''Adventure'' is a

gaff rig Gaff rig is a sailing rig (configuration of sails, mast and stays) in which the sail is four-cornered, fore-and-aft rigged, controlled at its peak and, usually, its entire head by a spar (pole) called the ''gaff''. Because of the size and shap ...

ged knockabout

schooner 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 schoo ...

. She was built in

Essex, Massachusetts Essex is a coastal town in Essex County, Massachusetts, 26 miles (42 km) north of Boston and 13 miles (21 km) southeast of Newburyport. It is known for its former role as a center of shipbuilding. The population was 3,675 at the 2020 ...

, USA, and launched in 1926 to work the

Grand Banks The Grand Banks of Newfoundland are a series of underwater plateaus south-east of the island of Newfoundland on the North American continental shelf. The Grand Banks are one of the world's richest fishing grounds, supporting Atlantic cod, sword ...

fishing grounds out of

Gloucester Gloucester ( ) is a cathedral city and the county town of Gloucestershire in the South West of England. Gloucester lies on the River Severn, between the Cotswolds to the east and the Forest of Dean to the west, east of Monmouth and east o ...

. She is one of only two surviving ''knockabout'' fishing schooners – ships designed without bowsprits for the safety of her crew. ''Adventure'' was declared a

National Historic Landmark A National Historic Landmark (NHL) is a building, district, object, site, or structure that is officially recognized by the United States government for its outstanding historical significance. Only some 2,500 (~3%) of over 90,000 places liste ...

in 1994,
underwent a substantial restoration in 2012, and sails today in the tourist trade out of Gloucester.

History

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...

and built at the John F. James & Son Yard in

, for Captain Jeff Thomas of Gloucester, ''Adventure'' was one of the last wooden sailing vessels of her kind built for the

dory A dory is a small, shallow-draft boat, about long. It is usually a lightweight boat with high sides, a flat bottom and sharp bows. It is easy to build because of its simple lines. For centuries, the dory has been used as a traditional fishin ...

-fishing industry. ''Adventure'', named for one of the fantasy fleet of ships drawn by Captain Thomas's young son, is a knockabout schooner, designed without a

bowsprit The bowsprit of a sailing vessel is a spar extending forward from the vessel's prow. The bowsprit is typically held down by a bobstay A bobstay is a part of the rigging of a sailing boat or ship. Its purpose is to counteract the upward tensio ...

for the safety of the crew. The McManus knockabout design was regarded by maritime historian,

Howard I. Chapelle Howard Irving Chapelle (February 1, 1901 – June 30, 1975) was an American naval architect, and curator of maritime history at the Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C. In addition, he authored many books and articles on maritime history a ...

, as "the acme in the long evolution of the

New England New England is a region comprising six states in the Northeastern United States: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. It is bordered by the state of New York to the west and by the Canadian provinces ...

fishing schooner." Launched on 16 September 1926, ''Adventure'' measured overall, sported a

and carried a diesel engine, and a crew of twenty-seven. She fished the once bountiful Grand Banks of the

North Atlantic The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the " Old World" of Africa, Europe a ...

from her home port of Gloucester from 1926 to 1953 under Captain Jeff Thomas and later, Captain Leo Hynes. ''Adventure'' was the biggest money-maker of the time, landing nearly $4 million worth of cod and halibut in her fishing career. Her retirement marked the end of the American dory-fishing schooner in the North Atlantic. In 1954, ''Adventure'' was sold to Donald Hurd, Dayton Newton, and Herbert Beizer and refitted for the

windjammer A windjammer is a commercial sailing ship with multiple masts that may be square rigged, or fore-and-aft rigged, or a combination of the two. The informal term "windjammer" arose during the transition from the Age of Sail to the Age of Steam ...

tourist trade, carrying vacationing passengers up and down the

Maine Maine () is a state in the New England and Northeastern regions of the United States. It borders New Hampshire to the west, the Gulf of Maine to the southeast, and the Canadian provinces of New Brunswick and Quebec to the northeast and nor ...

coast. The fish pens were converted into cabins and the engine removed to make room for sleeping quarters. ''Adventure''s prowess in the Gulf of Maine earned her the nickname "Queen of the Windjammers." In 1964 she was sold to Captain Jim Sharp of

Camden, Maine Camden is a resort town in Knox County, Maine. The population was 5,232 at the 2020 census. The population of the town more than triples during the summer months, due to tourists and summer residents. Camden is a summer colony in the Mid-Coast ...

, who continued her career in the tourist trade for nearly twenty-four years. In 1988, Captain Sharp donated ''Adventure'' to the people of Gloucester to be preserved as Gloucester's historic

tall ship A tall ship is a large, traditionally- rigged sailing vessel. Popular modern tall ship rigs include topsail schooners, brigantines, brigs and barques. "Tall ship" can also be defined more specifically by an organization, such as for a race or f ...

, to be used to educate the public about the role of fishing in American history. In 1988, the non-profit group, Gloucester ''Adventure'', Inc., was formed to preserve the schooner as a monument to the history of Gloucester. Through the efforts of the Gloucester ''Adventure'', Inc. and dedicated volunteers, ''Adventure'' is now a destination site on the

Essex National Heritage Area The Essex National Heritage Area is a National Heritage Area composed of all of Essex County, Massachusetts. It is overseen by the Essex National Heritage Commission (ENHC), a non-profit organization based in Salem, Massachusetts. The commission ...

Maritime Trail, is listed in the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic ...

and is a designated National Historic Landmark. In 1999, ''Adventure'' was selected as an Official Project of

Save America's Treasures Save America's Treasures is a United States federal government initiative to preserve and protect historic buildings, arts, and published works. It is a public–private partnership between the U.S. National Park Service and the National Trust fo ...

by the

National Trust for Historic Preservation The National Trust for Historic Preservation is a privately funded, nonprofit organization based in Washington, D.C., that works in the field of historic preservation in the United States. The member-supported organization was founded in 1949 ...

Restoration

Restoration work on ''Adventure'' was commenced in 2012 at Maritime Gloucester on Harbor Loop. In September 2012 she was fitted with a

Detroit Diesel Detroit Diesel Corporation (DDC) is an American diesel engine manufacturer headquartered in Detroit, Michigan, United States. It is a subsidiary of Daimler Truck North America, which is itself a wholly owned subsidiary of the mulitinational D ...

671 engine and moved under her own mechanical power for the first time since 1954. In August 2013 she left Gloucester Harbor under full sail, and received her Passenger Vessel certificate from the United States Coast Guard in June 2015.

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Adventure (Schooner) National Historic Landmarks in Massachusetts Individual sailing vessels Tall ships of the United States Schooners of the United States Ships built in Essex, Massachusetts 1926 ships Ships on the National Register of Historic Places in Massachusetts Buildings and structures in Gloucester, Massachusetts National Register of Historic Places in Essex County, Massachusetts

History

Restoration

See also

References

External links