Schooner Lynx
History
United States
NameLynx
BuilderRockport Marine, Rockport, Maine
Launched28 July 2001
HomeportNantucket, Massachusetts
Identification
StatusTraining vessel
General characteristics
TypeSchooner
Displacement98.6 long tons (100 t)
Length
  • 122 ft (37 m) sparred
  • 76 ft (23 m) on deck
  • 72 ft (22 m) w/l
Beam23 ft (7.0 m)
Height94 ft (29 m) at mainmast
Draft8 ft 6 in (2.59 m)
Sail plan4,669 sq ft (433.8 m2)
Armament

Lynx is a square topsail schooner based in Nantucket, Massachusetts. She is an interpretation of an American letter of marque vessel of the same name from 1812. The original Lynx completed one voyage, running the Royal Navy blockade; the British captured her in 1813 at the start of her second voyage and took her into service as HMS Mosquidobit.

History

Original Lynx

The original Lynx, a privateer ship, was a topsail schooner built in 1812 in the Fell's Point neighborhood in Baltimore, Maryland by Thomas Kemp.[1] During the War of 1812 it was captured by the British and sent to England, where it was deconstructed and thoroughly documented by the Royal Navy.[2]

Modern Lynx

Lynx on the Chester River at Chestertown, Maryland in 2017.

The replica of Lynx sailing today is based on plans of the original Lynx made by the British. It was designed by Melbourne Smith[lower-alpha 1] and built by Taylor Allen and Eric Sewell of Rockport Marine in Rockport, Maine.

The Lynx was launched on July 28, 2001, at Rockport. Her port of registry is Portsmouth, New Hampshire.

Starting from winter 2021, Lynx will spend winters, from November to May, at Morningstar Marinas on St. Simons Island, Georgia. Previously, Lynx stayed in St. Petersburg, Florida during the winter, but relocated after the city began renovation on St. Pete Pier.[3]

Activities and schedule

Today, instead of fighting the British like her original counterpart, she serves as a sailing classroom. Lynx offers an early American history program and a life, earth, and physical science program to schools, where students also learn seamanship and history. Lynx is currently partnered with the Egan Maritime Institute of Nantucket and in the summer sails daily with passengers out of Nantucket; in the spring and fall, she takes groups of students from local schools out for sails. In the winter, Lynx docks at St. Simons Island, Georgia where it offers free deck tours and paid excursions.[4] She often makes additional stops along the route, including in Annapolis,[1] Boothbay, Maine,[5] Cape Charles, Virginia,[6] and Plymouth, Massachusetts.[2]

Lynx also participates in local regattas, notably placing third in the schooner class in the 2018 Opera House Cup.

The Lynx Educational Foundation is a 501(c)(3) non-profit, educational organization, dedicated to hands-on educational programs that teach the history of America's struggle to preserve its independence.

See also

Notes

  1. Smith also designed Californian, Pride of Baltimore, the Brig Niagara, Spirit of Massachusetts, and Federalist.

References

  • Robinson, J. Dennis. (2011). America's Privateer: Lynx and the War of 1812. Lynx Educational Foundation. ISBN 978-0-578-09075-7.
  1. 1 2 Capital Gazette staff. "Tall ship Lynx returns to Annapolis, open for deck tours". capitalgazette.com. Retrieved 2021-10-25.
  2. 1 2 Kindy, David. "VIDEO: Tall Ship Lynx visits Plymouth". Wicked Local Plymouth. Retrieved 2021-10-25.
  3. Manning, Margie (5 November 2020). "Cross Bay Ferry, St. Pete Pier and Tall Ship Lynx make waves at St. Pete City Council". St Pete Catalyst. Retrieved 2021-10-25.
  4. JACKSON, GORDON. "Tall ship Lynx finds new winter home in Golden Isles". The Brunswick News. Retrieved 2021-10-25.
  5. "The Tall Ships have arrived in Boothbay Harbor". Boothbay Register. Retrieved 2021-10-25.
  6. JONES, TYLER H. "Tall ship to offer tours, day sails in Brunswick". The Brunswick News. Retrieved 2021-10-25.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.