The Victory Chimes during the July 2022 45th annual Great Schooner Race. Photo by Ken Waltz
ROCKLAND — Victory Chimes, the historic wooden schooner based in Rockland, is on the auction block.
The 128-foot, three-masted tall ship, which was depicted on the 2003 commemorative state quarter for Maine, will be auctioned through online bidding that begins at 9 a.m. on April 23 and continues until 1 p.m. on May 8, according to Keenan Auction Company of Portland.
The auction comes after the owner was unable to find a buyer.
Built in 1900, Victory Chimes has sailed the Maine coast since 1954, carrying passengers as part of the windjammer excursion fleet. Owner and captain, Sam Sikkema, announced in August that the ship’s long sailing career in Maine would end in October unless a buyer came forward.
“After long and careful consideration we have come to the difficult decision that 2022 will be Victory Chimes’ last sailing season,” he said last year. “Upcoming Coast Guard compliance, cost and availability of materials for upcoming maintenance, the lack of ability to haul the ship in Maine and the losses of the 2020 season have all become a hill too big to climb.”
According to SuperYachts.com, Victory Chimes was for sale last year for $650,000.
“There are many good years left in her service, and the marketing, historical, educational, and repurposing opportunities that she can provide are great,” Keenan Auction states on its website.
The Victory Chimes has 21 cabins and can accommodate 43 passengers. The posting on the Keenan Auction website notes “the current U.S. Coast Guard certification has expired and the extensive work and expense that will be required in order for her to be able to return to passenger service is forcing the owner and the lender to sell the vessel at a Secured Party’s Sale at Public Auction.”
The ship was originally launched in Bethel, Delaware, as one of 4,000 similar cargo ships. Then named Edwin & Maud, the vessel hauled cargo in Chesapeake Bay until 1946. It was then converted to the passenger trade. The ship is the last of the large, former cargo schooners still sailing, according to the statement released by the owner.
In 1987, Tom Monaghan, then owner of Domino’s Pizza and the Detroit Tigers Baseball Club, purchased the vessel and put it through an extensive restoration at Samples Ship Yard in Boothbay. In 1989, Domino’s put the infrequently used vessel – then named the Domino Effect – up for sale. The only interested party had plans to ship the schooner to Japan and use it for a sushi restaurant.
That’s when Kip Files and Paul DeGaeta stepped forward and purchased the Victory Chimes in 1990 and returned it to the Maine windjammer trade. This prompted the Maine Legislature to bestow the honor of “Official Windjammer of the state of Maine.”
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