Courtesy of Portland Schooner Co.
The schooner BAGHEERA, launched as BEACON ROCK in 1924 by Rice Bros. Shipyard in East Boothbay, Maine, was saved from oblivion in the early 1980s by a rebuilding in Southern California. Today, she is the centerpiece of a charter business in Portland, Maine.
In 1985, I had just started my career as an apprentice marine surveyor with the Lloyds agent in San Diego, California, when I took a call from a rather distraught boatowner seeking advice on what he should do with his 1924, 72′ Alden schooner, BAGHEERA. Intrigued, I agreed to meet at the boat, which was docked behind the Carl Eichenlaub Boatyard on Shelter Island.
BAGHEERA’s owner and I met at the head of the dock, and I looked down at the blue-plastic-tarpaulin-covered black schooner, and could tell from a distance that the boat was in terrible shape. Half of the caulked teak deck had been removed, corrosion in the chainplates had affected large areas of rotten planks, and the hull planking had open seams everywhere. The spruce masts had long checks, the paint was shot, and the standing rigging was barely there.
A closer look at the partially removed deck revealed rotted deckbeams and knees, and with half the deck missing the interior had been exposed to the elements for a long time. The boat had been fitted with a 110-volt automatic bilge pump that was cycling every 15 seconds. It was clear that the boat was sinking at the dock.