1900 Historic Chesapeake Ram Schooner VICTORY CHIMES55m

The VICTORY CHIMES is a three-masted, gaff-rigged Chesapeake Ram schooner, launched in April 1900 from the Bethel, Delaware yard of George K. Phillips Co. as the EDWIN AND MAUD. She was originally designed for and used carrying cargo and was converted to a passenger cruise vessel in 1946.  The VICTORY CHIMES is listed in the National Register of Historic Places, has been designated a National Historic Landmark, and is proudly featured on Maine’s State Quarter.

​VICTORY CHIMES not only exemplifies the nineteenth and early twentieth century development of large wooden schooners for the coasting trade, but she is the only surviving example of the "Chesapeake ram" type and one of only two surviving examples of a three masted schooner in the United States. 

VICTORY CHIMES has been operating for many years as the largest member of Maine’s Windjammer fleet, carrying passengers for hire on week-long trips from Rockland, ME.  

Her dimensions are: length 127.5 feet, breadth 23.8 feet and depth 8.6 feet, weight 208 gross tons. 

​Construction is oak keel and backbone, double sawn frames and deck timbers and Georgia pine planking. In 1988 she was extensively repaired at Sample's Shipyard in Boothbay Harbor, Maine while under the ownership of Domino's Pizza.

Just as when VICTORY CHIMES was built, she does not carry an engine. Maneuvering assistance is provided by a nineteen-foot wooden yawl boat that was built in 1991 and is powered by a 135 horsepower Ford diesel engine.

Below decks the VICTORY CHIMES offers accommodations for 51 people in 21 private cabins, including five doubles with ensuite heads, and a lavish wood paneled “master’s cabin” at the aft end of the vessel.  Forward she has a full commercial kitchen/galley and “grand salon” with seating for all guests.  

After long and careful consideration, the current owners have come to the difficult decision that 2022 will be their last season carrying passengers in the Windjammer trade.   To maintain her Coast Guard Certificate of Inspection the VICTORY CHIMES will require significant structural work, the cost of which is more than the windjammer trade can support. 

Despite an active working life in a harsh environment and required changes for passenger safety, Victory Chimes is estimated to retain about 70 percent of her original fabric.

We are working diligently to find a new home for the VICTORY CHIMES and are optimistic that there will be a path forward for her to continue to exist and tell her story in a meaningful way for generations to come. 

There are many opportunities for the VICTORY CHIMES to continue to earn her keep without Coast Guard Inspection – such as floating restaurant, dockside residential use, or other waterfront attraction.  In her current structural condition, she has many years of usefulness left. 

Another opportunity might be the formation of a non-profit organization for the purpose of fully restoring the VICTORY CHIMES for use in sail training or other education program.  

One thing is certain. The VICTORY CHIMES needs to find a new home quickly.  We encourage anyone with a creative proposal to reach out, and please spread the word!