The Schooner Fame
I recently visited the lovely harbor town Salem, Massachusetts, and during my stay, went sailing on the two-masted schooner Fame. The current ship is a replica of an 1812-era schooner that was converted from a fishing boat to one whose purpose was to capture booty from the British merchant ships – a privateer!
What distinguishes a “schooner” from other types of ships? For a ship to be classified as a schooner, it must have at least two masts (the Thomas W. Lawson had seven!), the fore mast must be shorter than the aft mast, the main sail is rigged to the aft mast, and both sails are both fore- and aft-rigged, so that they run parallel with the line of the keel.
A design originating in the early 1700’s, the first schooners were built in nearby Gloucester (just 30 miles to the east of Salem). The design promoted speed and maneuverability. Besides privateering, other activities for which the schooner’s sleek design was well-suited were transporting slaves for trade, ocean fishing, and blockade running.
A “privateer” is a privately owned merchant, or commercial, ship that is converted by a government for the purpose of engaging in naval warfare. Before national navies existed, or were large enough to be effective, privateers fulfilled that function. For the United States, the War of 1812 with Great Britain coincided with the vast manufacture of schooners, thus that time period made great use of schooners in the war effort.
The Fame was one such ship. Soon after her construction, she was purchased by a consortium of twenty-five Salem mariners, for the purpose of engaging in privateering. The sailors refitted her with two small cannon and selected a Mr. William Webb, a veteran sailor, as their captain. When their privateering commision arrived from the U.S. Government on July 1, 1812, they set sail, with the goal of capturing British ships and their cargoes.
The first destination were the small ports along the coasts of Maine and New Brunswick. British ships typically loaded raw materials such as lumber, destined for the Royal Navy. And this proved to be a good choice, as they discovered two ships there: the Concord and the Elbe, both of which surrendered without the Fame crew firing a single shot! After the cargo of masts, spars, staves, lumber, and tar was sold at auction, the profit gained the owners nearly ten times the cost of the Fame.
Because this conquest was made so early in the war, many consider the Fame to be the first successful privateering ship in the War of 1812. The ship would continue its work until 1814, with eleven more sorties resulting in 20 captures, until she wrecked in the Bay of Fundy.
On the day that I sailed, the seas were calm – too calm. We had to run the motor to get us out into the bay, and only then were we able to hoist the sails. The Fame is an interactive ship – you can participate in sailing as much or as little as you choose. Of course, I’m all over everything: peppering the crew with questions and trying my hand at everything they’ll let me do.
Sailor Bernie and I had the task of raising the fore-side of both the fore- and aft-sails. Bernie handed me the thick rope and told me to “just pull ‘er up!” It was easy at first, but as the canvas unfurled, it was heavier and heavier, and for the last few pulls, I simply reached up on the rope as far as I could, and put all my weight into it to pull the sail up.
There were two small boys on board, and they had great fun helping Captain Jeremy steer, using the large, wooden rudder. Once we were well into Salem Harbor, Bernie loaded up a charge of black powder and fired the tiny cannon mounted to the port side.
I helped again when it was time to lower the sails; this was much easier, although you had to keep control of the rope as it slithered through your hands. Once the sails were down, I was assigned the task of flaking the rope out and coiling it up tidily for the next voyage. Just remember: “coil with the sun,” or clockwise. If you don’t, you’ll have a gnarly mess!
The replica Fame can be visited between Memorial Day through Halloween. She’s located on the Pickering Wharf Marina in downtown Salem. Be sure to ask the crew to show you the photo album of her construction. Local spruce and white oak was used, and construction continued year-round from February 2002 to July 4, 2003. She is not only an historic ship, but a beautiful one as well!
I recently visited the lovely harbor town Salem, Massachusetts, and during my stay, went sailing on the two-masted schooner Fame. The current ship is a replica of an 1812-era schooner that was converted from a fishing boat to one whose purpose was to capture booty from the British merchant ships – a privateer!
What distinguishes a “schooner” from other types of ships? For a ship to be classified as a schooner, it must have at least two masts (the Thomas W. Lawson had seven!), the fore mast must be shorter than the aft mast, the main sail is rigged to the aft mast, and both sails are both fore- and aft-rigged, so that they run parallel with the line of the keel.
A design originating in the early 1700’s, the first schooners were built in nearby Gloucester (just 30 miles to the east of Salem). The design promoted speed and maneuverability. Besides privateering, other activities for which the schooner’s sleek design was well-suited were transporting slaves for trade, ocean fishing, and blockade running.
A “privateer” is a privately owned merchant, or commercial, ship that is converted by a government for the purpose of engaging in naval warfare. Before national navies existed, or were large enough to be effective, privateers fulfilled that function. For the United States, the War of 1812 with Great Britain coincided with the vast manufacture of schooners, thus that time period made great use of schooners in the war effort.
The Fame was one such ship. Soon after her construction, she was purchased by a consortium of twenty-five Salem mariners, for the purpose of engaging in privateering. The sailors refitted her with two small cannon and selected a Mr. William Webb, a veteran sailor, as their captain. When their privateering commision arrived from the U.S. Government on July 1, 1812, they set sail, with the goal of capturing British ships and their cargoes.
The first destination were the small ports along the coasts of Maine and New Brunswick. British ships typically loaded raw materials such as lumber, destined for the Royal Navy. And this proved to be a good choice, as they discovered two ships there: the Concord and the Elbe, both of which surrendered without the Fame crew firing a single shot! After the cargo of masts, spars, staves, lumber, and tar was sold at auction, the profit gained the owners nearly ten times the cost of the Fame.
Because this conquest was made so early in the war, many consider the Fame to be the first successful privateering ship in the War of 1812. The ship would continue its work until 1814, with eleven more sorties resulting in 20 captures, until she wrecked in the Bay of Fundy.
On the day that I sailed, the seas were calm – too calm. We had to run the motor to get us out into the bay, and only then were we able to hoist the sails. The Fame is an interactive ship – you can participate in sailing as much or as little as you choose. Of course, I’m all over everything: peppering the crew with questions and trying my hand at everything they’ll let me do.
Sailor Bernie and I had the task of raising the fore-side of both the fore- and aft-sails. Bernie handed me the thick rope and told me to “just pull ‘er up!” It was easy at first, but as the canvas unfurled, it was heavier and heavier, and for the last few pulls, I simply reached up on the rope as far as I could, and put all my weight into it to pull the sail up.
There were two small boys on board, and they had great fun helping Captain Jeremy steer, using the large, wooden rudder. Once we were well into Salem Harbor, Bernie loaded up a charge of black powder and fired the tiny cannon mounted to the port side.
I helped again when it was time to lower the sails; this was much easier, although you had to keep control of the rope as it slithered through your hands. Once the sails were down, I was assigned the task of flaking the rope out and coiling it up tidily for the next voyage. Just remember: “coil with the sun,” or clockwise. If you don’t, you’ll have a gnarly mess!
The replica Fame can be visited between Memorial Day through Halloween. She’s located on the Pickering Wharf Marina in downtown Salem. Be sure to ask the crew to show you the photo album of her construction. Local spruce and white oak was used, and construction continued year-round from February 2002 to July 4, 2003. She is not only an historic ship, but a beautiful one as well!
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