This year’s Azalea Festival will leave a lingering gift to the city of Wilmington for a few weeks. The Baltimore clipper Lynx will pull up to Wilmington giving festival goers a chance to see how life was on the high seas. The schooner is 72 feet long and has a 23-foot beam.
The craft, which boasts 4,669 square feet of canvas sails, is a replication that was launched in 2001 in Rockport, Maine. The lynx, which has a permanent home in California, will be cruising around the East Coast for the next 5 years to commemorate the bicentennial of the War of 1812. The ship is operated by the non-profit Lynx Educational Foundation, which aims to teach the public about America’s struggle for independence.
Upon entering the city of Wilmington, the ship will come into port with cannons firing as a tribute to the city. While the vessel stays in Wilmington it will be under the command of Capt. Bob Nelson. Visitors will be able to see various weapons of the time, including muskets, cutlasses, and boarding axes.
The ship will be sailing up from Savannah, Ga. and will continue on its journey with its next stop in Beaufort, NC on April 19th.
The Lynx served as a private vessel during the war however, armed with a ‘letter of marque’ the ship had license to harass British merchant ships and take their guns, keeping them away from the troops at our nation’s shores.
