Photo: Tom Stewart
The schooner Bowdoin turned 100 years old this year. She was designed by William H. Hand, Jr., and built in East Boothbay, Maine, at the Hodgdon Brothers Shipyard. The only American schooner built specifically for Arctic exploration, she was designed under the direction of explorer Donald B. MacMillan. She has made 29 trips above the Arctic Circle in her life, including three since she was acquired by the Maine Maritime Academy in 1988. She is currently owned by the Maine Maritime Academy, located in Castine, Maine, and is used for their sail training curriculum.
To celebrate the schooner’s centennial, Downeast Magazine has featured a trove of stunning photos, some never published, by Maine photographer Tom Stewart, who accompanied Maine’s official state vessel on its momentous return voyages to the far north in the early 1990s. Click on the link below to see more:
The 100-Year-Old Schooner Bowdoin as It Was Meant to Be Seen — In the Arctic
Also, below is a video produced by Maine Public Broadcasting that documents trips made by the Bowdoin to Greenland on two occasions, first by Bowdoin College students and their instructors and then by Maine Maritime Academy students and instructors.
I sailed as a volunteer on Schooner Pioneer with South Street Seaport. She is now 136 years old. It was an amazing experience. Go Bowdoin!