LYNX TO THE PAST
1812 tall ship replica docks in Annapolis to educate youths during pandemic
During the War of 1812, the stillnascent U.S. government hired private vessels to harass trading ships of the mighty BritishNavy.
One of just 17 ships comprising the American Navy at the time was a privateer known as Lynx, a square sail schooner built in Baltimore enlisted to prey on British supply lines.
More than 200 years later, a replica of the ship, the Tall Ship Lynx, arrived in Annapolis from Nantucket this week. Captain Casey Laaro and his seven-person crew will be docked at City Dock through the end of the month.
For almost 20 years, the nonprofit organization has been used as a living classroom to teach people about an early part of American history sometimes called the Forgotten War because it gets overshadowed by the American Revolution three decades earlier.
“A lot of people don’t know that history, and that’s why this ship was built,” said Laaro, a 26-year-oldWisconsin native who got into sailing when hewas in high school.
TheLynxwas built in 2001in thewake of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.
The guiding mind behind the effort was Woodson K. Woods, a lifelong sailor and history buff. Melbourne Smith, the ship’s designer, was an Annapolis resident whose other works include the original Pride of Baltimore.
The 122-foot ship closely mirrors the original privateer with some 21st-century upgrades such as a motor, running water, electricity, radar andmore headroombelow deck.
Those who take a tour will learn about letters of marque and reprisal, a legal document giving private citizens permission to capture enemy vessels.
They’ll also learn the difference between a privateer and a pirate; a critical distinction Laaro said he and the crew make sure they emphasize.
“We are not pirate ships. Pirates are bad
people. Disney’s kind of ruined that. They kind of romanticize the whole thing with Pirates of the Caribbean,” he said. “But pirates, they’re bad people, and they’re still a problem today.”
Typically, the crew would be booked for months, Laaro said, sailing up and downthe eastern seaboard educating children about the conflict.
But amid the coronavirus pandemic, nearly all of those programs have been
canceled.
“The virus, it kind of completely shut us down so we’re getting back on our feet. Every little thing helps us through publicity, donations, things like that,” he said.
Pandemic precautions include temperature checks for everyone who comes aboard. The ship is cleaned every day, though that was standard protocol even before the virus hit. Laaro and his crew are also careful about where they go when they
leave the ship because if one crewmember gets infected, it’s likely they all will.
“Just a boat life in general if one of us gets sick, the likelihood of all of us getting sick is high,” he said.
“And so we can’t take that chance because, without the crew, the boat is just a piece ofwood.”
The crew is offering deck tours from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Through Saturday. For more information, visit tallshiplynx.com.