The topsail schooner/Privateer/Baltimore Clipper-designed Vessel, "Lynx" of Nantucket, MA, tied up Monday afternoon at the fuel dock of the Charleston Maritime Center.
She departed this morning, Wednesday to continue her passage north, where she'll continue programs up the coast and eventually be hauled out in Portland Maine. I was lucky enough to be at the dock at the time, and so cast off her docklines as she departed. and caught this footage.
The above descriptor- pretty much describes what she is; a racy-looking replica of an actual topsail schooner of that name, operating out of Fells Point, Baltimore, in the Chesapeake, in the War of 1812. Unfortunately, she suffered a short career, being captured by the British in a "cutting-out" expedition early in the War. She was one of hundreds of this design built with shallow draft, large rigs and hollow entrance, extreme, and risky to sail for the times and technology... but very fast. Primarily for Privateering, piracy, and Slaving: Other replica's of this design include the privateer, Pride of Baltimore II, and the slaver, Amistad on the east coast. Learn more about her and her programs at the link below:
Talls ships such as Lynx put into Charleston regularly in their transition passages north or south. They may stay only overnight, or as long as a week. As Volunteer deckhands for Spirit of South Carolina, we have opportunities to act as hosts/guides, ad-hoc shore support for those visiting vessels and their crew. I regret I only knew they were here when I happened upon this morning, else I'd have alerted the Volunteers of her presence. It would have been a treat to go aboard for a tour and interact with the crew.
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