The old cliche that a boat is a hole in the water into which you pour money applies far too well to tall ships. They are expensive to build or restore and chronically costly to maintain and keep running.  It should come as no surprise that most of the ships in the recent Parade of Sail at OpSail New York were training vessels funded by the navies of various governments.

Recently, the schooners Virginia and the Spirit of South Carolina have fallen on hard times. The historic schooner Ernestina ex. Effie M. Morrissey, the official “tall ship of Massachusetts” is in dire straits, needing significant repairs to keep her afloat. The  replica HMS Bounty has been actively for sale for some time and the brigantine Pelican is also actively for sale. The list of vessels in financial distress or actively for sale, goes on and on.  Recently Aaron Applegate,  writing for HamptonRooads.com, looked at the economics of “tall ships.”

Economically, tall ships are a tall order

“The one ultimate lesson that everyone has learned is that it is a very difficult business model,” said Bert Rogers, executive director of Tall Ships America, a nonprofit with about 200 member vessels.

Governments support some lucky ships and use them for training. Brazil, Indonesia and Mexico are among countries sending tall ships to OpSail. The United States Coast Guard sailing ship Eagle, a German war prize from World War II, will lead the parade of sail.

Other ships, such as the Norfolk-based American Rover, are for-profit ventures whose owners make money by taking paying passengers on day trips.

The work is demanding and non-stop during the sailing season. Owners can control costs by doing their own maintenance, serving as crew and even living on the boat.

“What has made it a success for us is, we basically do it all ourselves,” said Laura Lohse, who owns two schooners, Alliance and Serenity, with her husband. They sail out of Yorktown. “It’s pretty much seven days a week for six months straight.”

Most tall ships, though, are run by nonprofit foundations, which use different strategies to cobble together enough revenue to keep sailing. Corporate sponsorships and on-board receptions can help.

Many are successful; some are not. Some, like Virginia’s tall ship, the schooner Virginia, are trying to find their way.

The goal is not to make money, said Tall Ship America’s Rogers, but to educate, preserve history and traditional seamanship, and to offer adventure. They offer opportunities to develop teamwork and leadership, he said.

“If you remove the commitment to those values, the business model is going to be iffy.”

The business end is often hard.

Schooner Virginia has struggled mightily since generous state funding vanished several years ago.

The key, successful operators say, is finding different funding sources.

“You must have a diversity of revenue streams because every year one of them is going to let you down,” said Roger Nugent, executive director of BaySail, a nonprofit organization that operates two schooners, Appledore IV and V, out of Lake Huron. Appledore V is coming for OpSail.

Drew McMullen, who runs Sultana Projects, which owns the schooner Sultana out of Chestertown, Md., agreed. His strategy includes an “alarm bell” evaluation of any revenue stream that makes up more than 15 percent of income.

“You really evaluate that and think, ‘Hey, should we keep doing that?’ You get dependent on it, and it disappears.”

Thanks to Tom Russell for pointing out the article.