Clipper City (schooner)

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The 1984 replica of the Clipper City
Career (US) United States
Name: Clipper City
Operator: Manhattan by Sail.com
Ordered: 1984
Builder: Haglund Boatworks, Green Cove Springs, Florida
Homeport: New York, NY
Identification: 688904
General characteristics
Class & type: Topsail Schooner
Tonnage: 99.5
Displacement: 200 tons
Length: 158 ft (48 m)
Beam: 27.5 ft (8.4 m)
Height: 135 ft (41 m) from waterline
Draft: 14 ft (4.3 m) w/ centerboard, 6 ft (1.8 m) w/o
Propulsion: Sail; auxiliary engine
Sail plan: Two-masted square-topsail gaff schooner, 9,836 square feet (913.8 m2) total sail area
Capacity: 150 persons (not including crew)
Crew: 9

Clipper City is a modern replica of a nineteenth-century cargo schooner.

The original Clipper City

The first Clipper City was a cargo clipper schooner built in Manitowoc, Wisconsin in 1854.[1] Manitowoc soon became known for its shipbuilding industry, and "Clipper City" was adopted as a nickname for the town itself. A replica cross section of the Clipper City is on permanent display at the Wisconsin Maritime Museum.[2]

The replica

In 1984, the plans for the original Clipper City were purchased from the Smithsonian Institution,[3] and naval architects DeJong & Lebet, Inc. were hired to adapt the design to meet modern safety requirements. The new vessel, also named Clipper City, was a steel-hulled schooner carrying eight sails on two steel masts: six fore-and-aft rigged sails, and two square topsails.[4]

The Clipper City offered passenger sails out of Baltimore, Maryland for over twenty years, with occasional trips to the Caribbean and other destinations.

Current status

In 2007, Clipper City's then owner, John Kircher, filed for bankruptcy to avoid foreclosure on the vessel by Regal Bancorp, Inc. Clipper City's Coast Guard certification was revoked shortly thereafter due to a hull failure.[5] Following a brief seizure by U.S. Marshals, the vessel was sold at auction to Regal Bancorp for $350,000.[6]

Clipper City was then purchased by ESV Corp and rebuilt to original condition. She operates as a day sail tour boat running out of Pier 17, South Street Seaport in New York City.[citation needed]

See also

References

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Clipper City (ship, 1984).
  1. ↑ Gjerset, Knut (1979). Norwegian Sailors on the Great Lakes. Ayer Publishing, p. 66. ISBN 0-405-11636-5. Google Book Search. Retrieved on July 18, 2008.
  2. ↑ Wisconsin Maritime Museum Exhibits
  3. ↑ Former owner's website
  4. ↑ Naval architects DeJong & Lebet, Inc.
  5. ↑ examiner.com article, "Clipper City owner abandons fight to stay afloat"
  6. ↑ WJZ-TV article, "Baltimore's Clipper City Tall Ship Sold"
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