Hoisting sails and swabbing decks aboard the Lynx

The crew calls it a “122-foot fully rigged time machine.” Carrying 4,669 square feet of sail and 114 tons of ship, this almost-replica of an 1812 American Privateer docked in Oceanside Harbor on the weekend of March 17.

A privateer was a privately owned ship, or the captain who sailed her, that had been granted authority by a country to attack enemy vessels during time of war. Sir Francis Drake was one of the more notable privateers.

The Lynx is not a true replica because, although it was inspired by the original ship, which was built by Thomas Kemp in 1812, this Lynx is an updated version with safety features in compliance with US Coast Guard regulations.

Plus… it has a 290-horsepower Caterpillar diesel engine to power through the waves. Not something that was available in 1812. The new Lynx was launched on July 28, 2001, in Rockport, ME, and has sailed the world, not as a privateer vessel but as an educational ship operated by the Lynx Educational Foundation.

The ship, home-ported in Newport Beach, was in Oceanside for a battle reenactment as well as dockside tours. The 17th was a cold, somewhat foggy day, but the Lynx set sail from Oceanside, made an appearance near the pier and then sailed to about a mile offshore for a battle reenactment with another sailing ship.

While onshore the ship was open for inspection by little as well as big sailors. Elderly men with walking sticks, children barely large enough to see over the rail and all ages in between waited for a chance to pose with the ship’s wheel. The heart of the ship, the wheel, is carved with the Lynx motto: “Be excellent to each other and to your ship.” Obviously, these words are significant enough to be carved into the ship’s wheel.

While the ship was docked, the captain was busy swabbing decks, something foreign in 19th century seamanship but clearly illustrating the Lynx motto of being “excellent to each other and to your ship.”

The Lynx was previously docked in Oceanside about a month ago and some Fallbrook students were able to take a sea trip out the harbor gate and into the ocean. Brittany, one of the students, said they were taught how to handle the ship and learned what it would be like to sail as a 19th century privateer.

“They told us about hard tack and the beef that they ate,” Brittany mentioned. “They got the worst cuts and the leftover meat because they wanted to buy the cheapest.”

“We got to pull the ropes to put up the sails,” she continued. “It was really hard to pull them – we had about six people on just one rope.”

Brittany hauled the line barehanded. “The ropes were about an inch wide and my hands got kind of sore,” she said.

While the ship was sailing by the Oceanside Pier, they shot a small faux cannon. “It made a big boom, but there wasn’t much smoke,” said Brittany.

This was Brittany’s second trip on a sailing ship. She has also sailed on the Californian, which is a part of the San Diego Maritime Museum. “I enjoy sailing on a tall ship,” she said. “I want to do this again!”

When students participate in Lynx events they have a choice of an in port experience or offshore experience. In port they will learn some skills of a sailor, including the hoisting of sails. All lessons are taught from the perspective of a privateer crew. Offshore, the students take turns standing watch, steering the ship and other crew duties. It’s not a Princess Cruise, but it’s educational and a whole billow of fun, “mehearties!”

The Lynx Educational Foundation

509 29th Street

Newport Beach, CA 92663

(866) 446-LYNX (5969)

[email protected]