From collection Ed Coffin Collection
Launching of the the three-masted schooner THEOLINE #1 at George A. Gilchrist yard, Belfast, Maine, in 1900.
The launching of the three-masted schooner THEOLINE #1 at the George A. Gilchrist yard, Belfast, Maine, in 1900. A large crowd is gathered; the vessel has just entered the water. Photo: It was a fine day in July, 1900, when the schooner Theoline was launched on the Belfast waterfront. George A. Gilchrist's shipyard had just opened at the foot of Miller Street, and he built her for the coastal trade. A year after the launch, the Theoline was involved in "one of the most thrilling experiences with wind and sea that was ever encountered off the American coast," according to the New York Times. The vessel was nearly destroyed during a hurricane off Cape Hatteras; Captain and crew of four clung to the vessel for three days. De-spite weakness and hunger, they refused help from passing ships who were unable to tow the Theoline ashore. The steamship Matanzas finally arrived and towed her to Newport News, Virginia. Context: In 1900, Belfast was the third largest ship-building center in Maine (after Bath and Waldoboro). Belfast shipyards built more than 600 sailing vessels before 1900; only ten ships were launched after the turn of the century. The last of Belfast's large schooners was the Blanche C. Pendleton, constructed in Fields Pendleton's shipyard in 1920. The arrival of age of steam signaled the end for Belfast's shipbuilding glory days. Note: Coffin's note on reverse says this was first of three THEOLINEs,
