The Best of 2012: Tall Ship J and E Riggin Haul Out Gallery

 With the ultra modern cruise ship Regatta anchored across the harbor in a small corner of Rockland a tradition over 85 years years old played out this morning. The historic schooner J&E Riggin was hauled out of the water for her annual inspection and maintenance.

Donald H. Rolfs in his book, “Under Sail, The Dredgeboats of Delaware Bay” gives a wonderful history of the Riggin.

“Undoubtedly, the most legendary schooner that ever sailed the bay was the J.&E. Riggin. This dredgeboat was 76 feet [accurate length is 89 feet], 4 inches long with a 22 foot, 3 inch beam. The J.&E. was polish rigged and carried 4,000 square feet of canvas. Captain Ed Riggin involuntarily glows from stem to stern as he relates the exploits of the grand old boat. “My gosh,” he said, “it was almost as if sea was a live creature a – risin’ up out o’ the sea, runnin’ before the wind, a-goin’ wing and wing. I would have to climb up on top of the wheel box to see where I was goin’. You know, she was never beat in a race. Many of the ‘old gents’ thought they could take her but nobody ever did. Sunday afternoons they used to wait for us at the mouth of the river to give her a try, but there weren’t nobody could ever take her.

Captain Frank Hinson concurred with Captain Riggin’s estimation of the J.&E. “I believe it was the way she was rigged up,” said Captain Frank. “She was hung just right. We were comin’ down the bay one day and I had the Richord Lore, an old time boat, pushin’ down with the yawlboat . . . there wasn’t a bit of wind, not a bit, to plant . . . looked up and here come theJ.&E. Riggin down the bay. She was comin’ on so fast we thought she was pushin’ down with her yawlboat. She went by us and didn’t even have her yawlboat down! She had a line from her main boom to the rigging on one side and a line from her fore boom too the riggin on the other side . . . had her wung out . . . and that thing was a-goin’ down the bay just the same as us. Yep, she was hung just exactly right . . . take a little breeze of wind and you would just have to reef her down to nothing to hold her dredges on the bottom.”

Today the Riggin sails Penobscot Bay still paying her own way in this world that has moved on. She is a quiet haven in a world that is moving far to fast to be enjoyed.

For more information on the Riggin go to : http://www.mainewindjammer.com/