Happy birthday to Mystic Seaport‘s schooner Brilliant! On April 23, 1932, the 61′ schooner was launched from the yard of Henry B. Nevins at City Island, New York. Now 85 years later, she is still sailing and still a beauty.

She was built for Walter Barnum, who raced her extensively.  In World War II, she served as an anti-submarine picket boat. She was donated to the Mystic Seaport Museum, in 1953, where she has served as an offshore classroom for the the museum’s education programs.

Sailing aboard Brilliant, people of all ages have the opportunity to learn about sailing on one of the finest wooden schooners ever built. Since she was donated to the museum, Brilliant has sailed the equivalent of five times around the earth, with more than 9,000 students setting her sails and steering her course. WoodenBoat Magazine described Brilliant as one of the 100 most beautiful classic boats in existence and as “one of the best maintained and sailed classic yachts in the country — if not the world.”