Tall Ship replica to dock at Marblehead

MARBLEHEAD – Marblehead will be hosting an 1812-era privateer schooner next month.Invited by the Chamber of Commerce, the Lynx is a replica of a Tall Ship, built according to 1812 plans in Rockport, Maine in 2001 with a crew that wears period clothing.The ship sails the East Coast and is scheduled to play a part in the 200th anniversary of the War of 1812, the war which inspired the writing of “The Star Spangled Banner.”The 122-foot top sail schooner will dock at the harbormaster?s dock from May 15-23. The Lynx will be available for tours during the daytime – a $5 admission fee is required – and harbor sails in the evening.Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Ann Marie Casey and Chamber President Robert Simonelli told selectmen Wednesday the visit will “celebrate Marblehead?s maritime heritage and stimulate the local economy.” Selectmen voted unanimously to allow the visit.The Lynx is operated by the Lynx Educational Foundation, non-profit educational organization with a website at www.privateerlynx.org. The website goes into great detail about The Lynx.?The Lynx brings American history back from the past and immerses students in lessons about this nation?s founding. The original Lynx played a role in the writing of ?The Star Spangled Banner? ? composed as the British sought to destroy Fort McHenry and the Baltimore shipyards where the Lynx and sister Baltimore clipper schooners were constructed to run the British blockade.”Lynx board president Woodson K. Woods, a life-long sailor and serious student of maritime history, sums up the ship?s mission. “Lynx provides a training ground for children and adults,” he says, “and gives them the opportunity to learn the ways of seafarers in the 18th and 19th centuries. Lynx explores the role played by privateers in American history as well as teaches the important lessons of the Revolutionary War.”