“Close your eyes and imagine. It is the 19th century. The thriving seaport of Alexandria is teeming with activity. Ship bells ring in the distance…” — Brigid Schulte, The Washington Post, “Waterfront’s Past, and Potential, Come Alive,” June 23, 2005.
“They sail to renew the ancient mariner’s timeless compact with the sea. They work to preserve history and traditions nearly lost in a world of rapid technological change.” — Randolph P. Smith, describing nine-member crew of the Tall Ship Lindo (“Crew Forsakes Present Comforts to Preserve Past,” Newport News Daily Press, June 3, 1984.
“It’s the finest vessel that I have ever sailed. The ship’s of a vanishing fleet… the last breed because it was built to carry cargo.” — Bert Rogers, Captain of the Tall Ship Alexandria, “Chipper Skipper steers ritzy ship to Bay Days date,” Newport News Daily Press, September 15, 1985.”
“Sailing is the ultimate physical skill.” Annette Kokurewicz, Crew member, Lindo. - The Philadelphia Inquirer, June 13, 1982.
In mid-June, the tall ship Providence, a replica of the USS Providence, a sloop-of-war in the Continental Navy, will make her maiden voyage from her new home at the foot of Prince Street. As it turns out, this was not the first time a tall-ship in Alexandria gave rides and glimpses of the seaport past. 40 years ago, a 125-foot tall ship arrived for a more than a decade long stay.
In December, 1996, hearts sank in the city and elsewhere when they read Ken Ringle’s story (December 16) in The Washington Post. The “handsome three-master” Alexandria had dipped below the water off the Cape Hatteras, ending a run of 57 years for the 125-foot schooner.
Built in 1929, the ship would have three names - Yngve, 1929-1970, Lindo, 1971-1983, and Alexandria, 1984-1996.
Art Carey (Philadelphia Inquirer, June 13, 1982) tells us Karl Anders Ogard of Sweden had the schooner built as a cargo vessel with “lines made sleeker and faster.” He named it the Yngve after his son. For forty years the vessel hauled lumber, salt, fish, and timber around the Baltic and North Seas.
In 1970, the Yngve was damaged off the coast of Sweden and sold for salvage. In 1976, the ship got a rebuild and the new name, Lindo (“Island of linden trees”). Tommy Stinson detailed the story (“Rebuilt Swedish Ship Has Naples Connection,” Naples Daily News, March 21, 1976).
Brian Watson, the son of a local art merchant in Florida, had fallen in love with sailing. He went to Denmark to recondition the ship. The work included a new engine and prop, replacing the mast, spars, and the old wood. The new sails were “bright red and the hull jet black.” Stinson noted “the level of boat craftsmanship in Denmark is still very high.”
The pride had prevailed with the ship Ogard had built. In Carey’s article, he described the Lindo as, “immaculate and the Bentley of the Baltics.”
In his (1978) book, “This Was Potomac River,” Frederick Tilp devotes a chapter to “The Great Schooners.” Washington’s growth as a city owed something to the workhorses and their bulk cargoes of stone and lime. A bond of sorts was built with New England and the Maine ice firms who took in West Virginia coal.
Tilp also writes that the last great schooner on the Potomac was the Constellation (nee Sally Persis Noyes). In 1932, Robert L. Royall of Boothbay, Maine refitted the four-master for nautical school training. Interest was low, however, and it sank in Bermuda in 1943.
Mostly in the second half of the nineteenth century, some schooners were built in Alexandria at the Marine Railway at the foot of Franklin Street. Perhaps the worker’s chests swelled the most with the construction of the William T. Hart. The largest vessel built in Alexandria, she was a four-master launched there on July 21, 1883. Ford’s Landing covers the site of the shipyard and a marker provides a summary.
1976 was a banner year for tall ships and their crews. The SouthStreet Seaport Museum (“Celebrating Sail”) tells us about some of Operation Sail (OpsSail) Bicentennial events. A fleet of 200 boats and vessels, including the Lindo, filled the New York Harbor. The Lindo had warmed up by sailing from Plymouth, England to the Canary Islands, then on to Bermuda. The Bicentennial celebration in the Big Apple “helped to revive the spirits of the city, which had suffered from a gloomy year of financial tribulations.”
Two years later, the Lindo placed third in the “Trans Atlantic Tall Ships Races” from England to New York. In May 1980, it took part in Operation Sail in Boston. The Patriot Ledger wrote, “If you watched the tall ships parade into Boston Harbor four years ago, you’ll remember how the Lindo’s colorful red sails stood out from the crowd.”
On Memorial Day Weekend, 1980, the vessel participated in “HarborFest” in Norfolk. It was the largest of the tall ships there and led the Chesapeake Bay Challenge Sail Race that started in Fort Monroe.
On its voyages, the Lindo retraced some of the old routes taken by the tall ships in colonial days. In June 1983, it certainly added to that dimension when it came up the Potomac and sailed into Alexandria for a new berth. Rechristened in June 1984 with ceremonies, the new name was “Alexandria.”
