Meeting The Captain And Crew Of The Tall Ship LYNX That Is Docked In Sag Harbor Right Now
In Sag Harbor today, you can climb aboard the tall ship Lynx, which is docked right at Long Wharf. The Lynx is a square topsail schooner that is an interpretation of an American letter of marque vessel of the same name from 1812. The original Lynx completed one voyage, running the Royal Navy blockade, but the British captured her in 1813 at the start of her second voyage and took her into service as HMSMosquidobit.
I climbed aboard the Lynx yesterday to talk to the Captain and crew. It’s a powerful sailboat, made entirely of wood, with a Captain and crew to match its charm. Captain John Beebe Center, who is in entire command of the ship explained to me what they were doing there, “We’re inviting the public to come aboard to take a look at the ship. The vessel itself is an education vessel that hosts educational programs. Our own program is for fourth graders all the way up to high school. The younger kids are given instruction and the older kids we take out sailing where they participate in operating the ship.”
The entire crew was onboard minus the cook. However I was greeted by Chief Mate Sara Martin, 2nd Mate Katelinn Shaw, the ships Engineers Tanner Tillotson and Trevor Lansing. The three deckhands Ben Carver, Brad Allain and Gwendolyn Reid as well as the volunteer deckhands Melissa Brauner, Sarah Kaplan and Kathy Tingley, all of whom are pictured above. Everybody lives aboard the boat, however, some will be leaving as the Captain explained.
“The whole crew does live on the boat. Currently you’re catching us with a lot of crew because we are in a crew turnover right now. People that have been with us for six months are cycling off and people that are joining us for the next six months are cycling on. Instead of the usual nine, right now we have twelve.”
If you’re in Sag Harbor, it’s worth having a look at this ship and what it means to be a part of sailing crew that ventures the seas. Captain John later said that, “It’s a pleasure to be back in Sag Harbor, I’ve been coming here for 30 years bringing schooners in and the town just keeps getting nicer and nicer.