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Bowdoin (Arctic schooner)
Encyclopedia
The schooner
Bowdoin ˈboʊdɨn was designed by William H. Hand, Jr., and built in 1921, in East Boothbay
, Maine
, at the Hodgdon Brothers Shipyard now known as Hodgdon Yachts. She was designed for Arctic
exploration
, under the direction of Donald B. MacMillan
, and has made 28 trips above the Arctic Circle
in her life, two after she was acquired by the Maine Maritime Academy in 1988. She is currently owned by Maine Maritime Academy, located in Castine
, Maine, and is used for their sail training curriculum.
The Bowdoin first crossed the Arctic Circle on August 23, 1921. A place unknown to most of the world, the Arctic had had few visitors from the South. Only sixteen years before, the goal of many generations of Arctic explorers had been reached when a northwest passage was traversed - a route which was, practically speaking, unusable, and after the construction of the Panama Canal, no longer necessary. Peary's North Pole expedition was merely a dozen years past. The last few Hudson's Bay and Davis Strait whalers had made their final trip home two years before.
The Bowdoin sailed north with Macmillan two dozen times, carrying scientists, adventurers and students.
On May 22, 1941 The United States Navy purchased Bowdoin from MacMillan for use in the war effort. Designated IX-50 she was placed in commission on 16 June 1941, with MacMillan in command.
Bowdoin was assigned to the South Greenland Patrol but did not report for duty at Ivigtut. The Greenland
patrol existed for two major purposes: to assist in the defense of Greenland and to support the Army
in its task of setting up air bases on Greenland as stopover and fueling points for aircraft being ferried to Great Britain
. Bowdoin provided services in conjunction with air base site surveys and construction. That assignment lasted about 27 months. During that time, in October 1941, the two portions of the Greenland Patrol—the Northeast and Bowdoins South—were combined into a single command, the Greenland Patrol, Task Group 24.8 which took its orders directly from the Commander in Chief, Atlantic Fleet. About two years after that event, on 23 October 1943, the auxiliary schooner was placed in reduced commission. On 16 December 1943, Bowdoin was placed out of commission at Quincy, Massachusetts
. Her name was struck from the Navy list
on 16 May 1944. She was sold as a hulk on 24 January 1945 through the Maritime Commission
's War Shipping Administration
. Purchased by friends of Admiral MacMillan's, the battered schooner was refitted once again for Arctic exploration.
In 1959, Admiral MacMillan sailed the vessel to Mystic Seaport
and turned it over to them for display. Little was done with the ship, and the seaport removed (and broke) its masts and left it in a state of neglect. In 1967, at MacMillan's urging, the Schooner Bowdoin Association, Inc. was formed by friends of the admiral's, including former crew members and others interested in saving the ship. Mystic Seaport
relinquished the schooner to the Association, which leased her to Capt. Jim Sharp http://www.sharpadventures.com of Camden, Maine
. Sharp restored the schooner to operating condition and sailed her to Provincetown, Massachusetts
, in 1969 on a sentimental journey to MacMillan's home, where the admiral, in his 90s, saw Bowdoin sail again one last time.
Jim Sharp had restored what he could on Bowdoin for $25,000, using her as a wharfside museum in Camden, Maine
and sailing her on charters. In the mid-1970s, though, Coast Guard requirements for passenger carrying, which would have called for rebuilding the schooner and destroying her historic character, forced Sharp to return Bowdoin to the Schooner Bowdoin Association. Used for sail training and leased by the Association to various groups, Bowdoin has persevered since then. A major restoration effort at the Maine Maritime Museum between 1980-1984 brought the schooner back to excellent condition. The work was supervised by Jim Stevens, owner of the Goudy-Stevens Yard in East Boothbay
, formerly Hodgdon Brothers, who first built Bowdoin in 1921.
It was declared the official sailing vessel of the state of Maine in 1986. In 1989 Bowdoin was made a National Historic Landmark
.
