Village to host schooner Lynx

PHOTO COURTESY OF LYNX EDUCATIONAL FOUNDATION
The 1812 clipper schooner Lynx will visit Greenport for several days starting May 14.

Villagers, beware. A fast and heavily armed clipper ship is due in Greenport Harbor May 14, firing a salute from her battery of cannons.

The clipper schooner Lynx may arrive in Greenport Harbor with guns blazing, but it’s an entirely friendly visit scheduled to start at 3 p.m. Friday, May 14. The 122-foot square-top ship, built in Maryland in 1812, will tie up at the Mitchell Park Marina and offer dockside tours and sailing adventures May 15 and 16.

Lynx will be in the area at the invitation of the Sag Harbor Yacht Club, which will host the celebrated War of 1812 privateer from May 21 through May 23.

Owned by the Lynx Educational Foundation and home-ported in Newport Beach, Calif., Lynx is scheduled for a five-year mission along the East Coast of the United States and Canada, including participation in a 200th anniversary celebration of the War of 1812 and the writing of the “The Star-Spangled Banner.” It will also participate in the Great Lakes United Tall Ships Challenge Series this summer.

The ship, one of the first to defend the freedom of the United States, has been hailed by historians as among the finest privateer schooners ever built. Its speed and maneuverability made it effective as a blockade runner and provided offensive firepower during the war.

Lynx is a 114-ton schooner fitted with period adornment, including pennants from the War of 1812 era. Crew members wear period uniforms and operate the ship in keeping with maritime traditions of the early 19th century. The ship was used to train the cast and crew of the movie “Pirates of the Caribbean.”

Here’s the schedule for Lynx during its Greenport visit:

* Friday, May 14: After the ship’s 3 p.m. arrival, dockside tours will be offered between 4 and 5 p.m. Contributions will be accepted.

* Saturday and Sunday, May 15 and 16, between 10 a.m. and 1 p.m.: Public dockside tours will be offered at $5 for adults; $10 per family. Children 12 and under are free. They will also be offered on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday, May 18, 19 and 20, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.

From 2 to 5 p.m. on the weekend days, the public can sail aboard the Lynx for $65 for adults and $35 for children 12 and under.

Lynx will return to Greenport May 24 to pick up passengers to sail to Portsmouth, N.H., from May 24 to 27. Passengers who book berths for the trip will get to hoist sails, steer the ship, fire the main battery of cannons and get a sense of shipboard life.

For reservations, call 1-866-446-5969 or visit privateerlynx.org.

JULIE LANE