Fall 2009 (Issue No. 45)

BLACK PEARL IS BACK!

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< BLACK PEARL: SAVING OUR NAUTICAL HERITAGE >

BLACK PEARL IS BACK! The sad plight of this historic and proud sailing vessel was first brought to my attention last fall by Eric Dahler of Vintage Yacht Share. She had been on the hard in Chester, CT, for several years but believed to be structurally sound. We featured her on the cover of the Fall ‘08 issue (#41) of Bone Yard Boats where she caught the eye of Nicholas and Amanda Alexander of Liberty Excursions. The Alexanders had been struggling to find the right sailing vessel to expand their charter business. Their target vessel had to have proper lines, be made of wood, be available for a fair price, and, above all, have a history. BLACK PEARL – the 70+ foot hermaphrodite brig built by Lincoln Vaughn in the 1940s – fit the bill. “BLACK PEARL Saved by a Bone Yard Boat Subscriber” was a headline on the cover page of the following issue – Winter ’09 (#42).

What the Alexanders have accomplished since then is nothing short of remarkable, and, indeed, the picture (on Page 11) is worth a thousand words. Clearly, they worked tirelessly over these past months to whip her into shape before her journey home. Being too large to go over land, BLACK PEARL recently traveled through Long Island Sound, up the Hudson and Mohawk Rivers, and eventually sailed on Lake Ontario to her new home port of Olcott, New York.

Nick was kind enough to email me the photo of BLACK PEARL, now returned to her former glory. That same day, I said to my lovely wife, “Remember the story of BLACK PEARL?”

To which she responded, “Of course, I do.”

“Well, you gotta see this,” I blurted out while she looked over my shoulder and I opened the photo on my computer.

There was a pause, and she just said, “That – right there – is worth everything.” Funny, that was exactly the thought that I had earlier that same day when I saw the photo the first time.

Thanks to the efforts of the Alexanders and their accomplices, an American maritime treasure has been saved. You can find the original BLACK PEARL stories on the Bone Yard Boats website in the Fall ’08 & Winter ’09 issues. Interested in sailing on BLACK PEARL? Check out www.libertyexcursions.com.

< BLACK PEARL SAVED BY BYB SUBSCRIBER >