SHIPNOTES, SEAPORT & MUSEUM NEWS Coronet First Project of Yacht Restoration School in Newport The restoration of the last of the great schooner yachts of the last century , the Co ronet, will be the centerpiece proj ect of a newly established Intern ation a l Yacht Restoration Schoo l (IYRS) in Newport, Rhode Island. The IYRS will be located on Lee's Wharf in New port. The group plans to collect, restore, and utilize a fl eet of class ic yachts to teach seamanship, nav igation , sailing, boat handling and maintenance skills. The Coronet, built 1885 and currentl y homeported in Gloucester, Massachusetts, has fo l lowers who have long hoped for thi s kind of major effort to save he r. The 178-foot overall , 27-foot beam vesse l, built in 1885 for Rufus T. Bush, won the I 887 Tran s-atlantic race against Dauntless and has completed two roundthe-world voyages. In 1895 , Coronet
Coronet under sail by artist John Mecray
was the vehicle for the first American/ Japanese sc ientific expedition to stud y a total eclipse of the sun in Japan and , from 1905 onwards, Coronet was an instru ment of mi ssionary work aro und the world . She will make her permane nt move toNewportnext summer.The fiveyear restoration will beg in in the fa ll of 1995 . At that time, the IYRS antic ipates enrolling its first apprentices. (IYRS, 28 Church Street, Newport RI 02840; 401 849-3060) Maine Lighthouses May Be Given Up by Coast Guard In an initi ati ve that may set the trend for the preservation of US lighthou ses, a non-profit Maine group has proposed a pl an that would transfer the titl es of 33 Ma ine li ghthouses, reports the Lighthouse Digest. Although the deal mu st be approved by Congress, the Digest reports that US Senator George Mitchell has endorsed the plan and wishes to ex pedite the transfer. Under the Maine Lights Plan, the Island Institute wou ld receive title to the lighthou ses, retain three them selves, and then transfer title to the remaining li ghthouses to local non-profit groups or local communiti es. SEA HISTORY 71 , AUTUMN 1994
Floating Chapels Begin Seamen's Church Mission New York harbor 's premiere seamen 's benefi cial organization for seamen, the Seamen's Church In stitute, thi s year marked its 160th anniversary and the 150th ann iversary of its most nove l form of mini stry , the floatin g chapel. Founded in 1834 as the Young Men's Church Mi ss ionary Society with 42charter members drawn from Epi scopal parishes in Manhattan , Brooklyn and Staten Island, the Society was quick to direct its efforts toward improving the treatment of merchant seamen entering New York Port. In those days, such concern was wellfounded. The port 's dingy, vio lent waterfront was a pl ace where thieves, crimps and boardinghouse keepers often conspired to plunder or shanghai defenseless seamen. To confront these conditions , the Society literally brought the church to the seamen by building and mooring floatin g chapels throughout New York harbor. The first floatin g chapel, Church of Our Sav iour, was built in 1844 by Charles M. Simonson on a 76x36-foot deck across two boats of 80 tons each, ten feet apart. it was moored at the foot of Pike Street. A second and third were built later and they became objects of cons iderabl e public attention. In fact, during their heyday, the ""'"'"' ""'c" '' '"' SAv1011uOR "'"" fl oating ch urches were so popular with the The first f loating chapel, launched in J844 publi c that the Institute had to reserve pews for the severa l hundred seamen who came to worship at each service. The last of the chapels was closed in 1910. Over the years, w ith fo undat ion and marine industry support, the Seamen 's Church Institute has become a leading advocate of seamen's rights and offers a wide range of services to the 250,000 seafarers that enter the port every year. From its headquarters at Water Street in New York C ity, SCI provides counseling, legal aid , maritime education and safety training. It currently fi e lds four port chaplains actively engaged in ship visitation. It al so operates an International Seafarer's Center providing hos pitality and soc ial services to active and retired seafarers. Looking to the future on the waterfront, SCI has plans to acquire what could be termed a modern-day interpretation of the floatin g chapel, a mobile unit that chapla ins can use to bring more services to vessels on the New Jersey coast, Staten Island and Brooklyn . (SCI, 24 1 Water Street, New York NY 1003 8) KH
If no one is found to take over any of these, the Island In stitute wou ld keep the property. If the Institute could not maintain the property, they in turn wo uld g ive it to the General Services Administration to dispose of. Jay Hyland, Pres ident of the Lighthouse Preservation Society , hailed the plan as giving non-profits more fl ex ibility than the old Coast Guard leasing arrangement. T he Coast Guard would continue to maintain an easement to the actual towers to maintain them as active aids to navigation .
Constellation Not the Draw It Used to Be The Constellation is fa lling on hard times. Not only has her deteri orating condition prompted her li sting on the National
Trust's" 11 Most Endangered List," but tourists are findin g other places to visit and spend the ir money. According to the Associated Press, paid adult admissions sank to 3,375 thi s past May , a reduction of 62% from the 8,9 14 who vis ited her in May last year. The decline is attributed in part to the removal of the Constellation's masts and rigging in March , due to winter damage, decay and safety concerns. In response to the lost income, the USF Constellation Foundation was forced to lay off the ship 's fo ur remaining full-time carpenters and riggers, themselves the remnant of a seven-member crew thathad maintained the 14 1-year-old sloop-of-war. The layoffs should pose no immediate threat to the structu re of the ship, say Foundation official s, who are working on 35