Bowdoin

Type

Schooner

Period

20th Century

Nation

United States

Overview: Bowdoin is a historic gaff-rigged schooner built in 1921 in East Boothbay, Maine, and is renowned as the only American schooner built specifically for Arctic exploration. Designed by naval architect William H. Hand Jr. under the direction of explorer Donald B. MacMillan, and named for Bowdoin College, the ship is both a National Historic Landmark and the official sailing vessel of the State of Maine. Specifications: The ship measures 88 feet (27 m) length overall with a 72-foot waterline length, a 21-foot beam, and a 10-foot draft, displacing around 66 gross tons. She is double-planked and double-framed in white oak with a white pine deck, carries gaff-rigged sails on two masts, and is fitted with an auxiliary diesel engine rated around 190 hp. Distinctive ice-going features include a rounded hull designed to rise up onto ice floes rather than being crushed, an 1,800-pound steel-plate nosepiece bolted to the bow, an oversized rudder for maneuvering in tight ice leads, and a thick greenheart wood belt for ice protection. Service History: Under MacMillan's command, Bowdoin made 26 Arctic voyages between 1921 and 1954, including an eight-month deliberate ice-in during her maiden 1921–22 expedition to Baffin Island, and reportedly logged over 300,000 miles of Arctic sailing and scientific work. In 1941 the U.S. Navy purchased her for wartime service, commissioning her as USS Bowdoin (IX-50), one of the few sail-powered vessels in the Navy during World War II, before she was decommissioned in 1943 and later sold as a hulk in 1945; MacMillan then bought her back and continued sailing her north until 1954. She later served as a museum vessel at Mystic Seaport (1959–1967), was operated by the Schooner Bowdoin Association, and was leased to Outward Bound before being acquired by the Maine Maritime Academy in 1988, where she continues to serve as the flagship of the sail-training curriculum. Notable Facts: Bowdoin was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1989 and named the official vessel of the State of Maine in 1986. She has made roughly 30 total trips above the Arctic Circle across her career, including several since joining Maine Maritime Academy, and participated in OpSail '86 in New York Harbor. The ship celebrated her 100th year of continuous service in 2021, making her a notable long-lived wooden sailing vessel still actively used for training rather than static preservation.