The schooner Lynx, a replica of a War of 1812 privateer,  is sailing on the US East coast these days on her way to the Great Lakes to celebrate the upcoming War of 1812 Bicentennial.   J. Dennis Robinson will give an informal talk about the Privateer Lynx at the Discover Portsmouth Center and Piscataqua Maritime Commission at 7 p.m. tomorrow night.   (A limited number of spaces are available for guest crew. Click here to learn more.)

Robinson shares story behind Privateer Lynx

Robinson will speak on “The Making of Privateer Lynx.” He spent the last 18 months working on a book about Lynx that is scheduled for publication next year. This will be his first public talk on the topic. In his informal presentation, Robinson will discuss the making of both the historical and modern Lynx, and the “lonely voyage” of writing nonfiction books.

In 1997, West Coast businessman Woodson K. Woods had a dream — literally. He woke up one morning and decided to build a tall ship. Fascinated by the War of 1812, Woods spent $3 million to create a wooden boat designed after the swift, rakish privately-armed schooners built in Baltimore during “The Forgotten War.” The historical Lynx was a “letter-o-marque” built at Fells Point and captured by the British in 1813.

Woods’ goal was to build a modern schooner, inspired by the original, to teach children about history through active sail training aboard a real wooden sailing ship. This living museum was completed in 2001, and to date has welcomed more than 10,000 students aboard for adventure sails, sail training and dockside tours.

The modern Privateer Lynx was built at Rockport, Maine, and visited its official homeport of Portsmouth in October 2001. After eight years touring the West Coast, Canada and Hawaii, Lynx is now back east to celebrate the upcoming War of 1812 Bicentennial. It is currently en route to a tall ship celebration in the Great Lakes.