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Explore > Schooner Adventure > Story Archives
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Vintage schooners must be preserved!
Submitted by Bob, South Shore
I crewed on a 43' vintage schooner named "The Jerry B" out of Atlantic City, New Jersey years ago. These boats must be preserved at all costs. They are a living, breathing peice of our history that young and old can touch, feel and experience. Yes, book knowledge is crucial, but there's nothing like standing in the foredeck of one of these icons to get a real sense of the past (plus they're beautiful to look at). They're also an aset to the community as well as a great tourist attraction. Long live the vintage schooner!
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Scouting for Adventure
Submitted by Alice, North Shore
I've been skipper of a sea scout unit in Salisbury for several years. Every summer we come down to Gloucester to see Adventure.
Years ago, Adventure had a sea scout ship of her own. We hope to see that again soon. There is a movement afoot to start a sea scout ship in Gloucester again. We recently trained som adults to do so. This summer, we are going to be sailtraining aboard the Alabama, in hopes that we will be prepared to help sail Adventure when she is finally launched.
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Restoring Adventure
Submitted by Jude, West of Boston
My husband and I have been involoved in the restoration of Adventure for the past 8 years and it has been a labor of love. Every beam, every timber has been carefully restored with an eye for historical accuracy. Along the way we have met so many people who have been involved in restoring her-each with a story to tell. Come and visit- enjoy the stories, feel the excitement, experience her beauty.
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A colorful Adventure story
Submitted by Deckhand, West of Boston
I was deckhand on Adventure for the summer of 1963, the last year of Captain Dayton O. Newton and owner Herbie Beizer. There was a legend about an earlier captain - true or not who knows? Sunday thru Thursday we followed the wind and Friday afternoon we always docked in Camden; the only place with shops. Mid week, the crew would quietly leak to the passengers that Friday was the Captain's birthday. "A modest man, he would never advertise it, but if anyone wanted to surprise him Friday night, they were pretty sure he'd be delighted..." On Friday of course many passengers would sneak a few gifts aboard and astonish the Captain after dinner. Saturday afternoon, passengers happily disembarked, the crew would return the gifts for half price or free for the stores to resell. A trifle dishonest perhaps, but who was harmed? The passengers got a kick out of the special event, the Camden merchants got a boost in sales and the crew got a small bonus which they of course shared with the Captain.
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Schooner Adventure
Submitted by Ron Gilson, North Shore
At 76 years of age, I am the last man alive to have sailed on the schooner Adventure out of Boston in February of 1951, with Capt. Leo Hines in command and his crew . I was 17 years of age, young, enthusiastic, and yearning for a first-hand dory trawling experience. The Adventure quit fishing in 1953 and went on to become a dude schooner sailing out of Maine. I served on the Adventure committee to return this proud vessel to my hometown of Gloucester in 1987.
In 2006 I published my memoir, An Island No More, and in that book I have devoted Chapter 14 to my 1951 fishing experience on the schooner Adventure. (see website: www.anislandnomore.com Ron Gilson
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First Sail Ever
Submitted by Star Struck Sailor, West of Boston
My birthday treat for getting my very first vacation at my first job was a week on a Maine Windjammer. After studying all the brochures, I picked Jim Sharp and the Schooner Adventure. Life was never the same. It was love at first sight , sound and sail. Thank you Adventure for waking me up to 50 years of adventures on the sea in schooners.
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Meld the heritage project, the history and the present
Submitted by David, North Shore
Adventure=schooner=Gloucester=oldest fishing port in America (1623)=core element of maritime heritage and foothold on the new continent=New England history=key element of early American history=evolution of New England region=successive ethnic change in makeup of fishermen=thousands of fishermen lost at sea in fishing schooners=Gloucester Man at Wheel statue=current struggle to keep fishing industry/way of life alive=still fascinating working harbor=need for signature presence of schooner=the Adventure
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Meeting with history
Submitted by Andy, Boston
As a deckhand on the Schooner Adventure in Maine in 1973, I was preparing to throw a dockline ashore in Camden one Saturday after a week-long passenger cruise. I was trying to pick a trajectory that would not hit any of the plaid-pants, polyester-shirted tourists gawking on the dock. There was one man standing there looking like he should be on a golf course in Florida, but he held out his hand and indicated that I should throw it to him. As I did so, Captain Jim Sharp lunged forward from the quarterdeck and bellowed loud enough for all the world to here: "Everyone, I would like you to meet Captain Leo Hines, the man who last fished the Adventure on the Grand Banks!" I was stunned. There at the other end of my heaving line was history itself. For a moment I was literally connected to the past. He came aboard and spent the afternoon telling us all stories and going through the photographs in Jim's album. I'll never forget that moment, and it has forever changed the way I look at tourists!
