The tall, billowing white sails of the Privateer Lynx ship are hard to miss from the Matanzas Bay or even while docked at the St. Augustine Municipal Marina.
But the 122-foot high and 114-ton Baltimore schooner replica isn’t only nice to view, the ship and its crew also hold a wealth of knowledge about sailing and the American history of the 19th century. The Privateer Lynx was built in 2001 in Rockport, Maine, to help teach American history in a new, interactive way through the Lynx Educational Foundation.
"This is a working ship from the 19th century," said the ship's engineer, Dylan Leach. "Aside from the GPS and navigation equipment, everything this has is what the original one had."
Each day, the full-time crew of seven experienced sailors mops the decks, polishes the bells and carronades, and mans the sails of the replica schooner, just as the original crew in the 1800s would have done. But the crew of today also takes time to share the rich history of the ship on regularly scheduled deck tours.
The schooner, which arrived in St. Augustine in November, will stay through February as part of an East Coast tour in celebration of the 200th anniversary of the War of 1812 and "The Star Spangled Banner."
The crew members live on board, where Captain Lee Anne Gordon stays in her own captain's quarters and the rest of the crew share their own ward under the front deck. Each crew member has his own job, from being a deck hand and understanding how to man the sails, to being a full-time cook or engineer, Leach said.
On a deck tour, visitors are able to experience first hand what it's like to live on a schooner ship. Visitors can see the two 350-pound old anchors, one kept at the bow of the ship and the other at the port, the tall masks that hang the white sails, four fully functioning carronades and the wheel that the captain uses to steer the ship.
After the Lynx leaves St. Augustine, it will make a short trip to Jacksonville before continuing up the East Coast, Gordon said.
"Right now it's too cold to go any farther north," she said.
The ship's time in St. Augustine is the longest the Lynx has ever been in port, Gordon said. The longest trip at sea was traveling from the West Coast to Hawaii, which took 26 days, she said.
Privateer Lynx Facts:
* The Lynx is a replica of a Baltimore schooner ship captured by the British during the War of 1812. A Baltimore schooner is smaller than a naval war schooner ships, but much quicker.
* The original Lynx was among the first ships to defend American freedom by evading the British naval fleet then blockading American ports and serving in the important privateering efforts.
* When the original Lynx was captured, no shots were fired. The crew members decided they would rather go home to see their families than fight the British. The ship was then taken and used in the Nova Scotia area.
* At the outbreak of the War of 1812, the American Navy consisted of only 17 ships -- eight frigates, two brigs, and seven assorted smaller vessels, including a few schooners that saw service in the Barbary Wars, according to its website.
- As early as the navies of the world engaged in combat, privateers crossed oceans in search of prey. This practice became widely accepted during the 17th, 18th, and early 19th centuries. These were not "pirate" ships, but armed and sanctioned vessels authorized to attack the enemy ships of whichever country their own nation fought. They were owned and operated by civilian -- private -- individuals, hence, "privateer."
- When a nation went to war, owners of private vessels were granted special permissions, called "letters of marque," to prey upon the enemy's shipping, thus they were called "privateers." While rarely engaging enemy warships, their impact was felt by English merchants who insisted on warship escorts for their vessels. To perform this duty, warships were drawn away from engaging the scant American Navy and blockading our coast, and thus did the privateers.