The Fleet

Visiting Vessels for Sultana's Downrigging Weekend October 30 - November 2, 2008:

Passenger Carrying Vessels

KALMAR NYCKEL - State Ship of Delaware
Wilmington, Delaware
Full-rigged ship, 141' sparred length, 25' beam, 168 gross tons
Owner - Kalmar Nyckel Foundation,

The Kalmar Nyckel is a re-creation of the first colonial Swedish settlement ship to arrive in America at what is now Wilmington, Delaware. Launched in the fall of 1997, this ornately carved 17th century reproduction ship sails seasonally, carrying out her mission of good will, providing hands-on educational opportunities for school children and serving as Delaware's official tall ship ambassador.

PRIDE OF BALTIMORE II - State Ship of Maryland
Baltimore, Maryland
Square Topsail schooner, two masted, 170' sparred length, 26' beam, 97 gross tons
Owner - Pride of Baltimore, Inc.

Pride of Baltimore II was commissioned in 1988 two years after the original Pride of Baltimore fell victim to a violent squall and was lost along with her captain and three crew members. Modeled after the famous Baltimore clippers, Pride II sails the globe as Maryland's goodwill ambassador.

SCHOONER VIRGINIA - State Ship of Virginia
Norfolk, Virginia
Two-masted pilot schooner 122' sparred length, 24' beam, 99 gross tons
Owner - Virginia Maritime Heritage Foundation,

The schooner Virginia is a reproduction of an early 20th century Virginia pilot schooner, originally used to help guide vessel into Virginia's ports at the mouth of the Chesapeake Bay. Launched in December 2004, the Virginia is one of the newest "Tall Ships" in the United States.

A.J. MEERWALD - State Ship of New Jersey
Bivalve, New Jersey
Two masted Oyster Schooner, 115’ sparred length, 22’ beam, 57 gross tons
Owner- The Bayshore Discovery Project
Built in Dorchester, New Jersey in 1928, the A.J. Meerwald is an authentic, restored Delaware Bay oyster schooner built specifically for that industry.  Named New Jersey’s official Tall Ship in 1998, the A.J. Meerwald promotes Delaware Bay’s oystering history and offers experiential educational opportunities throughout Delaware Bay and the Mid-Atlantic region. 

LADY MARYLAND - Living Classrooms Foundation
Baltimore, Maryland
Two masted Pungy schooner, 104' sparred length, 22' beam, 60 gross tons
Owner - Living Classrooms Foundation

Living Classroom's schooner and flagship Lady Maryland is a full-scale reproduction of a traditional 19th century Chesapeake Bay cargo schooner called a pungy. Lady Maryland is part of a fleet of vessels utilized by Living Classrooms Foundation that teach students about the history and environment of the Chesapeake.

SULTANA - Sultana Projects, Inc.
Chestertown, Maryland
Topsail schooner, two masts, 97' sparred length, 17' beam, 43 gross tons
Owner - Sultana Projects, Inc.

Sultana is a reproduction of her 1768 namesake used by the British Royal Navy to enforce the notorious tea taxes in the years preceding the American Revolution. Built in Chestertown and launched in 2001, the new Sultana's mission is to educate students of all ages about the history and ecology of the Chesapeake Bay.

SKIPJACK ELSWORTH
Chestertown, Maryland
Two-sailed bateau (skipjack), 72' sparred length, 18' beam, 23 gross tons
Owner - Echo Hill Outdoor School

Owned and operated by Echo Hill Outdoor School in Worton, Maryland, the 1901, 72-foot oyster-dredging skipjack Elsworth is one of a handful of skipjacks remaining on the Chesapeake Bay. The Elsworth is currently used to provide live-aboard educational programs in environmental science and Chesapeake history.

MILDRED BELLE - Living Classroom Foundation
Baltimore, Maryland Chesapeake Bay
Buy-boat
Owner - Living Classrooms Foundation

Traditionally used to bring oysters to market and haul local seafood and produce, "buy-boats" were once a common sight on the bay. Mildred Belle is one of the few that remain and is part of a fleet of vessels utilized by the Living Classrooms Foundation to teach students about the Chesapeake Bay.

Non-Passenger Carrying Vessels

MARTHA WHITE - privately owned
Chestertown, Maryland
Topsail schooner, two masted, 47' sparred length, 10.6' beam
Martha White is a 65 foot all wooden schooner fashioned after the “Bluenose” of Nova Scotia. She is solely constructed (ribs and planks) from no longer available, 200 year old Long Leaf Yellow Pine and fastened with trunnels (4000 handmade locust pegs, with ends split, with 8000 wood wedges). With hardware and sails made in Lunenburg, she proudly glorifies her famous predecessor.

FAREWELL - privately owned
Baltimore, Maryland
Topsail schooner, two masted, 47' sparred length, 10.6' beam,
Farewell is a 1972, Peter Van Dine designed two-masted schooner based out of Baltimore, Maryland.

HOWARD BLACKBURN - privately owned
Baltimore, Maryland
Schooner, 58’ sparred length
The Howard Blackburn is named for a giant Nova Scotian who rowed sixty miles into Newfoundland with the frozen body of his dorymate, five days without food or water, after they were separated in a gale from the Gloucester schooner Grace L. Fears in the winter of 1883. Blackburn lost all his fingers by frostbite. In 1899 he sailed the sloop Great Western singlehanded, in spite of his disability, from Gloucester to England, and in 1901, he repeated his astounding feat in the twenty-five-foot sloop Great Republic, to Portugal