Press Clips

We have had a lot of great press and publicity during the construction of the Schooner Ardelle. Please take a moment to read some of the recent articles in the Boston Globe, the Gloucester Daily Times, the Cape Ann Beacon, Cape Ann Magazine, Good Morning Gloucester and more. In May 2012, we were featured on the front cover of WoodenBoat Magazine. On the day of our first sail from Essex to Gloucester, we were accompanied by Kirk Williamson, photographer and videographer for the Cape Ann Beacon. Take a moment to view the video he sent to us of that great day:

 

Anchors aweigh
With the launch of the wooden schooner Ardelle, North Shore adds another jewel to its crown 
July 17, 2011|By Joel Brown, Boston Globe Correspondent

ESSEX – At high tide, it came down to teamwork and muscle.

Perhaps a thousand spectators watched from the Essex Shipbuilding Museum across the water last weekend as traditional shipbuilder Harold A. Burnham prepared to launch the 55-foot schooner Ardelle into the Essex River.

An announcer explaining the process called for quiet as Burnham and a dozen or so grimy volunteers carefully jacked the hand-built wooden boat, tipping it to lean on its port bilge. This was an old-school Essex side launch, providing extra buoyancy to keep the vessel from getting stuck in the muddy shallows, as it might if it went straight in on the keel.
Read on

July 10, 2011

The Ardelle’s Debut
The launch of the latest Essex schooner is now history
By Gail McCarthy Staff Writer The Gloucester Daily Times Mon Jul 11, 2011

ESSEX-Close to 2,000 spectators watched the 60-ton splashdown of the Schooner Ardelle in Essex on Saturday evening at high tide at the historic Burnham Boatbuilding yard.

The air filled with hushed anticipation from the crowd after the christening when the workers began to sledge hammer away the wooden blocks keeping the vessel, crafted by Harold Burnham and his colleagues, in place at the water’s edge just about 6 p.m.

Then, within about 15 minutes, it was all over. The Ardelle floated on the calm waters after it listed dramatically to one side
Read on

Schooner Ardelle Launches with a Flair
By Charlee Bianchini/Correspondent

Cape Ann’s ocean heritage was invoked when the newly built pinky schooner Ardelle was launched into the Essex River Saturday night. It has taken months for Harold Burnham and his mostly volunteer crew to complete the schooner, and there is still much to do, however, the boat was put into the water using the method of side-launching last Saturday, as residents of Cape Ann stood by and cheered it on.

Since 1819, Burnham is the 28th in his family to operate a shipyard in Essex. He holds bachelor’s degree in maritime transportation and fisheries from the Massachusetts Maritime Academy. According to his blog, the Ardelle “will be the sixth full-scale historic representation and the third Coast Guard-inspected passenger vessel he has built…” Among his accomplishments are the Lewis H. Story, Fame of Salem, Thomas E. Lannon of Gloucester, and Isabella. When asked if he will build again, Burnham says he cannot tell, though he hopes he will. “I don’t have to worry,” he said, “A lot of people proclaimed the shipbuilding industry dead long before I started. But there’s more and more enthusiasm by younger people and wanting to learn skills. Skills are very much alive right now. We’ll see if the demand will be there.”
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More articles include:
Historic industry fuels 21st century economy

Daisy Nell writes a children’s book about Essex schooner Ardelle

Whiskey plank puts Ardelle a big step closer to launch

A week ’til launch: Schooner should hit the water July 9 in Essex

Essex ready to greet crowds at schooner launch
Apprentice shipbuilder Zach Teal takes the ride of his life
Keeping history alive: Harold Burnham builds a schooner
Getting Ready for the Deck of the Schooner Ardelle

Heritage Center to Take New Name as Ardelle Arrives

Good Morning Gloucester - Coverage from Frame Up day on Sept. 2010 until  the present day.

Wooden Boat Magazine