The restored schooner sailed in OpSail `86 in New York harbor in the parade of ships that celebrated the Statue of Liberty's restoration. In 1987-1988 she was leased to Outward Bound, Inc., an educational organization, and in 1989 was turned over to the Maine Maritime Academy in Castine, Maine
on a two-year lease with an option to buy.
On July 30, 1991, again with students aboard, she came full circle, crossing the Arctic Circle once more. The Bowdoin was a part of the quest for understanding for decades and now, under the ownership of Maine Maritime Academy, she has turned to her own milieu, the North.
The Maine Maritime Academy has assigned Assistant Professor Andy Chase as Bowdoin's skipper. Chase hopes to expand her cruises to northern voyages, so that within the next five years, Bowdoin might again sail north to the waters that she charted with Donald MacMillan at the helm more than fifty years ago. Admiral MacMillan was the last of the old-time Arctic explorers, and Bowdoin is America's last sailing Arctic exploration vessel. Her current Captain as of 2010 is Eric Jergenson and has hopes of sailing her soon to the Arctic. Captain Jergenson is currently trying to acquire funds for the ship for an intensive rebuild project that he hopes to have completed by her 100th birthday in 2021.
Schooner
A schooner is a type of sailing vessel characterized by the use of fore-and-aft sails on two or more masts with the forward mast being no taller than the rear masts....
Bowdoin ˈboʊdɨn was designed by William H. Hand, Jr., and built in 1921, in East Boothbay
Boothbay, Maine
Boothbay is a town in Lincoln County, Maine, United States. The population was 2,960 at the 2000 census. It includes the villages of East Boothbay and Trevett. The Boothbay region is a center of summer tourist activity, and a significant part of its population does not live there year...
, Maine
Maine
Maine is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States, bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the east and south, New Hampshire to the west, and the Canadian provinces of Quebec to the northwest and New Brunswick to the northeast. Maine is both the northernmost and easternmost...
, at the Hodgdon Brothers Shipyard now known as Hodgdon Yachts. She was designed for Arctic
Arctic
The Arctic is a region located at the northern-most part of the Earth. The Arctic consists of the Arctic Ocean and parts of Canada, Russia, Greenland, the United States, Norway, Sweden, Finland, and Iceland. The Arctic region consists of a vast, ice-covered ocean, surrounded by treeless permafrost...
exploration
Exploration
Exploration is the act of searching or traveling around a terrain for the purpose of discovery of resources or information. Exploration occurs in all non-sessile animal species, including humans...
, under the direction of Donald B. MacMillan
Donald B. MacMillan
Donald Baxter MacMillan was an American explorer, sailor, researcher and lecturer who made over 30 expeditions to the Arctic during his 46-year career...
, and has made 28 trips above the Arctic Circle
Arctic Circle
The Arctic Circle is one of the five major circles of latitude that mark maps of the Earth. For Epoch 2011, it is the parallel of latitude that runs north of the Equator....
in her life, two after she was acquired by the Maine Maritime Academy in 1988. She is currently owned by Maine Maritime Academy, located in Castine
Castine, Maine
Castine is a town in Hancock County, Maine, United States and was once the capital of Acadia . The population was 1,343 at the 2000 census. Castine is the home of Maine Maritime Academy, a four-year institution that graduates officers and engineers for the United States Merchant Marine and marine...
, Maine, and is used for their sail training curriculum.
History
The schooner's design and construction were carefully considered and well-executed, although neither was radical for their day. The vessel is unique today because of her specialized purpose - she is heavy and carries less sail for her displacement than most schooners because, in addition to the obvious ice hazards, the Arctic is known for having either no wind at all or too much.The Bowdoin first crossed the Arctic Circle on August 23, 1921. A place unknown to most of the world, the Arctic had had few visitors from the South. Only sixteen years before, the goal of many generations of Arctic explorers had been reached when a northwest passage was traversed - a route which was, practically speaking, unusable, and after the construction of the Panama Canal, no longer necessary. Peary's North Pole expedition was merely a dozen years past. The last few Hudson's Bay and Davis Strait whalers had made their final trip home two years before.
