History of The Curlew

Built in 1926 at Fred F. Pendleton's shipyard in Wiscasset, Maine, for Charles Andrews of the New York Yacht Club, Curlew has had a long and active career. In the 1930's she raced in the New York Yacht Club's ocean cruising class, competing often in the Newport to Bermuda race, right along side several other notable schooners including Teragram, Nina, and Mistral.

Originally configured as a standard schooner, with gaffed foresail, Curlew was redesigned in 1938 to her current configuration as a Staysail schooner. Curlew was donated on the 31st of January 1940 to the US Coast Guard Academy at New London, Connecticut where she served as a sail-training vessel and saw coastal submarine patrol duty for the Coast Guard during WWII. In 1951 she was transferred to USCG Training Center in Cape Maine, New Jersey where she served as a training vessel until 1960.

According to Bill Andree, who sailed on Curlew in 1954, every boot camp company got to go out for a one day training exercise. In a note from Robert Nogueira, who spent a week on her in late 1956 or early 1957, she was still being used as part of a basic training program, and further he reports that he had been told that in 1960, she was even sailed by President Kennedy (this has not been confirmed).

On Sunday November 11, 1962, Curlew left mystic Seaport Ct. bound for the Carribean where she was to go into charter service. Skippered by Captain David Skellon, an Englishman, and first mate Ed Owe, a Connecticut sailor, she set off in a fresh norwester. The two of them were the only deep water sailors aboard, so they had to take turns night and day at the helm as the weather worsened. By Wednesday morning the wind was northerly at about force ten, and Curlew was running under bare poles. A number of troubles had already developed, the most serious being the failure of the breaking screw that kept the proper shaft from turning, and a bad leak in the propeller shaft packing. The bilge pump operated by the main engine seemed only just capable of keeping ahead of the leak.

The storm steadily increased during Wednesday and through the night. Curlew had entered the gulf stream, where the seas became more dangerous. In the second watch the following morning she suffered her first real broach, and was knocked flat on her beam ends for almost 3 minutes before she slowly righted. After straightening the yacht's course out before the storm, the crew streamed a 3 inch diameter warp astern in a long loop, with drags lashed to it.

On Thursday the seas were higher than ever and the wind was estimated as gusting 75 - 80 knots. At 0700 a mountainous sea broke over the full length of the ship and stove in the main cabin skylight. As a result of mayday calls to Burmuda, Curlew was spotted by a search plane and at 1400 the 663ft. USS Compass Island (EAG 153) hove into sight.

The yacht then continued to run under bare poles on her course for Burmuda, with the USS Compass Island standing by and giving course instructions by radio telephone. That night Curlew, under a lee created by the USS Compass Island, succeeded in getting within a quarter of a mile of the flashing buoy off St. George's harbor. Shelter was at last at hand. But the wind must have shifted, and it was so violent that no further progress could be made against it, even with the help of her powerful engine. It was impossible to gain harbor and Curlew had to run off. By then the yacht's condition was critical and, as the weather forecast predicted a continuance of the storm for another 24 hours, it was decided to run off and abandon her.

Curlew maneuvered alongside under the lee of USS Compass Island, but in doing so broke her bowsprit and carried away her foremast in shrouds against the ship's sides. Nevertheless, all the crew were rescued by Compass Island without injury by means of cargo nets - a creditable performance at night with winds little below hurricane force.

Three days later it was reported that Curlew had been sighted. She was located and rescued by Robert (Bob) Jervisoni ,who oversaw her re-fitting at St. George's harbor, in the Virgin Islands. By then there was some 5 feet of water above the cabin sole and everything below had been smashed, but after surveying it was found that the hull was undamaged. All her seams and fastenings were as good as new. She is Everdur fastened, mahogany planked over white oak, with teak decks. Curlew's was a remarkable survival of a storm stated to be the largest low pressure in the area for 40 years. The 56 foot schooner Windfall, which left Mystic at the same time as Curlew on the same course fro Burmuda, sank in the storm. Nine other ships were in distress at the same time as Curlew, and altogether, the sea on this occasion claimed over a 144 lives.

-Excerpts from Adler Cole's "Heavy Weather Sailing"

On the 15th of November 1962, the Coast Guard Cutter MENDOTA, an Owasco Class Cutter, dispatched from Bermuda to help the Greek Motor Vessel Captain George with a reported explosion aboard, was diverted to help the distressed Schooner CURLEW which was reported approx. 90 mi NW of Bermuda.

She later cruised extensively in the Central and South Pacific, putting many thousands of adventurous miles under her keel. In the late sixties as best we can ascertain, Curlew was purchased by Carlos Romer, and taken to New Zealand for a complete rebuild. The rebuild was extensive and included gutting the interior, replacing some frames with laminated Kauri, a New Zealand tree, some re-planking, also with Kauri, replacing the rudder; masts; cabin tops, and installing a entirely new and different interior, and a backstay was added along with the boom-kin to support it. Teak decks were not replaced but completely re caulked, sanded and sealed. She was re-launched sometime in 1975 and documented with a home port of Portland Oregon. At that point she was equipped with a new 1972 Perkins 4 cylinder 85 hp Diesel, and a Kohler Generator. In 1979, after her restoration she was sailed to Hawaii , where she was engaged in inter-island charters.

In the late 1980s, after a voyage to San Francisco, the well traveled Curlew was found to be in need of extensive repairs. She was retired and placed in dry storage in the state of Washington, where she was discovered in 1985 by Pat and Marlene Russell. After an intensive restoration Curlew was sailing once again, stronger and more graceful than ever, and now meeting the stringent United States Coast Guard safety requirements for carrying passengers for hire.

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Curlew Charters, Inc. Corporate Site
Curlew Corporate Office
34145 Pacific Coast Hwy #608
Dana Point, Ca 92629
949-922-2759

We service the following areas: South Orange County, North Orange County, Los Angeles County and Riverside County. Cities in close proximity are: Anaheim, Balboa, Corona del Mar, Costa Mesa, Corona,Dana Point, Downey, Fountain Valley, Fullerton, Garden Grove, Huntington Beach, Irvine, Laguna Beach, Laguna Niguel,Lake Forest, Long Beach, Mission Viejo, Orange, Rancho Santa Margarita, San Clemente, San Juan Capistrano, Santa Ana, Seal Beach, Tustin, Westminster, Whittier, and Newport Beach.