The

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 ...

''Hindu'' was constructed by the shipyard Hodgdon Bros. in

East Boothbay, Maine Boothbay is a town in Lincoln County, Maine, United States. The population was 3,003 at the 2020 census. It includes the villages of Back Narrows, Dover, East Boothbay, Linekin, Oak Hill, Ocean Point, Spruce Shores, and Trevett. The Boothbay regi ...

in 1925. William H. Hand Jr., a renowned yacht designer, drew the plans for James W. Hall of

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

. The vessel's original name was the ''Princess Pat''," which is a sailor's song of Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry Unit, currently stationed in Edmonton, Alberta. The schooner is a

long overall __NOTOC__ Length overall (LOA, o/a, o.a. or oa) is the maximum length of a vessel's hull measured parallel to the waterline. This length is important while docking the ship. It is the most commonly used way of expressing the size of a ship, and ...

half-scale model of a 19th-century

Grand Banks The Grand Banks of Newfoundland are a series of underwater plateaus south-east of the island of Newfoundland on the North American continental shelf. The Grand Banks are one of the world's richest fishing grounds, supporting Atlantic cod, swordf ...

fishing vessel. James W. Hall promptly sold the ''Princess Pat'' to Alphonsus Reybine, according to title records. After Reybine's death, executor Martha Reynine sold it to T. Sloan Young in 1929. Young changed the name to ''Saispas'', from the French "Je ne sais pas," or "I don’t know." The boat participated in the 1930

Newport-Bermuda Race The Newport Bermuda Race, commonly known as the ''Bermuda Race'', is a biennial, 635 nautical miles (1175 km) sailing yacht race from Newport, Rhode Island to the British island of Bermuda. According to its website, the Race is the oldest re ...

under Young's ownership. The vessel placed last, sailing alongside such other notable schooners of her era such as the John Alden-designed ''Malabar X''. Roger W. Randall bought ''Saispas'' from Young. Nowell Ames bought her from Randall. Both sales happened in 1935. Nowell changed the boat's name to ''Anna Lee Ames'', before selling her to William A. Parker in 1938. Parker used the boat to trade spices between India and Boston from 1938–1940, and christened her ''Hindu''. The U.S. Navy commissioned ''Hindu'' during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, where she assisted the Coastal Patrol along the Eastern Seaboard. Log books indicate the navy painted her gray, armed her with depth charges, mounted a machine gun on her deck and engaged a German

U-boat U-boats were naval submarines operated by Germany, particularly in the First and Second World Wars. Although at times they were efficient fleet weapons against enemy naval warships, they were most effectively used in an economic warfare role ...

on more than one occasion. Archie A. Comstock owned the boat after the war for a short time before he sold it to Albert "Al" Avellar Jr. and partners in 1946. Capt. Al Avellar of Provincetown, Massachusetts bought ''Hindu'' in 1946 and began sailing her as a passenger vessel there. Avellar eventually pioneered the

whale watching Whale watching is the practice of observing whales and dolphins ( cetaceans) in their natural habitat. Whale watching is mostly a recreational activity (cf. birdwatching), but it can also serve scientific and/or educational purposes.Hoyt, E. 2 ...

industry in 1947 with what is purportedly the first trip on the eastern seaboard.The First Whale Watch
/ref> Captain Al Avellar sold the ''Hindu'' to Alfred "Al" Bates Tinker Jr. As a young man, Tinker Jr. had been a deckhand aboard the ''Hindu''. Tinker Jr. continued the tradition of sailing the vessel during the summer months, berthed at McMillan Wharf, in Provincetown. Tinker Jr. began a new tradition for the ''Hindu'', when he began providing sailings out of Key West, in the winter season. The boat changed hands a few times in the 1980s before John Bennett became the owner. Bennett died aboard the boat and the schooner fell into disrepair. Capt. Kevin "Foggy" Foley of

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 ...

and partners bought her in 2006. Then in his late 50s, Foley had sailed aboard ''Hindu'' as crew when he was 12 years old. Foley spent a year rebuilding the schooner in East Boothbay. She was used in the production of two Daniel Adams films that take place on Cape Cod: ''

The Golden Boys ''The Golden Boys'' is a romantic comedy, set on Cape Cod in 1905, about three 70-year-old retired sea captains who try to lure an attractive middle-aged woman into marriage. Developed under the working title ''Chatham'', the film is an adaptat ...

'' in 2008 and ''

The Lightkeepers ''The Lightkeepers'' is a 2009 American romantic comedy film written and directed by Daniel Adams, and stars Richard Dreyfuss, Blythe Danner, Bruce Dern, Mamie Gummer, Tom Wisdom and Julie Harris in her final film role. Zana Messia wrote the f ...

'' in 2009. Fairwinds Credit Union acquired ''Hindu'' in 2009. William Rowan bought the schooner in 2011. The vessel is docked at the Key West Bight Marina, in Old Town Key West. The schooner spends its year split between

Key West, Florida Key West ( es, Cayo Hueso) is an island in the Straits of Florida, within the U.S. state of Florida. Together with all or parts of the separate islands of Sigsbee Park, Dredgers Key, Fleming Key, Sunset Key, and the northern part of Stock Isla ...

in the winters and Provincetown, Massachusetts in the summers, going on regular day sails and sunset cruises.

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External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Hindu Schooners of the United States Navy Individual sailing vessels Tall ships of the United States 1925 ships Ships built in Boothbay, Maine

See also

References

External links