Let's get the Adventure sailing again. It's not enough to look at history, you have to participate in it to really get it.
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One of the Great Touchstones of Maritime Culture
Submitted by Dave, West of Boston
As one of the last great Thomas McManus designed schooners, Adventure is the very embodiment of Massachusetts (and American) history and culture. This vessel must be preserved and used as an educational platform.
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Gloucester needs a Schooner
Submitted by graham, North Shore
I am the captain of another fishing schooner the "Spirit of Mass" and it is a great sadness to me when visiting the port of Gloucester that they don't have a functioning original schooner. Sure the Lettie Howard and Ernestina (which needs help $$$$$ too) visit from time to time but one ought to see a towering gaff rig sailing in the harbor when they roll into town. These are the vessels upon which this nation's economy was built and they serve as valuable teaching tools today. They also serve as a stark reminder of the once great and deadly Gloucester fishery which is in sad and painful decline these days. Gloucester wouldn't be Gloucester without fishermen and fishing boats and there is no greater example than Adventure. Good luck and keep forging ahead.
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A Vital Educational Opportunity
Submitted by Peter, North Shore
We all know that the best way to learn is by experience. Schooner Adventure preserves our past and embraces the future by giving the next generation the experience of a deep sense of belonging to our maritime heritage. More than any other time in our history, I believe such an experience is essential to our survival as thriving modern culture that values our planet, our freedom and peace with our neighbors far and wide.
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Schooners -America's Past
Submitted by Rex, West of Boston
As a New England artist, I have found the schooner to be a fascinating subject matter in every respect. To view scenes of ADVENTURE both in the archives and the Gloucester Port can only move me in the direction of supporting this historical vessel which I personally deem to be history within history.
When showing at the Antique shows at Brimfield, MA, I was overwhelmed at the response my miniatures were receiving on the subject matter. To this end I sense that the general public embraces the schooner as would a knowledgeable individual well versed in the maritime. ADVENTURE should be preserved just on the basis of it's historical past and for the contributions it gave to our fishing industry.
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Fishing of Yore
Submitted by Mollie, North Shore
Fishing was an important industry in Gloucester's history. I would like the see the restoration of the Adventure finished so educational programs could teach people of all ages about the fishing industry which was so important to Gloucester's economy. Although the industry has been shrinking due to government regulations, it is still a vital part of the community, and we must always remember the role it played in Gloucester's rich history. Once finished and afloat, Schooner Adventure will be an important asset to the community for locals and tourists alike.
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The majestic ocean
Submitted by Roger, Boston
Not really a story, just many fond memories of the ocean based on three summers of midshipman training followed by three years of active duty on a US Navy destoyer in the Pacific fleet 1956-1959. When we cruised to Valencia, Spain in the summer of 1955 I remember being thrilled as we passed by Gilbralter and I thought of all the sailors from time immemorial looking at the same Rock. A few years later, moving slowly at night in the crowded waters of Japan's inland sea, I thought of how those waters had been plied with fisherman and traders over the ages. I am not a recreational sailor but take every occasion possible to visit exhibition sailing ships from San Francisco to Greenwich, England. I hope this seafaring piece of American history can be preserved
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Schooner Adventure
Submitted by Ellen, Boston
My Grandfather Leo (BigMac) MacDonald was a Dory fisherman on the the adventure.
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Cruising on the Adventure
Submitted by Diane, West of Boston
In the 1970's I had two grand weeks sailing on the Adventure along the coast of Maine with captain Jim Sharp and his very hard-working crew and incredible cook. In the evenings the captain played guitar and we all sang--I still come out with "Cigareets and whiskey and wild wild women will drive you crazy..." on occasion. Our cabin was tight but the atmosphere was stimulating. Since the Adventure had no engines, we assumed an air of superiority over the other cruise ships. We fantasized sailing the Adventure around the world. Fond memories.
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