''Surprise'' is a two-masted former racing

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 ...

berthed in

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 ...

. Built in 1917-18 in

Rockport, Massachusetts Rockport is a seaside town in Essex County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 6,992 in 2020. Rockport is located approximately northeast of Boston at the tip of the Cape Ann peninsula. Rockport borders Gloucester to its west, and ...

, she is one of a small number of surviving schooners designed by noted naval architect Thomas F. McManus. She currently serves as a "windjammer", providing daily cruises in

Penobscot Bay Penobscot Bay (french: Baie de Penobscot) is an inlet of the Gulf of Maine and Atlantic Ocean in south central Maine. The bay originates from the mouth of Maine's Penobscot River, downriver from Belfast. Penobscot Bay has many working waterfr ...

. She was listed on 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 artist ...

in 1991.

Description and history

''Surprise'' is a two-masted wooden sailing schooner. She has a total length of , with a length at the waterline of . She has a beam of and a draft of . Her framing is of oak and locust, with planking of yellow pine, some of it replaced by mahogany during restoration. The deck is fir. The area below decks has been fitted to carry passengers on day trips, and there is a motor chamber in the rear. She normally carries four sails: main and staysails, with club sails that can be set above those two. with ''Surprise'' was built in 1917-18 at Worrell Shipyard in

Rockport, Maine Rockport is a town in Knox County, Maine, United States. It is thirty-five miles southeast of Augusta. The population was 3,644 at the 2020 census. Rockport is a popular tourist destination and art colony. History Rockport, or "the River", wa ...

. She was one of seven schooner yachts designed by Thomas F. McManus, then a prominent naval architect, and is the only one of those still afloat. Her design represents an important transition between schooners designed as working craft and those designed for pleasure and racing. She was built for M.S. Kattenhorn, a merchandise broker living in

New Rochelle, New York New Rochelle (; older french: La Nouvelle-Rochelle) is a city in Westchester County, New York, United States, in the southeastern portion of the state. In 2020, the city had a population of 79,726, making it the seventh-largest in the state of ...

. She remained in the Kattenhorn family as a racing and pleasure craft into the 1960s. Although her original plans called for a motor, it was not added until after the Kattenhorn's sold it. It was converted for use in the tourist trade in the late 1980s, and now provides short tours of

from her base in

References

External links

Schooner Surprise web site
{{Oldest surviving ships (pre-1919) Ships on the National Register of Historic Places in Maine National Register of Historic Places in Knox County, Maine Buildings and structures completed in 1917 Transportation buildings and structures in Knox County, Maine Buildings and structures in Camden, Maine Schooners of the United States 1918 ships Ships built in Maine

Description and history

See also

References

External links