One of Boothbay Harbor’s most revered residents is coming back for a visit. 

The Sherman Zwicker is returning to her adopted home for some updating and repairs at Sample’s Shipyard. The significant tow had to await good weather and arrangements for a proper tugboat and crew. I remember photographing the Zwicker's departure for New York City as she passed Cuckolds Light off Cape Newagen years ago.

The Zwicker had been owned by local resident George McEvoy for 45 years, since 1969. It was a familiar vessel for us all for many years. Regular trips to Lunenburg, Nova Scotia, with a crew of local supporters and seasoned sailors was a special opportunity for many. Captain McEvoy often praised the caliber of the crew who helped on the trips back to Canada.

The 142’ Sherman Zwicker was built in 1942, once a part of the Grand Banks fleet that traded cod and salt, navigating the turbulent waters of the North Atlantic. She was built at the renowned Smith and Rhuland boatyard in Lunenburg. The Zwicker hull design was similar to the famous Bluenose with some added features which were referred to as “transition rig,” that is, she was equipped with smaller masts and sails that were used for more stability, and fitted with a powerful diesel engine. She was the last of a fleet of hundreds of large wooden schooners fishing the Grand Banks and moving cargo throughout the North Atlantic and to South America.

Here in Maine the Sherman Zwicker became a fully operational, traveling museum, attending festivities along the East Coast with long berths at Maine Maritime Museum in Bath where she hosted thousands of visitors each season.

During her stay here in the harbor at Sample’s she will receive expert care from the many gifted and talented individuals at the shipyard. If everything went as planned (at this writing),  the ship was to arrive in Boothbay Harbor on Monday, Oct. 26 and be hauled on the big marine railway Tuesday at the high tide.

According to my good friend Eric Graves with whom I have worked for many years beginning at the Hodgdon yard in East Boothbay on the sailing vessel Antonisa, the work to be performed will primarily focus on planking and frames. Very soon a protective covering will be erected over the ship so work and workers can be out of the weather. The ship project is expected to finish up in April. Wood inventory dedicated to the project is already in house. White oak has arrived from the Amish in Maryland, along with live oak from South Carolina, cedar for planking from Port Orford, Oregon, and Douglas fir from Washington state.

This is a very historic vessel. It will be an exciting project to document. When the Sherman Zwicker returns to New York City it will resume service as a seasonal oyster bar and seafood restaurant at Pier 25, Hudson River Park. It will once again become the largest wooden vessel in New York City. The public can board and tour the schooner for free without buying food or drink.

Maine will, once again, play a big part in the ongoing care and preservation of a significant seafaring legend.