Waterfront

Bowdoin Sails into the Future

Funding assures maintenance and voyages.

THE HISTORY OF the 99-year-old Arctic schooner Bowdoin is legendary, and a new funding program assures that its use for training, education, and science will continue for many years to come.

The 88-foot wooden vessel was designed by William H. Hand, Jr., built in 1921 by Hodgdon Brothers Shipyard and commissioned by one of Maine’s most famous sailors, RADM Donald B. MacMillan. The vessel came to MMA in 1988 and underwent a two-phase rebuild that ensures service for at least another 25 years. But what then?

Spiles being hammered into frames and plank replacement during the hull restoration in 2018.

Last fall, at the behest of the MMA President William Brennan, a committee was convened to develop a plan for Bowdoin’s ongoing maintenance and future restoration needs. The committee included Capt. Andy Chase ’79, Capt. William McLean ’12, Dana Willis, Prof. Mark Shaughnessy, Capt. Eric Jergenson, Prof. Kirk Langford, Capt. Rick Miller, Zander Parker, Capt. Nathan Gandy, Yacht Donation Program Manager, Joe Lobley, and VP of Advancement, Chris Haley.

“Based on the cost of the most recent restoration and projected costs, the committee calculated the investment yields of Bowdoin’s present endowment of more than $600,000 over time, and an annual fund goal of $30,000,” says Chase. “Much of those funds will be raised directly by events and efforts that have proven successful in the past ($1.5 million was donated for the recent rebuild). The annual fund will be supplemented and perhaps surpassed by funds derived from the MMA yacht donation program, which recently received a vessel with a net charter value over three years of more than $700,000.

“With the rebuild, Bowdoin is stronger than ever,” says Chase. “We plan to take her back to the Arctic in 2021. She’ll be closing the loop and continuing a 100-year record of environmental and cultural changes in the Arctic begun by MacMillan.

For Chase, who skippered a training cruise with the schooner to Greenland for MMA in 1991, “we can sleep soundly knowing not only that we restored Bowdoin once but will be able to do so again when needed, ensuring her longevity well past our lifetime.”█

Extra: Read about early exploits of “Bowdoin in Refuge Harbor” in Time & Tide section.

Photo: Tom Stewart

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