ALL HANDS ON DECK
Welcome! This page will be regularly updated with content from our journey. Please check back to see new photographs and clips of film footage added every week. To start, we had much work to do to prepare our ship for departure. Our sail to California would be more than six thousand miles through two oceans, and Rose was no spring chicken. Rose was built in 1969 at Smith and Rhuland Shipyard in Nova Scotia. Historian John Millar commissioned her for the Bicentennial celebration.
The goals of Rose were never fully realized. She was undercapitalized, and the expense of maintaining her versus her ability to generate revenue caused her to fall into a terrible state of disrepair. In 1984, an entrepreneur named Kaye Williams formed the HMS Rose Foundation, purchased the ship, and relocated her to Bridgeport, Connecticut. With the assistance of Captain Bailey, Rose underwent an extensive rebuild and the United States Coast Guard inspected and certified the ship as America’s only Class-A sailing school vessel. The mission developed by her foundation was to promote Rose as an educational platform offering a variety of sail training programs to the public.

Rose at the dock in Newport, RI IN 2001. Photo provided by Scott Hamann

Profile of Rose. Plan developed by Will Sofrin
Various photos of Rose's construction in 1969 at the Smith and Rhuland Shipyard in Nova Scotia. Knickle Studios photos, courtesy John Millar
Before we could depart, we had to repower our ship and repair and recaulk planking below the water line. Rose was hauled out at American Shipyard (now Safe Harbor-Newport Shipyard)
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PLEASE CHECK BACK AS MORE PICTURES AND FILM FOOTAGE WILL BE ADDED REGULARLY