The ''Maple Leaf'' is a

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 schoo ...

built in 1904, making it British Columbia's oldest

tall ship A tall ship is a large, traditionally- rigged sailing vessel. Popular modern tall ship rigs include topsail schooners, brigantines, brigs and barques. "Tall ship" can also be defined more specifically by an organization, such as for a race or fe ...

. In 1906, the ''Maple Leaf'' was the only Canadian vessel to qualify for the first ever Trans-Pac sailing race, which was slated to take place in San Francisco but never took place due to the massive earthquake that occurred in that year. Now a sail training vessel and

ecotourism Ecotourism is a form of tourism involving responsible travel (using sustainable transport) to natural areas, conserving the environment, and improving the well-being of the local people. Its purpose may be to educate the traveler, to provide fund ...

schooner, she has a rich history of operation on the coast. It operates as a small cruise ship touring the west coast of North America and accommodating eight passengers.Small cruise, big offers; Learn about the West Coast during a fun and educational ecoadventure Saunders, Aaron. ''The Vancouver Sun;'' Vancouver, B.C. 09 Mar 2019: G.3.

History

In 1904, a

Vancouver Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the city, up from 631,486 in 2016. Th ...

businessman named Alexander MacLaren wanted the fastest and best sailing

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 ...

on the west coast. He hired Capt. William Watts, shipbuilder and founder of Vancouver Shipyard (now Vancouver Shipyards) to build it. From the 1930s to the 1970s, the ''Maple Leaf'' was a

halibut Halibut is the common name for three flatfish in the genera '' Hippoglossus'' and '' Reinhardtius'' from the family of right-eye flounders and, in some regions, and less commonly, other species of large flatfish. The word is derived from ''h ...

longliner on the

Bering Sea The Bering Sea (, ; rus, Бе́рингово мо́ре, r=Béringovo móre) is a marginal sea of the Northern Pacific Ocean. It forms, along with the Bering Strait, the divide between the two largest landmasses on Earth: Eurasia and The Amer ...

, making it one of the longest-running ships to fish. It was purchased in 1980 at a government auction by Brian Falconer who restored the vessel and turned it into a eco cruise ship. Falconer sold the ship in 2001 to Kevin Smith who continued the ecotourism business.

Construction

Originally built a yacht ''Maple Leaf'' has many features that make it a very unusual ship. The ribs are made of coastal

yellow cedar Yellow cedar is a common name for several trees and may refer to: *''Cupressus nootkatensis'', native to northwestern North America *' *''Thuja occidentalis ''Thuja occidentalis'', also known as northern white-cedar, eastern white-cedar, or arbo ...

wood. The planking, decks, and beams were constructed of coastal

Douglas fir The Douglas fir (''Pseudotsuga menziesii'') is an evergreen conifer species in the pine family, Pinaceae. It is native to western North America and is also known as Douglas-fir, Douglas spruce, Oregon pine, and Columbian pine. There are thre ...

wood, making the ship a true vessel of the coast. Made of

mahogany Mahogany is a straight- grained, reddish-brown timber of three tropical hardwood species of the genus '' Swietenia'', indigenous to the AmericasBridgewater, Samuel (2012). ''A Natural History of Belize: Inside the Maya Forest''. Austin: Un ...

, the bright work of the ship was a gift from the builder's relatives. It is all the more distinctive by being the first ship North of

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish language, Spanish for "Francis of Assisi, Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the List of Ca ...

to have electric light. It is also one of the first ships on the coast to have an external, lead keel. The rigging of the ''Maple Leaf'' consists of a

gaff rig Gaff rig is a sailing rig (configuration of sails, mast and stays) in which the sail is four-cornered, fore-and-aft rigged, controlled at its peak and, usually, its entire head by a spar (pole) called the ''gaff''. Because of the size and s ...

ged fore sail, a Marconi main sail, a

jib A jib is a triangular sail that sets ahead of the foremast of a sailing vessel. Its tack is fixed to the bowsprit, to the bows, or to the deck between the bowsprit and the foremost mast. Jibs and spinnakers are the two main types of headsail ...

, a

staysail A staysail ("stays'l") is a fore-and-aft rigged sail whose luff can be affixed to a stay running forward (and most often but not always downwards) from a mast to the deck, the bowsprit, or to another mast. Description Most staysails are t ...

, and a square

fisherman's staysail A fisherman staysail is a sail placed between the fore and main masts of a sailing ship, usually a schooner but also including brigantines. All four of its sides are typically set flying, although the luff may be attached to the mast (possibly ...

References

External links

Official site

{{DEFAULTSORT:Maple Leaf (Schooner) Schooners Two-masted ships 1904 ships Ships built in British Columbia Individual sailing vessels Tall ships

History

Construction

See also

References

External links