SALISBURY BEACH — When the Roseway's keel was laid, and her ribs, planks and deck hued and sealed at John James family's shipyard in nearby Essex, it was the height of the Roaring '20s, and this classic 137-foot Grand Banks Fishing Schooner was decked out in the best materials.
Built in 1925 and commissioned by Harold Hathaway of Taunton, she wasn't destined to be a working fishing schooner but designed instead for swiftness. Hathaway intended to beat the Nova Scotians in the international fishing vessel races of the 1920s and 1930s.
"The Roseway had a pretty cushy beginning, but she's a Grand Banks Fishing Schooner through and through," said her captain, Dwight Deckelmann. "At first, she was a rich man's plaything, but he did do some fishing with her. She didn't fish for (ground) fish like cod, but for swordfish, actually. And, she set a record for catching the most swordfish (74) in one day in 1934."
Deckelmann and the captains of the two other Tall Ships that are docked at the Salisbury Beach State Reservation this weekend spent some time yesterday sharing their thoughts with The Daily News about their beloved ships. The ships are in town as the featured attractions of the first Merrimack River Maritime Festival. They will be open for tours throughout the weekend.
Built of white oak from a special stand of trees on Hathaway's own property, aside from a dash of yellow pine, Roseway can boast the finest wood the Eastern seaboard had to offer. Her fine bones served her well, for she can brag of a magnificently varied life at sea, including duty during World War II.
In 1942, mounted with a .50-caliber machine gun, Roseway served New England guiding ships through minefields and anti-submarine netting that protected the harbors.
When peace came, she became a Boston pilot ship for 32 years, until 1973 when she retired and began her windjammer career. Changing hands several times, in 2002 Roseway was feeling her age. Repossessed by the First National Bank of Damariscotta in Maine, she needed rescuers and found them at the World Ocean School of Maine, an educational foundation.
"At that time, Roseway was in harsh shape," Deckelmann said. "She was pretty much sinking at the dock, but we knew she was worth saving."
After a complete renovation, Roseway began her career as a teacher.
"Seeing the kids, how excited they are when they leave this ship, it's very inspiring," Deckelmann said. "We do some charter work to pay the bills, but this is about education. We're a nonprofit foundation."
Today, at the age of 83, Roseway, is one of only six original Grand Banks schooners left afloat. With 5,500 square feet of sail, fore and aft rigged on two, tall masts, Roseway shines as a teacher, it's true, but she still has all the panache of a schooner built for speed and style, created in the best traditions of New England's shipbuilding and sailing history.
"Roseway is an amazing boat," Deckelmann said. "She's great to sail. She does everything you could ever want her to do and she loves the wind. She just loves a windy day."
The Tall Ship Mystic
The largest of the three, tall-masted sailing ships to grace Salisbury's coast, the 170-foot Tall Ship Mystic isn't a historic ship, but is rather a newly built replica honoring the great cargo vessels that plied their trade hauling goods across the Atlantic between the continents in the mid- to late 1800s, according to her captain, Amy Blumberg.
Launched last March, the Mystic has a steel hull and masts, as did her predecessors, Blumberg said, but her deck, common areas and quarters are beautifully adorned with teak and Spanish cedar, a type of mahogany. For those lucky enough to sail aboard this ship for cruises, the feel is wonderfully historic.
The only three-masted ship, and the only one with both square and fore and aft sail rigging, the Mystic is a barkentine named to honor Mystic, Conn., for its contributions to maritime history. The Mystic is also the only for-profit ship of the three, earning her living carrying passengers. Her mission is to introduce today's world to the wonder of sailing the seas on the luff of the wind.
"We want to get people onto old-fashioned ships like this," said Blumberg, who earned her captain's papers in 1988. "We'd like the public to have an interest in them, because these boats almost all crumbled in by the 1960s."
"I can't think of anything better than getting people on our deck, except for maybe getting them sailing," Blumberg said smiling.
With 15 sails made of 8,500 square feet of sturdy Dacron, and 17 miles of running rigging, it takes a crew of 11 to 12 professional mariners to harness the wind and move this 400 ton vessel, which will compete in the 2009 Atlantic Tall Ship Challenge, a race from Halifax, Nova Scotia, to Belfast, Northern Ireland.
The Spirit of South Carolina
Reminiscent of the 1879 pilot schooner Frances Elizabeth, which served the city of Charleston, S.C., for 25 years, the new 140-foot Spirit of South Carolina brings its educational purpose to Salisbury.
Only about a year old, this replica ship is a sailing school vessel, out of Charleston. After their time on board, kids learn more than nautical skills, they learn that life is about doing, not hanging back, captain Tony Arrow said.
"When (students) leave, they learn teamwork, social skills, leadership," Arrow said. "When they leave, we hope they've learned the only barriers they have are the barriers they've set for themselves."
Students do everything on the beautiful, two-masted ship with 4,500 square feet of sail, a keel of angelica wood, a rudder of dense purple heart and deck and rails of teak.
Arrow said there are plans for a new maritime festival in South Carolina, and he intends to use ideas he picked up in Salisbury to help with the planning.
"The people involved with this festival in Salisbury are wonderful," Arrow said. "From SPS (New England), to those from (Salisbury State Beach Reservation), to the Maritime Festival's organizers, this is one of the best organized ports I've even been to. What SPS has been able to do (with the barge gang ways) is great. I think we're going to take some of these ideas back to Charleston to use for our maritime festival."
If You Go
What: Merrimack River Maritime Festival, two-day summer maritime festival with Tall Ship tours, hands-on activities, fireworks and more
When: Saturday and Sunday. Tours and activities from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Fireworks Saturday at 10 p.m.
Where: Salisbury Beach State Reservation, Beach Road, Salisbury
How: Tickets for tours of all three ships $5; toddlers free. Ticket tent adjacent to pathway that leads to the docks; no prior purchase available. Visit www.beachfests.org.
