PORT TOWNSEND — Repairs and renovations have been completed on the schooner Adventuress, which now will begin its final sailing season prior to its 2013 Centennial celebration.
“We are looking forward to this year,” said Joshua Berger of Port Townsend, one of the tall ship’s two sailing captains, after the boat was lifted into the water at the Port Townsend shipyard Friday.
“We have 200 days of sailing scheduled all throughout Puget Sound.”
A weeklong crew training begins today on the ship built in 1913, and the first public sail — which Burger said is sold out — is scheduled for Saturday.
After a “thank you” sail Sunday that hosted local supporters and friends, the vessel will leave Port Townsend on April 4 and will visit Everett, Seattle and Olympia throughout the summer.
It is not slated to be back in Port Townsend until just before the Wooden Boat Festival, scheduled Sept. 7-9 this year, though it may pass through town for an unscheduled sojourn.
This year’s construction work leads up to the vessel’s centennial in 2013, for which a series of commemorations will be scheduled.
Although the historic ship will undergo maintenance operations in the future, the crew has finished with major restorative work, estimated at costing upward of $700,000.
This winter, new sails were constructed, and the ship’s tail shaft and forward mast were replaced.
Varnish and refinishing work also was done.
It was the fourth phase of a centennial renovation program that began in early 2010.
In the first phase, the ship received a new fore chain plate, a new stem, new forecastle — or fo’c’sle — bunks, and a new anchor and head rig configuration.
Phases two and three, which took place between November 2010 and March 2011, included the topside reframing of the bow area on the starboard side, from the stem aft to the new frames installed in 2005-2006, and building new sails.
Additionally, the transom was removed and inspected, and rim timber, the aft section of the horn timber, the starboard quarter fashion piece, and associated planking and covering boards were all replaced.
The Adventuress was built by John Borden with the purpose of sailing to Alaska but instead it was sold to the Port of San Francisco as a pilot ship a year later.
It was sold again in 1952 and moved to the Pacific Northwest.
The nonprofit Sound Experience, based in Port Townsend, has operated the schooner for educational purposes since 1989.
In recent years, an average of 5,000 people annually have participated in its sailing programs, with that many again visiting the ship in port.
For more information or to volunteer, phone 360-379-0438 or visit http://www.soundexp.org.
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Jefferson County Reporter Charlie Bermant can be reached at 360-385-2335 or charlie.bermant@peninsuladailynews.com.
