Columbia Completes Sailing Trials with ESG

Published Sep 24, 2014 1:54 PM by The Maritime Executive

Eastern Shipbuilding Group, Inc. announced that the COLUMBIA (ESG Hull 981), a steel hull exact replica of the historic Gloucester Fishing Schooner, has completed her sailing trials. The sailing trials were held on September 18, 2014 directly offshore of the beaches of Panama City, Florida. Ninety-one years earlier, the original "COLUMBIA" was officially measured on October 27th, 1923 just before her race with the "BLUENOSE" by Raymond J. Milgate, a marine surveyor of Halifax, N.S.

The original COLUMBIA was a 141’ classic wooden hull Gloucester Fishing Schooner built at the historic A.D. Story shipyard of Essex, Massachusetts. The town of Essex was the center for North American Fishing Schooner construction. Designed by the innovative William Starling Burgess, the original COLUMBIA was bred for speed. In the fall of 1923, the COLUMBIA challenged the BLUENOSE, Canada’s legendary schooner in the International Fishermen's Cup Races held offshore of Halifax, Nova Scotia. Nearly winning the title, the COLUMBIA was narrowly defeated by the BLUENOSE and was one of the few American schooners to provide a real challenge to BLUENOSE.

Tragedy struck the promising young COLUMBIA on August 24, 1927 near Sable Island, the notorious “Graveyard of the Atlantic”, where the COLUMBIA was lost with all hands in a gale.

The COLUMBIA will continue to undergo final outfitting and delivery preparation this fall at Eastern. The COLUMBIA will also be exhibited at the Fort Lauderdale International Boat Show October 30th - November 3rd, 2014.

Working with John W. Gilbert & Associates of Boston, Massachusetts, the design was re-engineered with a steel hull instead of wood. An engine room and staterooms were added to the design. Covey Island Boatworks of Lunenburg Nova Scotia built the rigging and spars. Blocks were fabricated by A. Dauphinee & Sons and all the sails were constructed by Michelle Stevens Sailloft, LTD, both from the Second Peninsula, Lunenburg, Nova Scotia. Teak decking was completed by Teakdecking Systems of Florida.