Lettie G. Howard

Lettie G. Howard, formerly Mystic C and Caviare, is a wooden Fredonia schooner built in 1893 in Essex, Massachusetts, USA.[3] This type of craft was commonly used by American offshore fishermen, and is believed to be the last surviving example of its type. She was declared a National Historic Landmark in 1989.[2][4][5] She is now based at the South Street Seaport Museum in New York City.

Lettie G. Howard
Lettie G. Howard sailing in New York Harbor 2010
History
United States
Namesake: Lettie G. Howard Barron
Owner: South Street Seaport Museum
Builder: A.D. Story yard, Essex, MA
Launched: 1893
Acquired: 1968
Refit: 1993
Identification:
Status: Sea-going museum ship
General characteristics
Type: two-masted gaff schooner
Displacement: 102 short tons (93 t)
Length: 125.4 ft (38.2 m) overall
Beam: 21.1 ft (6.4 m)
Draft: 10.6 ft (3.2 m)
Depth of hold: 8.4 ft (2.6 m)
Sail plan: mainsail, main topsail, foresail, staysail, jib; 5,072 square feet (471.2 m2)
Crew: 17 POB for exposed waters, 36 POB for day sails, 20 POB overnight (Captain, Lic Mate crew varies: bosun, engineer, cook deckhand up to 7 paid crew)
Lettie G. Howard (schooner)
Lettie G. Howard in 1989 prior to restoration
LocationSouth Street Seaport, Manhattan, New York City, New York
Arealess than one acre
Built1893 (1893)
ArchitectArthur D. Story
Architectural styleFredonia schooner
NRHP reference No.84002779[1]
Significant dates
Added to NRHP7 September 1984[1]
Designated NHL11 April 1989[2]

Description and history

Lettie G. Howard is a two-masted wooden-hulled fishing schooner. She is 74.6 feet (22.7 m) long, with a beam of 21 feet (6.4 m) and a hold depth of 8.4 feet (2.6 m). She has a gross tonnage of 59.74 and a net tonnage of 56.76. Her hull has a frame of oak timbers, covered in treenailed pine planking. The belowdecks area was historically divided into a forecastle third where the crew quarters were located, the main fish hold in the center, and a smaller storage area aft.[6]

The schooner was built in 1893 at a shipyard in Essex, Massachusetts by noted shipbuilder Arthur D. Story. Story was one of four co-owners of the ship, which operated on the Georges Banks until 1901, when she ran aground on a shoal near Gurnet Point, Massachusetts. In 1902, she was sold to E.E. Saunders of Pensacola, Florida, who used her to fish for red snapper off the coast of the Yucatan Peninsula. She was taken out of service in 1922, and rebuilt in 1923, given the name Mystic C. In 1966, she was sold to Historic Ship Associates of Gloucester, Massachusetts, who converted her into a museum ship, mistakenly named Caviare after an 1891 ship of that name.[6] That museum failed, and in 1968 she was sold to the South Street Seaport Museum and refinished. She was restored in 1991 and is currently certified by the US Coast Guard as a Sailing School Vessel training and working museum ship. She currently sails along the Northeast seaboard. She underwent extensive shipyard repairs in Portland, Maine in the second half of 2013.[7]

In 2014, the schooner received two awards relating to her programming and historic restoration efforts; the Tall Ships America 2014 Sail Training Vessel of the Year Award,[8] and the New York Landmarks Conservancy Lucy G. Moses Preservation Award.[9]

In 2015, the vessel and crew took third place in the Gloucester Schooner Festival's Esperanto Cup. Part of the crew was made up of High school students, from the New York Harbor School, and the MAST Academy.[10]

In 2018, the schooner sailed to Lake Erie and is currently hosted by the Flagship Niagara League, offering sailing tours from the Erie Maritime Museum in Erie, PA.[11][12]

See also

References
  1. "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. July 9, 2010.
  2. "Lettie G. Howard (Schooner)". National Historic Landmark summary listing. National Park Service. 2007-09-15. Archived from the original on 2012-03-18.
  3. South Street Seaport Museum Archived 2007-08-17 at the Wayback Machine
  4. Foster, Kevin J. (August 5, 1988). "National Register of Historic Places Registration: Lettie G. Howard" (pdf). National Park Service.
  5. "National Register of Historic Places Registration: Lettie G. Howard—Accompanying photos" (pdf). National Park Service. 1988.
  6. "NHL nomination for Lettie G. Howard". National Park Service. Retrieved 2017-12-29.
  7. Old Salt Blog - Lettie G. Howard Returns to New York's South Street Seaport
  8. 2014 Tall Ships America Sail Training Conference Awards
  9. 25th Annual Lucy G. Moses Preservation Awards list
  10. 2015 Gloucester Schooner Festival Race Results
  11. "Flagship Niagara League". www.flagshipniagara.org. Retrieved 2020-07-21.
  12. "LETTIE G. HOWARD". Tall Ships America. Retrieved 2020-07-21.
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