Historic schooners are a regular attraction at boating events around the region, but rarely is most of the Northwest fleet together in one place.

That will change April 24 and 25, when the inaugural Tacoma Schooner Rendezvous is held at Foss Waterway Seaport. The event will bring together more than 15 traditional sailing schooners, providing an opportunity for people to tour the ships, go for a sail and learn more about the vintage vessels.

Presented by the Tacoma Waterfront Association and the Pacific Northwest Schooner Association Windjammer fleet, the rendezvous is intended to become an annual event.

“It’s really exciting,” said Chris Wallace, a spokesperson for the schooner association and a crew member on the schooner Zodiac. “I think we can generate a lot of enthusiasm and regional pride for the fleet of schooners that we have here.”

Schooners participating in the rendezvous include Kia Ora, Lavengro, Lucky Star, Mallory Todd, Martha, Merrie Ellen, Mycia, Pleiades, W.N. Ragland, Reality, Red Jacket, Schooner Grail, Spike Africa, Suva and Zodiac. The schooners range in size from 47 feet on deck (Lavengro) to 160 feet (Zodiac).

Most of the schooners have historic significance, and their uses and histories vary. The 107-foot Merrie Ellen, for example, is owned by a husband and wife and is being restored as a charter vessel, while Zodiac, launched in 1924, offers a variety of sail training programs for all ages.

Suva, designed in 1925 by Ted Geary, will be among the ships on display at the inaugural Tacoma Schooner Rendezvous.

The ships will be open for public tours April 24 and 25 from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. daily. Tickets are $5 for adults and no charge for children 12 and younger. Some schooners will be selling tickets for day sails, and skippers will be making presentations at the seaport’s museum on topics such as ship restoration and cruising in Desolation Sound.

“It’s basically a chance to come kick the tires and check out the wide variety of ships that make up our Pacific fleet,” said Merrie Ellen Captain John Holbert.

Wallace said the idea for the rendezvous came up during a schooner regatta last August. Several captains were talking about how well-organized the schooner fleets are in areas of the east coast, such as Maine, and decided the Northwest needed to do something similar.

The Northwest Schooner Society works to restore schooners and provides onboard youth education programs, but the region lacked an organization focused on promoting Northwest schooners, educating the general public about them and supporting each other’s efforts.

The Pacific Northwest Schooner Association was created last fall and now has 15 member vessels. Wallace is talking with captains of several vessels in British Columbia and hopes they will also join the organization.

Since the Northwest schooners are geographically dispersed and many are often out on charters, their captains rarely get a chance to visit the other ships, Wallace said. The newly formed association provides a network for the captains and crew to share information, pass along referrals and organize events.

“We want to be able to help each other out,” she said. “So there’s a networking reason, as well as just promoting the ships and passing on their history.”

Stan Selden, president of the Tacoma Waterfront Association, said the group immediately saw the benefit of the rendezvous when the schooner association proposed the idea.

“TWA’s mission is to promote Tacoma’s waterfront and reintroduce people to this wonderful asset that we have,” he said. “It’s events like these that bring people back to the waterfront and remind them of all the wonderful things they can do right in our own backyard.”

Additional information about the rendezvous is available here.

About Deborah Bach

Deborah Bach is the editor and co-founder of Three Sheets Northwest. She is an avid sailor and long-time professional journalist. You can find Deborah aboard Three Sheets, an Island Packet 38, with her husband Marty and their cat Lily.

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