More than four centuries after her
namesake sailed these same waters,
the Virginia is making herself known
in mid Coast Maine, a venture that's
been about 25 years in the making.
It's a great amount of satisfaction.
It's so many hours and and sweat
and blood went into this boat,
but not just for me, but from this
whole cadre of of dedicated volunteers.
For those who haven't followed
the saga of the Virginia,
this volunteer built vessel is
a replica of a ship of the same
name built on this same river by
the short lived Popham Colony from
England more than 400 years ago.
It was the first English built ship
in the New World and that's why this
project that built the new Virginia
is called Maine's first ship.
Last summer, after more than
two decades of research,
planning and fundraising,
to say nothing of all that
handson work by volunteers,
Virginia was launched into the Kennebec.
And a year later, she is rigged and ready.
Crews are being trained,
and Maine's first ship is sailing.
This is the reward at the end.
Going sailing was really my
motivation for getting involved
in the 1st place. Frankly,
Jeremy Blakelock has been part
of the project for 10 years.
He's now president of the board
and learning to be a crew member.
It was exhilarating. I was a little anxious,
of course, because it's a new thing for me,
being part of a big crew like this.
In June, Virginia sailed from Bath to
Booth Bay Harbor for Windjammer days.
The first real public appearance
and the first big test of how
this recreation of a historic
ship actually sails the
rigors and no one knew for, you know,
for 1/4 century it's been theoretical. Kirsty
Trulock is executive director
of Maine's first ship.
She says no one in New England
has sailed A vessel like
this for a few 100 years.
So they brought in veterans,
schooner captains and others
to help figure it out.
And so they were pleasantly
surprised how she sailed.
Also very happy, she says,
with how much the crowd liked
this sample of main history.
And I had people all around me
going just oohing and eyeing,
you know, what is that ship?
Because all of those beautiful schooners
are sleek and lovely and they have
these white sails that are, you know,
they sort of blend into the fog.
And then here comes Virginia
with her tan bark sails.
Through the fog and people were just
going crazy for every child was like,
it's a pirate ship,
no pirates but explorers.
The original Virginia and the pomp
and colony did not stay long in Maine.
The little ship known as a Pennis then sailed
to England and to the Jamestown colony.
And so our Virginia will be used to help
21st century school kids and adults.
Understand that 17th century history.
It was always to be able to put
students on board and to teach
them their history with this very,
you know, place based history lesson.
And also just to introduce them to
sailing ships in this city of ships.
Because Virginia's other job may
be a surprise to her builders is
being a tourist attraction in Bath
and that is already happening.
This is a very nice attraction.
Brings people in the door.
It gets them exposed to the history
and the story of not just the
Popham colony but of shipbuilding
on the Kennebec in general,
Kirsty says. On that trip to Booth Bay,
people asked where the ship was from.
And then I turned and I said, well,
she hails from Bath and she said Bath.
She said we had just always drive
through right over the bridge.
We never stopped, she said.
Now we're going to have to come down.
And that's what we're
that we want to be that.
We want to be that for the city.
We want to be able to go out to a few
places and be good ambassadors so
that people recognize that the City
of ships is still very vibrant. Some
of that may have to wait.
Virginia can't take passengers yet
because she's still waiting for
certification from the Coast Guard.
We couldn't even step on board at the dock.
It means only the volunteer crew
members can walk the deck for now,
literally learning the ropes.
Passengers may have to wait till next year,
but for those who do go on board,
there are times,
moments when the engine is off,
when the sails are up and they're at sea,
that they get a taste,
a feel for what Virginia is all about.
When we were sailing,
it was totally surrounded by fog.
You couldn't see land,
couldn't see any other boats,
couldn't really even hear any,
like, modern stuff.
So it was, it was very evocative
of what they would have been
experiencing when they were out
and about the coast of Maine.
And that's why she was built on a
river that has launched so many ships.
There is still much to
learn from the first one.