The Washington Post covered its arrival (“Tall Ship Arrives,” Michael Marriott, June 21,1983). For the previous five years, the ship (with “reddish-brown sails”) had been cruising the Caribbean. Two New Jersey owners donated it to the Alexandria Seaport Foundation. The private, nonprofit organization, a source of pride for the city still today, had been established in 1982.
As noted at their website, the foundation was formed to facilitate acquisition of the Lindo. Their desire was also to promote public interest in the city’s history as a seaport. Their search for a tall ship had taken almost ten years.
The foundation was considering building a replica of a topsail schooner when it learned the Lindo was for sale. ASF volunteers spent four months scraping off old varnish, repainting, and re-caulking decks built of 3-inch planks on 8-inch double-sewn oak frames.
Bert Rogers (1956-2018) served as one of its skippers. The OldSlatBlog provides a brief bio on him. Rogers parlayed his experience as a rigger and mate to become a captain. He later served as the long-time Director of Tall Ships America. In 2017, Rogers received the National Maritime Historical Society’s Distinguished Service Award.
The initial crew consisted of four professionals, six volunteers, and a cook. Its accommodations were five staterooms, a full galley, and a dinette that sat a dozen hungry tummies.
Under the steady guidance of the Alexandria Seaport Foundation, the Alexandria helped spawn a maritime apprentice program. The program, which continues to this day, was aimed at teaching up to 10 young residents of Alexandria the fundamentals of boat building and sailing.
In 1984, Theresa Longstreet, a 14-year-old student at T.C. Williams High School, signed up as an apprentice. Others included Craig Judy, a 16-year-old student from Annandale High School. The instructor was Brad Lester.
Rick Allen (“Learning the Ropes,” The Washington Post, July 25, 1985) wrote about Glenn Woodson, Marilou Veillard, Thomas Longstreet, Claud Wash, and Cary Lerner, also students at T.C. Williams High School. As cadets, they sailed on the Alexandria. Allen pointed out, “Since the sail training program was begun by ASF last September, about 35 students from Alexandria’s schools have learned sailing skills.“
The program continued as well as the sailing of the Alexandria. Its rise in attention paralleled that of Alexandria’s Waterfront Festival, which debuted in 1982. Tall Ships from around the world arrived, drew crowds, and helped raise money for the American Red Cross. Scheduled to appear was the Providence, the 110-foot sloop that will soon moor in Alexandria at the new Maritime Heritage Center at the foot of Prince.
Anyone researching the Alexandria will benefit from good coverage by The Washington Post. Chip Brown wrote a six-part series (“Aboard the Alexandria”) in June/July 1986. Headed for Norfolk and then New York for the Parade of Sails, a photo shows the ship leaving the city with the old Wilson Bridge in the background. He described the ship - “…whose black oak hull and ox-blood sails lend her a piratical air.”
Brown spent six days and nights with the crew. He described Greg Birra, the skipper — “He looks right out of an Old Spice ad, with a full, sun-bleached beard and autocratic blue eyes.”
Inside, his cabin was a “comfortably appointed niche with pictures of tall ships on paneled walls and the spacious main saloon contained a small library of sea tales and classics.”
Brown also gave small insights on the crew — boatswain Gunnar Christiansen (boatswain), Karen Kraus (steward), Jim Crum (helmsman), Mike Waters (First Mate), Robert Foster, Franchette Greene, Chris Barlow, Charlie Birney, Dominque Frusciante, and Jodi Jacobsen (deckhands), and Bruce Peoples (Cadet).
Foster was a 23-year-old native of Alexandria and survivor of the sinking of the Pride of Baltimore (136-foot replica of a nineteen century Baltimore clipper) that May. The tall ship, built in 1976, had been a part of a rebirth of the city. After a four-day ordeal on only one life raft, eight of the crew were rescued, while four, including the captain, perished.
The West Indies has a place in the maritime history of Alexandria. As Donald Shomette tells us (“Maritime Alexandria”), a lot of flour was sent there and rum and sugar brought back in the early 1770s, a time when the seaport “had grown to dominate the maritime commerce of the Potomac.” Crew member Franchette Greene was a native of Nevis, West Indies. Brown quoted him as saying, “I have two friends - the wind and the ocean.”
The number of sails on the Alexandria was 12, the color of the lights were green to starboard, red to port. For the Parade of Sales in New York it moored at Staten Island. The biblical total of boats for the event was 40,000. Of the 22 ships, standouts were the Queen Elizabeth 2, the battleship Iowa and the aircraft carrier, John F. Kennedy. In the air roared the pride of the Navy, the Blue Angels. Among the special guests from the city of Alexandria were Mary Jane Malone, director of the Alexandria Seaport Foundation and mayor James P. Moran.
It’s hard to know how much of a role the Alexandria and tall ships played in the revitalization of the waterfront. The resurgence of interest in tall ships has been traced back to 1976 and the Bicentennial celebrations and events. The Washington Post (“Tall Ships Riding New Winds of Interest,” June 24, 1985) quoted Diane Bechtol of the Alexandria Tourist Council - “Until 1976, I hadn’t even heard of a tall ship.” In 1985, The fourth annual Waterfront Festival drew 15 tall ships, along with the Alexandria.
