The current Schooner Virginia is a reproduction of a ship launched in 1917. The original was built following the same lines of an America’s Cup defender and was used to transfer pilots between convoy ships anchored in Hampton Roads, VA. She was sold after World War II and began transporting cargo from Miami to the Caribbean. On her final trip she wrecked on a reef in Cuba, and while the crew managed to escape unharmed, the ship was a total loss. In 2005 the replica 122-foot Schooner Virginia was launched.
Previously owned by the Virginia Maritime Heritage Foundation (VMHF), the schooner was used as a teaching vessel and sailed all along the Atlantic coast of the U.S. to promote Virginia tourism. Through the recession, the non-profit VMHF struggled to cover the $1 million a year in upkeep and just last year put the Virginia up for sale with an asking price of $1.8 million. Now it looks as if the Virginia will have a permanent home in Norfolk.
Through a $1 million state grant, the Nauticus Foundation plans to buy the schooner and use her as part of Sail Nauticus, a program that teaches underprivileged children how to sail. Sail Nauticus is a Norfolk-based non-profit organization that hopes to positively impact Hampton Roads kids through the use of sailing and maritime sciences. In the past three years 1000 students have participated in the program’s summer camps. The organization also offers cruises and adult sailing classes, which help fund its youth programs.
The grant money that will be used to buy the Virginia is the result of a recent Norfolk roads project that came in $1 million under budget. However, there are some who feel that the ship has been the beneficiary of “far more public money than it’s worth.” Click here to read the article by Kerry Dougherty in the Virginia Pilot.
Nauticus plans to use $850,000 of the grant money to purchase the vessel, and the rest of the $1 million will go towards future maintenance and repairs. She will stay in local waters, no longer touring the East Coast, and will be open for free public tours. Nauticus will use the Virginia’s existing crew and as she will no longer be traveling on long voyages, the organization will be able to operate her for far less than the previous $1 million a year. So get ready Virginia, the Schooner Virginia is here to stay.