The Bowdoin sailed north with Macmillan two dozen times, carrying scientists, adventurers and students.
On May 22, 1941 The United States Navy purchased Bowdoin from MacMillan for use in the war effort. Designated IX-50 she was placed in commission on 16 June 1941, with MacMillan in command.
Bowdoin was assigned to the South Greenland Patrol but did not report for duty at Ivigtut. The Greenland
Greenland
Greenland is an autonomous country within the Kingdom of Denmark, located between the Arctic and Atlantic Oceans, east of the Canadian Arctic Archipelago. Though physiographically a part of the continent of North America, Greenland has been politically and culturally associated with Europe for...
patrol existed for two major purposes: to assist in the defense of Greenland and to support the Army
United States Army
The United States Army is the main branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is the largest and oldest established branch of the U.S. military, and is one of seven U.S. uniformed services...
in its task of setting up air bases on Greenland as stopover and fueling points for aircraft being ferried to Great Britain
Great Britain
Great Britain or Britain is an island situated to the northwest of Continental Europe. It is the ninth largest island in the world, and the largest European island, as well as the largest of the British Isles...
. Bowdoin provided services in conjunction with air base site surveys and construction. That assignment lasted about 27 months. During that time, in October 1941, the two portions of the Greenland Patrol—the Northeast and Bowdoins South—were combined into a single command, the Greenland Patrol, Task Group 24.8 which took its orders directly from the Commander in Chief, Atlantic Fleet. About two years after that event, on 23 October 1943, the auxiliary schooner was placed in reduced commission. On 16 December 1943, Bowdoin was placed out of commission at Quincy, Massachusetts
Quincy, Massachusetts
Quincy is a city in Norfolk County, Massachusetts, United States. Its nicknames are "City of Presidents", "City of Legends", and "Birthplace of the American Dream". As a major part of Metropolitan Boston, Quincy is a member of Boston's Inner Core Committee for the Metropolitan Area Planning Council...
. Her name was struck from the Navy list
Naval Vessel Register
The Naval Vessel Register is the official inventory of ships and service craft in custody of or titled by the United States Navy. It contains information on ships and service craft that make up the official inventory of the Navy from the time a vessel is authorized through its life cycle and...
on 16 May 1944. She was sold as a hulk on 24 January 1945 through the Maritime Commission
United States Maritime Commission
The United States Maritime Commission was an independent executive agency of the U.S. federal government that was created by the Merchant Marine Act of 1936, passed by Congress on June 29, 1936, and replaced the U.S. Shipping Board which had existed since World War I...
's War Shipping Administration
War Shipping Administration
The War Shipping Administration was a World War II emergency war agency of the US Government, tasked to purchase and operate the civilian shipping tonnage the US needed for fighting the war....
. Purchased by friends of Admiral MacMillan's, the battered schooner was refitted once again for Arctic exploration.
In 1959, Admiral MacMillan sailed the vessel to Mystic Seaport
Mystic Seaport
Mystic Seaport, the Museum of America and the Sea, in Mystic, Connecticut, is notable both for its collection of sailing ships and boats, and for the re-creation of crafts and fabric of an entire 19th century seafaring village...
and turned it over to them for display. Little was done with the ship, and the seaport removed (and broke) its masts and left it in a state of neglect. In 1967, at MacMillan's urging, the Schooner Bowdoin Association, Inc. was formed by friends of the admiral's, including former crew members and others interested in saving the ship. Mystic Seaport
Mystic Seaport
Mystic Seaport, the Museum of America and the Sea, in Mystic, Connecticut, is notable both for its collection of sailing ships and boats, and for the re-creation of crafts and fabric of an entire 19th century seafaring village...
relinquished the schooner to the Association, which leased her to Capt. Jim Sharp http://www.sharpadventures.com of Camden, Maine
Camden, Maine
Camden is a town in Knox County, Maine, United States. The population was 5,254 at the 2000 census. The population of the town more than triples during the summer months, due to tourists and summer residents. Camden is a famous summer colony in the Mid-Coast region of Maine...