Albert Amore (“Tourism and Urban Regeneration”) writes that the Inner Harbor in Baltimore represents the first ever waterfront regeneration project. It began on the heels of a Tall Ship display in 1976.
Gayle Jennings (Water-Based Tourism) adds to our knowledge by writing that although tall-ships are expensive to maintain they have benefits such as symbolic value, are tourist attractions, and have minimal environmental impacts.
There’s an old saying on the water - “The two happiest days in a sailors life are the day he buys his boat, and the day he sells it.” Translation - money and time sink. The Alexandria Seaport Foundation loved the Alexandria, but the costs and repairs were always a concern.
To raise money, the non-profit rented out the Alexandria to businesses and organizations for dockside receptions. Suits were collared and asked for money from private donations. In 1987, Union Street Public House hosted the first annual “Sailors Ball Benefit” to raise funds for the refitting of the schooner Alexandria. In 1988, the ship sailed to Norfolk for a nine-month stay and $150,000 worth of repairs. They included replacing the framework of the keel, installing fiber glass, and replacing some of the sideboards.
Paige Williams (“Schooner Ships Visitors Back in Time,” The Washington Post, August 7,1988) covered the return of the Alexandria. She quoted Shomette — “A tall ship is representative of the intentional aspects of the maritime trade and of the international character of the community.”
The Alexandria brought city and region residents together in a number of ways. One of them was the need for volunteers. At one point, the count of hours tallied up to more than 26,000. One of those volunteers was Alexandria resident and author Ted Pulliam.
He recalled:
“Someone with the foundation took me below decks into what looked like the main cabin. There he put me to work sanding some wood around a mast. It was kind of exciting to be below decks on an actual old sailing ship.”
In 1991, the economic recession put a dent in the fund raising and forced the four person crew to be disbanded. In 1992, the foundation almost went bankrupt and the Alexandria was put up for sale.
To the rescue came Peter Hall, more volunteers, and financial support from the non-profit, BOAT/US Boat Owners Association of the US. But it would all prove to be merely a patch.
In 1993 the Alexandria got a helping hand from Hollywood. It made its way into the gothic horror movie, “Interview with the Vampire,” starring Tom Cruise and Brad Pitt.
The Associated Press covered some of the story. The movie makers offered ASF $10,000 for its use, with a setting in New Orleans. On the trip home the main pump broke. After returning to New Orleans, the decision was made to wait until spring to head back to Alexandria.
Ellen Nakashima (The Washington Post) wrote about the Alexandria in June, 1996. It had become “one of the most distinctive waterfront features.” The nagging worry, was, however, its age, condition, and the cost to repair (as much as $1.3M).
Joe Youcha, the Alexandria Seaport Foundation’s executive director, was quoted as saying, “She's not dead yet, but she's in a situation where if we don't take action now, then it will be too late.” Youcha had helped start the boat building program in 1992 and served as executive director until 2010.
With the exorbitant price tag for repairs, the ASF sought a new owner who would be willing to restore the 67-year-old ship. The foundation also continued to desire a maritime history center on the waterfront, one that would “symbolize the days when the city’s port welcomed sailing vessels from around the world.”
With no one coming forward with a reasonable offer, the city sold the ship to Yale Iverson of Iowa for $50,000. In December, gale winds and strong waves beat up the Alexandria as it headed from Hampton Roads to Beaufort, North Carolina. The story is detailed at the Schoonerman website. An inexperienced, shorthanded crew fought hard, but lost the battle. December 1996 coast guard iverson
Eric L. Wee wrote the obit for the Alexandria (“Schooner Sinks off NC,” December 10, 1996). The Coast Guard rescued the seven crew members in 45-knot winds about 50 miles southeast off the coast of Cape Hatteras. Two were stranded in the tossing waters for more than five hours. One was Harold Phinney, 62, of Alexandria, who was the last to be rescued. He was retired from the Air Force (1952-1974) and Washington’s Metro (1974-1994) and had served as one of the volunteers for the Seaport Foundation.
As reported by OceanNavigator, Phinney (1934-2008) later spoke before several marine organizations about the sinking and his experiences. He related how the primary bilge pump failed and they were unable to “prime the two auxiliary gasoline pumps.”
Phinney spent five hours adrift in 12 to 20 foot seas. He told Angus Phillips (“A Lucky Survivor Talks of a Death”), “She went down majestically. It was spine-chilling. I’m really going to miss her.”
From time to time in the past twenty-five or so years, a tall ship has sailed into Alexandria for a brief stay. In 2004, The Kalmar Nyckel, the Sultana and the Gazela drew eyeballs and visitors. In 2015, the visit of the the Hermione drew long lines. Three summers later, the Godspeed had a magnetic force.
That love affair with tall ships will be rekindled next month when the Providence begins what will hopefully be a long stay. In some ways, its presence is the cherry on top of the cake for the redevelopment of the waterfront. The Tall Ship Alexandria provided some of the icing on that cake.
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