The ''Larinda'' is a recreational

schooner A schooner () is a type of sailing vessel defined by its rig: fore-and-aft rigged on all of two or more masts and, in the case of a two-masted schooner, the foremast generally being shorter than the mainmast. A common variant, the topsail schoon ...

inspired by the 1767 Boston schooner . It was built over a period of twenty-six years in the backyard of its owner and launched in 1996. It sank during

Hurricane Juan A tropical cyclone is a rapidly rotating storm system characterized by a low-pressure center, a closed low-level atmospheric circulation, strong winds, and a spiral arrangement of thunderstorms that produce heavy rain and squalls. Depend ...

on September 29, 2003, was raised a month later and eventually returned to service.

History

The idea for a ship originated when owner and creator Larry Mahan was in the fourth grade. His dream was to build the biggest ship on

Cape Cod Cape Cod is a peninsula extending into the Atlantic Ocean from the southeastern corner of mainland Massachusetts, in the northeastern United States. Its historic, maritime character and ample beaches attract heavy tourism during the summer mont ...

. In 1970 at his new house in Marstons Mills, he began construction. Over the next 26 years, the ship was built by over 1,000 volunteers. The ship is long with a specialized

reinforced concrete Reinforced concrete (RC), also called reinforced cement concrete (RCC) and ferroconcrete, is a composite material in which concrete's relatively low tensile strength and ductility are compensated for by the inclusion of reinforcement having hig ...

hull. of red sail are also utilized. The figurehead is carved from a 100-year-old cypress tree. While the hull was inspired by the lines of the 1767 schooner ''Sultana'', ''Larinda'' has a Chinese junk rig, a different deck layout and whimsical ornamental carvings not found on the 1767 schooner, notably a figurehead of a frog holding a telescope. The schooner was launched in 1996. It was moved from its home to the launching point in

Falmouth, Massachusetts Falmouth ( ) is a town in Barnstable County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 32,517 at the 2020 census, making Falmouth the second-largest municipality on Cape Cod after Barnstable. The terminal for the Steamship Authority ferri ...

. Prior to its sinking, ''Larinda'' visited 19 states, seven foreign countries, served as a goodwill ambassador to

Cuba Cuba ( , ), officially the Republic of Cuba ( es, República de Cuba, links=no ), is an island country comprising the island of Cuba, as well as Isla de la Juventud and several minor archipelagos. Cuba is located where the northern Caribbea ...

, sailed alongside the , and was part of Boston's Tall Ships 2000. In 1999, the Mahans sold their house to be with the ship permanently. On September 28, 2003, the schooner was at

Halifax Harbour Halifax Harbour is a large natural harbour on the Atlantic coast of Nova Scotia, Canada, located in the Halifax Regional Municipality. Halifax largely owes its existence to the harbour, being one of the largest and deepest ice-free natural harbo ...

at the Maritime Museum of the Atlantic preparing to sail to Lunenburg, Nova Scotia, and then home to

. when

struck. ''Larinda'' was moored north of the corvette when the corvette broke loose and rammed the schooner. According to the Canadian Coast Guard, winds reached up to . The schooner took on large amounts of water and sank just after the hurricane ended early on September 29. The sinking took place so quickly that only a few documents were saved, although all of the crew escaped unharmed. The schooner was raised by a crane and barge on October 17, 2003. However the schooner was badly contaminated by harbour sewage. Mahan was unable to afford repairs and decontamination and was forced to sell ''Larinda''. ''Larinda'' was purchased by Arthur Scott and Charlene Corkum of St. Margaret's Bay, Nova Scotia who completed repairs and now use the schooner to promote a cottage and restaurant complex. The Mahan family sued ''Sackville's'' owners, the Naval Memorial Trust in 2009 for $815,000 but the Nova Scotia Supreme Court dismissed the case on August 4, 2011, concluding that the Trust had taken all necessary and appropriate precautions to secure ''Sackville''."HMCS Sackville not liable for Larinda sinking", CBC News, August 4, 2011
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References

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External links

Barnstable, Massachusetts Replica ships Individual sailing vessels Sailing ships Shipwrecks of the Nova Scotia coast History of Halifax, Nova Scotia 1996 ships Concrete ships