 19th century Chesapeake Bay cargo schooner called a pungy. Lady Maryland is part of a fleet of vessels owned by the Living Classrooms Foundation dedicated to teaching about the history and environment of the Chesapeake.

 

SULTANA - Sultana Projects, Inc.
Chestertown, Maryland
Topsail schooner, two masts, 97' sparred length, 17' beam, 43 gross tons
Owner - Sultana Projects, Inc.

Sultana is a reproduction of her 1768 namesake used by the British Royal Navy to enforce the notorious tea taxes in the years preceding the American Revolution. Built in Chestertown and launched in 2001, the new Sultana’s mission is to educate students of all ages about the history and ecology of the Chesapeake Bay.

 

SKIPJACK ELSWORTH
Chestertown, Maryland
Two-sailed bateau (skipjack), 72' sparred length, 18' beam, 23 gross tons
Owner - Echo Hill Outdoor School

Owned and operated by Echo Hill Outdoor School in Worton, Maryland, the 1901, 72-foot oyster-dredging skipjack Elsworth is one of a handful of skipjacks remaining on the Chesapeake Bay. The Elsworth is currently used to provide live-aboard educational programs in environmental science and Chesapeake history.

 

MILDRED BELLE - Living Classroom Foundation
Baltimore, Maryland Chesapeake Bay
Buy-boat
Owner - Living Classrooms Foundation

Traditionally used to bring oysters to market and haul local seafood and produce, "buy-boats" were once a common sight on the bay. Mildred Belle is one of the few that remain and is part of a fleet of vessels used by the Living Classrooms Foundation to teach students about the Chesapeake Bay.

 

SKIPJACK LADY HELEN
Chestertown, Maryland
Two-sailed bateau (skipjack), 42' LOA
Owner – Skipjack Charters, LLC

The Lady Helen was built in 1987 in Pasadena, Maryland and is modeled on the lines of the historic skipjack Rosie Parks, part of the collection at the Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum.  Lady Helen is a cruising skipjack based out of Chestertown, Maryland and is available for private charters of up to six people during Downrigging Weekend.  For additional information about chartering Lady Helen visit: www.skipjackcharters.org.

 

  EXHIBIT VESSELS - NON-PASSENGER CARRYING

 

FAREWELL
Baltimore, Maryland
Topsail schooner, two masted, 47' sparred length, 10.6' beam
Privately Owned

Farewell is a 1972, Peter Van Dine designed two-masted schooner based out of Baltimore, Maryland.

 

HOWARD BLACKBURN
Baltimore, Maryland
Schooner, 58' sparred length
Privately Owned

The Howard Blackburn is named for a giant Nova Scotian who rowed sixty miles into Newfoundland with the frozen body of his dorymate, five days without food or water, after they were separated in a gale from the Gloucester schooner Grace L. Fears in the winter of 1883. Blackburn lost all his fingers by frostbite. In 1899 he sailed the sloop Great Western single handed, in spite of his disability, from Gloucester to England, and in 1901, he repeated his astounding feat in the twenty-five-foot sloop Great Republic, to Portugal.

 

SILENT MAID - Independence Seaport Museum
Philadelphia, PA
Replica 1924 Barnegat Bay Catboat
33' LOA, 12'6" beam
Privately Owned

Silent Maid was designed by Francis Sweisguth and built by Morton Johnson of Bay Head, NJ in 1924. Intended primarily as a cruising boat, she was capable of some speed and was the B class catboat champion on the Barnegat Bay in 1925. The original Silent Maid has become an exhibit at the Independence Seaport Museum in Philadelphia while this replica, built at the Museum and launched in 2009, will to take her place and continue the tradition of sailing and racing on Barnegat Bay. (Photo by Andy Slavinsks)

 

ELF
Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum - St. Michaels, MD
1888 Cutter, 68’ sparred length, 12’ beam
Owner - Classic Yacht Restoration Guild

Elf is an 1888 Lawley-built (Boston) ‘30-footer’ class cutter and has been a continuous part of American maritime culture for more than a century. Rick Carrion, founder of the Classic Yacht Restoration Guild (CYRG), acquired the boat in 1971, in a somewhat dilapidated condition that belied her rich history. He has since championed her restoration under the expertise of master boat builders Graham Ero of the Wooden Boat Shop in Still Pond, Maryland and John Brady of the Independence Seaport Museum in Philadelphia.

 

MARTHA WHITE - privately owned
Chestertown, Maryland
Topsail schooner, two masted, 47' sparred length, 10.6' beam

Martha White is a 65-foot all wooden schooner fashioned after the "Bluenose" of Nova Scotia. She is solely constructed (ribs and planks) from no longer available, 200 year old Long Leaf Yellow Pine and fastened with trunnels (4000 handmade locust pegs, with ends split, with 8000 wood wedges). With hardware and sails made in Lunenburg, she proudly glorifies her famous predecessor.

 

OLD POINT - Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum
St. Michaels Maryland
Seven Log Crab Dredger - 1909, 51' sparred length, 12'10" beam

Old Point is a unique, 1909, log-built crab dredging vessel that is part of the permanent collection at the Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum.

Historically, Old Point was used to dredge crabs in the winter, freight fish in the summer and haul oysters in the fall.  The vessel recently underwent a complete restoration.