carwreck.com: around Boston harbor...

Hurricane Juan hit the Canadian Maritimes yesterday and caused widespread damage and a number of deaths.

Notable amongst the losses is the sailing schooner Larinda, a replica of a 1767 Boston schooner, which is based out of Barnstable, MA on Cape Cod.

Here's an article on Boston.com about the sinking and here is a story on Canada.com which includes a photo showing only the schooner's masts sticking out of the water.

I've seen the Larinda up close and she is a truly beautiful vessel. She was built over the course of 26 years as a labor of love by a man who wanted to preserve some of New England's sailing history. The schooner sits on bottom of Halifax Harbor while it is determined if she can be salvaged.

a friend of my brother's did some of the finish woodwork for the Larinda. sorry to hear she's been damaged. any chance they will be able to salvage her, you think?

The articles indicated that there was not much hope of salvage due to the amount of damage to the hull of the boat. Given the proper motivation and the right equipment I am sure the boat could be raises. The problem is that it will be very expensive.

Given that the rig is still intact, one could infer that the hull has retained its structural integrity. And, ferro-cement hulls are repairable. Raising her won't be cheap, but I expect that that has to be done regardless to clear the waterway at the dock.

Just in case you haven't heard, the Larinda was raised on Friday (10/17). The damage is a bit worse than feared and Capt. Larry is not very optimistic. I think the plan is to put a temporary patch on the damage and sail it to Lunenberg to get so permanent work done.

The boat was resting (and sinking) into about 3m of sewage in the harbor and the sludge all over everything is making it difficult to determine damage. A website has been constructed to make a donation to the raising, repair, and restoration costs. It's www.savelarinda.20m.com

Also a yahoo group has been set up with more up to date info. http://groups.yahoo.com/group/schoonerlarinda
If you're interested check it out.

It is truly a shame that the Larinda sank. I sailed on her in 1999 for two weeks, it was my first real oceangoing voyage. She is a beautiful ship, built to a grand scale. The detail of the work was incredible, i lerned woodcarving from the sculptor who mad ethe figure head. I remember standing watch a the helm and leaving Greenport Long island at sunrise. i still have pants with tarr stains from the rigging. Overall, i feel connected to the ship and hope she is salvageable.

Hello to all of the Larinda crew.

That is meant for all of you that have supported the ship "then and now". The dream must live on. Larinda is not salvagable, at least not by us. The cost is too out of sight. The repair is extensive. She went out for bids today.

Larry and I will try to find some other character ship that he can truly make his own so the sail training for young people can continue.

Thank you all for your support.

Marlene Mahan