STV ''Fair Jeanne'' is a Canadian sail training ship built and registered in Ottawa,

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central C ...

. She is operated by the Ottawa-based youth charity, Bytown Brigantine Inc. ''Fair Jeanne'' is a traditionally-rigged brigantine of composite construction, outfitted with a Detroit Diesel auxiliary propulsion system. ''Fair Jeanne'' sails mostly on the

Great Lakes The Great Lakes, also called the Great Lakes of North America, are a series of large interconnected freshwater lakes in the mid-east region of North America that connect to the Atlantic Ocean via the Saint Lawrence River. There are five lak ...

, particularly

Lake Ontario Lake Ontario is one of the five Great Lakes of North America. It is bounded on the north, west, and southwest by the Canadian province of Ontario, and on the south and east by the U.S. state of New York. The Canada–United States border ...

, and is berthed in

Kingston, Ontario Kingston is a city in Ontario, Canada. It is located on the north-eastern end of Lake Ontario, at the beginning of the St. Lawrence River and at the mouth of the Cataraqui River (south end of the Rideau Canal). The city is midway between To ...

during the summer months. While ''Fair Jeanne''s summer port is Kingston, she was built by the Fuller family in the backyard of their Ottawa home. ''Fair Jeanne'' began life as the family's private

yacht A yacht is a sailing or power vessel used for pleasure, cruising, or racing. There is no standard definition, though the term generally applies to vessels with a cabin intended for overnight use. To be termed a , as opposed to a , such a pleasu ...

, cruising the world's oceans for more than ten years. ''Fair Jeanne'' is leased to the not-for-profit youth charity Bytown Brigantine, which uses her and her sister ship for youth

sail training From its modern interpretations to its antecedents when maritime nations would send young naval officer candidates to sea (e.g., see Outward Bound), sail training provides an unconventional and effective way of building many useful skills on and ...

. In addition to summer youth voyages, ''Fair Jeanne'' also does fall and spring group trips for organizations such as the Royal Canadian Sea Cadets,

Girl Guides of Canada Girl Guides of Canada (GGC; french: Guides du Canada) is the national Guiding association of Canada. Guiding in Canada started on September 7, 1910, and GGC was among the founding members of the World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts (W ...

and corporate groups. ''Fair Jeanne'' also offers trips for people who are working towards

The Duke of Edinburgh's Award The Duke of Edinburgh's Award (commonly abbreviated DofE) is a youth awards programme founded in the United Kingdom in 1956 by Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, that has since expanded to 144 nations. The awards recognise adolescents and young ...

s. The length overall of the ship is , length on deck , and length at the waterline . The beam width of the ship is . The mast height is carrying approximately of sail. Her hull is constructed of a steel frame with a thick fiber glass overlay. She draws , or with the centreboard down, which allows her access to shallow docks.

History

''Fair Jeanne'' began her life in the backyard of the former

Royal Canadian Navy The Royal Canadian Navy (RCN; french: Marine royale canadienne, ''MRC'') is the naval force of Canada. The RCN is one of three environmental commands within the Canadian Armed Forces. As of 2021, the RCN operates 12 frigates, four attack submar ...

officer Thomas G. Fuller. She was designed and built by Captain Fuller at his home in Britannia-on-the-Bay in

Ottawa, Ontario Ottawa (, ; Canadian French: ) is the capital city of Canada. It is located at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River in the southern portion of the province of Ontario. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the core ...

. The

keel The keel is the bottom-most longitudinal structural element on a vessel. On some sailboats, it may have a hydrodynamic and counterbalancing purpose, as well. As the laying down of the keel is the initial step in the construction of a ship, in Br ...

was laid in 1978 and she was launched in 1980. ''Fair Jeanne'' was sailed by Capt. Fuller and his wife, Jeanne (now patron of Bytown Brigantine Inc.) in the Caribbean and to his old haunts in the European seas. During the past 15 years, the ship has logged over in service. The Fuller family founded Bytown Brigantine Foundation in 1984 utilizing ''Fair Jeanne''s sister ship, , whose port is the

Britannia Yacht Club The Britannia Yacht Club (BYC) is a private social club, yacht club and tennis club based in Britannia, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. It was founded in 1887 by a group of cottagers. BYC is located on an extension of land at the eastern end of Lac ...

. After 14 years of service to the family as a yacht, ''Fair Jeanne'' was brought into sail-training service as well, allowing Bytown Brigantine Inc. to expand its program and offer offshore sail training for youth between the ages of 15–18. ''Fair Jeanne'' took part in the Tall Ships 1812 Tour, a pan-provincial event that traveled throughout Ontario during the summer of 2013, commemorating the bicentennial for the

War of 1812 The War of 1812 (18 June 1812 – 17 February 1815) was fought by the United States, United States of America and its Indigenous peoples of the Americas, indigenous allies against the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, United Kingdom ...

. Sixteen ports participated in this event which was produced in partnership with the Tall Ships Challenge Great Lakes 2013 series. The first port of call for the tour was in Brockville, Ontario, Canada from June 14–16, 2013. On the morning of July 26, 2013 ''Fair Jeanne'' was struck by a fishing tug while at anchor near Port Stanley, Ontario. The impact left a hole in the hull, approximately above the water line. She was repaired in Port Stanley.

References

External links

Newspaper article about a trainee's experiencePhotos of ''Fair Jeanne'' on flickr
{{DEFAULTSORT:Fair Jeanne, STV Brigantines Tall ships of Canada 1980 ships