The Tall Ship Lynx is reported to have found a winter home in St. Petersburg, FL. The ship visited St. Pete last winter and is now expected to make the Gulf Coast city its permanent winter home, according to a report in the St. Petersburg Blog. The Lynx spent the summer in Nantucket, MA this year and is reported to be returning again in 2017.
The Lynx is a 76′ long on deck, topsail schooner inspired by an American privateer and letter of marque vessel of the same name from 1812. The schooner was built in Rockport, Maine and is operated by the the non-profit Lynx Educational Foundation. The Lynx provides day sails as well as a range of educational programs. The schooner is intended to serve as a living history museum to educate children and adults about both seamanship and history.
For many years, St. Pete, FL was the winter home of the the replica HMS Bounty which sank in Superstorm Sandy in 2012. The St. Pete Chamber of Commerce has been in discussions with the Lynx Educational Foundation for some time. “There’s been an overwhelming amount of support” for having the Lynx use St. Petersburg as a permanent winter home, said Don Peacock, executive director of the Lynx Educational Foundation. “We’re looking at this as a long-term program.”