Ice Capades

the schooner Bowdoin has an impressive passport and a breakthrough past.

by Michelle susan twoMey

She’s crossed the arctic circle over two dozen times, charged masses of ice, and at nearly 90 years old, she’s still going strong. Built in 1921 at Hodgdon Brothers Shipyard in East Boothbay, the schooner Bowdoin cost $35,000 and was designed from the keel up for arctic exploration. (A good thing–two years later, she spent over 300 days frozen in at Refuge Harbor, Greenland, while Admiral Donald MacMillan and his crew conducted research. When the ice surrounding her didn’t melt that July as expected, MacMillan had to ram her straight into a huge mass of ice to escape. She eventually cracked through, and both ship and crew made it home relatively unscathed.)

Clockwise from top: Clockwise from top: The Bowdoin framed The Bowdoin framed by ice off Greenland’s by ice off Greenland’s coast; docked at Fishcoast; docked at Fisherman’s Wharf in erman’s Wharf in Boothbay Harbor, Boothbay Harbor, ca. late 1950s; ca. late 1950s; sailing downwind sailing downwind in Penobscot Bay. in Penobscot Bay.

The Bowdoin’s Log 1921-39: Yearly trips included stops at Baffin island; newfoundland; Labrador, including nain; greenland, including etah and Refuge harbor; and newfoundland. 1941-43: U.s. navy greenland Patrol 1943-45: out of commission in Quincy, Massachusetts 1946-54: once again under the command of MacMillan, ports of call included Baffin island; newfoundland; Labrador; and greenland. 1959-67: Languished in Mystic, Connecticut 1967-88: Received much-needed TLC in Camden and later, Bath. Trips included nova scotia; new York City; and Provincetown, Massachusetts. 1989-present: Under the wing of the Maine Maritime Academy, ports of call have included st. John’s, newfoundland; nova scotia, including halifax, Yarmouth, Lunenburg, and sable island; Labrador, including nain, Battle harbor, and Red Bay; greenland, including ilulissat, sisimiut, nuuk, Umanaq, and disko island; saint-Pierre and Miquelon islands; and Marblehead, Massachusetts.

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The Bowdoin navigates the ice off the coast of Greenland.

The Carnegie Institution, National Geographic Society, and U.S. Navy sponsored many of her voyages in the 1920s. During World War II, the U.S. Navy employed her in its Greenland patrols. When her deployment was complete, she earned the ignominious sobriquet Derelict Hulk No. 51.

In 1988, the Maine Maritime Academy gained possession of the Bowdoin, and Governor John Mckernan, Jr. (husband of Senator Olympia Snowe) declared her the official sailing vessel of Maine. She was designated a National Historic Landmark a year later. n

Share tales of a Bowdoin adventure with us:

bowdoin@portlandmonthly.com. >>For more images

of the Bowdoin’s voyages, visit portlandmonthly.com.

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