In 1996 after sailing from Norway, we steamed the MV Picton Castle from New York to Lunenburg to carry out the big refit and rigging that would make our ship the bluewater square-rigger that was hiding within her. On the way we put into New Bedford, Massachusetts to pick up a pile of 20” and 12” steel gas pipes for masts, a big teak wheel at Moby Dick Ship Chandlery and a lot of rigging supplies there. Then we headed out to Martha’s Vineyard not far away, to pick up a Monomoy longboat that lay in a shed there. This boat was 23’ 4” long and built in the 1920s or 30s for surf rescue work along the shoals of Nantucket and Cape Cod. Prior to radar and GPS there were plenty of shipwrecks in the foggy, tide riven waters thereabouts – there still are some every now and then – but there were lots in the days of four and five masted schooners sailing Nantucket Sound to avoid the massive shoals to the south of that famous island. Sailing east through narrow Pollock Rip and turning north for Boston, Maine or the Maritimes could be dodgy stuff, made all the worse in poor visibility. In this environment evolved the excellent surf/rescue boat known as a Monomoy, so named for one of the islands in the area. Our copper riveted lapstrake longboat is such a craft. Many others were later built during WWII as general utility and training boats. These were usually longer as well.
Our particular Monomoy was lying in an old waterfront shed of The Coastwise Packet Company at Holms Hole (aka Vineyard Haven), Martha’s Vineyard, right nearby the famous Black Dog Tavern. This shed, filled with amazing small craft collected from all over the Atlantic, and riddled with all manner of excellent sailing ship gear, was and remains the repository of cool sea-going ephemera there located, in support of the magnificent Topsail Schooner Shenandoah, a rare exercise in design genius that Captain Robert S. Douglas brought into existence in 1964 and sailed every summer for over 50 years giving all and sundry a taste of clipper ships of old. And also, in support of the exquisitely restored Pilot Schooner Alabama (a nod to the deep water mariner and gifted shipwright Gary Maynard who led that rebirth of this worthy craft for Captain Bob). Google these two schooners and learn plenty. There are no two finer wooden schooners afloat anywhere.
This Monomoy belonged to Captain Douglas. He knew a good boat when he saw one. He had been saving it for ages in his big shed. We had known each other for years. He had been a big help to me when I was restoring and getting USCG certified the Schooner Ernestina ex Effie M. Morrissey in the 1980s. Now I was looking for a good long-boat for Picton Castle to use on sailing expeditions around lagoons in the South Pacific and the Caribbean. These boats, once plentiful, were hard to find. Captain Bob had just the boat, we made a deal and we steamed to Martha’s Vineyard to pick it up. Hoisted aboard, we carried on towards Nova Scotia to tackle the big refit. And big it was. But I had my longboat. At some point we created a sailing rig for her, modeled after whale boats of the early 19th century which she so closely resembles. Also much like a pacific copra boat.
Since then this Monomoy has hung in the ship’s port davits. This craft has been with us on every deep-sea voyage ever since. Not only have hundreds of young seafarers in Picton Castle gotten first class boat handling and skipper experience in this longboat, they have learned how to launch and retrieve such a craft from a ship at sea. Good seamanship that in 4- and 6-foot swells. We have pulled into the landing of Bounty Bay of Pitcairn Island with this boat, right close to what remains of the mutineers’ ship. Rowed across the harbour at Suva Fiji, and raced J-Boats at Antigua. And many overnight expeditions among enchanting south seas islands such as Bora Bora, Mangareva, and in Vanuatu. Many students of the Bosun School in Lunenburg have become sharp boat handlers in the Monomoy. This fine craft has been very good to us. I sometimes tell folks, only half joking, that I got a 300 ton barque so we can carry this long boat around.
I knew she wanted some work last year, but I had planned on putting this off, thinking about doing the job with an outstanding boat-builder in Fiji, Peter Whippy, 7th generation boat-builder, the first of whom was from Nantucket. But now, with some spare time available due to our ship being stuck on the broken drydock in Shelburne, the good old reliable and cherished Monomoy is getting a “birthday” at the Dory Shop. Why wait?
Our gang hauled her out of the water to let her dry out, then they pulled her into the workshop which was built sometime in the 1890s, today changed but little.
Most excellent shipwright and 2nd generation dory and boat builder Morgan Smith at The Dory Shop went at the job with savvy enthusiasm. The boat is getting a new keel and keelson – all of purpleheart wood we picked up in Grenada, and some new floors and this and that. The 90-year-old planking seems perfect. I think the boat is 90 years old.
The job should be done this week. And Morgan can get back to building dories. Of course, she will get a good scraping and repainting and new painters and stern lines.