. Sharp restored the schooner to operating condition and sailed her to Provincetown, Massachusetts
Provincetown, Massachusetts
Provincetown is a New England town located at the extreme tip of Cape Cod in Barnstable County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 3,431 at the 2000 census, with an estimated 2007 population of 3,174...
, in 1969 on a sentimental journey to MacMillan's home, where the admiral, in his 90s, saw Bowdoin sail again one last time.
Jim Sharp had restored what he could on Bowdoin for $25,000, using her as a wharfside museum in Camden, Maine
Camden, Maine
Camden is a town in Knox County, Maine, United States. The population was 5,254 at the 2000 census. The population of the town more than triples during the summer months, due to tourists and summer residents. Camden is a famous summer colony in the Mid-Coast region of Maine...
and sailing her on charters. In the mid-1970s, though, Coast Guard requirements for passenger carrying, which would have called for rebuilding the schooner and destroying her historic character, forced Sharp to return Bowdoin to the Schooner Bowdoin Association. Used for sail training and leased by the Association to various groups, Bowdoin has persevered since then. A major restoration effort at the Maine Maritime Museum between 1980-1984 brought the schooner back to excellent condition. The work was supervised by Jim Stevens, owner of the Goudy-Stevens Yard in East Boothbay
Boothbay, Maine
Boothbay is a town in Lincoln County, Maine, United States. The population was 2,960 at the 2000 census. It includes the villages of East Boothbay and Trevett. The Boothbay region is a center of summer tourist activity, and a significant part of its population does not live there year...
, formerly Hodgdon Brothers, who first built Bowdoin in 1921.
It was declared the official sailing vessel of the state of Maine in 1986. In 1989 Bowdoin was made a National Historic Landmark
National Historic Landmark
A National Historic Landmark is a building, site, structure, object, or district, that is officially recognized by the United States government for its historical significance...
.
The restored schooner sailed in OpSail `86 in New York harbor in the parade of ships that celebrated the Statue of Liberty's restoration. In 1987-1988 she was leased to Outward Bound, Inc., an educational organization, and in 1989 was turned over to the Maine Maritime Academy in Castine, Maine
Castine, Maine
Castine is a town in Hancock County, Maine, United States and was once the capital of Acadia . The population was 1,343 at the 2000 census. Castine is the home of Maine Maritime Academy, a four-year institution that graduates officers and engineers for the United States Merchant Marine and marine...
on a two-year lease with an option to buy.
On July 30, 1991, again with students aboard, she came full circle, crossing the Arctic Circle once more. The Bowdoin was a part of the quest for understanding for decades and now, under the ownership of Maine Maritime Academy, she has turned to her own milieu, the North.
The Maine Maritime Academy has assigned Assistant Professor Andy Chase as Bowdoin's skipper. Chase hopes to expand her cruises to northern voyages, so that within the next five years, Bowdoin might again sail north to the waters that she charted with Donald MacMillan at the helm more than fifty years ago. Admiral MacMillan was the last of the old-time Arctic explorers, and Bowdoin is America's last sailing Arctic exploration vessel. Her current Captain as of 2010 is Eric Jergenson and has hopes of sailing her soon to the Arctic. Captain Jergenson is currently trying to acquire funds for the ship for an intensive rebuild project that he hopes to have completed by her 100th birthday in 2021.
Specifications
- Length at waterline: 72'
- Length Over All: 88'
- Beam: 20'
- DraftDraft (hull)The draft of a ship's hull is the vertical distance between the waterline and the bottom of the hull , with the thickness of the hull included; in the case of not being included the draft outline would be obtained...
: 10' - Rig: Schooner
- Tons: 66 GRT
- Sparred Length: 100'
- Rig Height: 70'