(NEW YORK) — A historic former Maine windjammer has sunk in New York City, CentralMaine.com reported.
Victory Chimes, a 128-foot schooner featured on a 2003 commemorative Maine state quarter, was previously based out of Rockland, Maine. In 2023, it was sold to two brothers who have a history of converting ships into floating restaurants and moved to New York.
The U.S. Coast Guard confirmed receiving a report of a vessel, later determined to be Victory Chimes, taking on water near Henry Street Basin, near the Red Hook area of Brooklyn, at about 5 p.m. on Saturday.
Coast Guard Sector New York issued an urgent marine broadcast, and New York City police responded and tried to remove water from the vessel before it sank, said Sydney Phoenix, a Coast Guard public affairs specialist. She said there were no known pollution risks from the sinking.
The vessel was tied to a mooring wall. Phoenix said the sinking remains under investigation.
The ship was sold at auction for $75,900 to Miles and Alex Pincus, through the company Crew, which owns multiple floating restaurants in the New York area.
Another vessel owned by the company, Pilot, sank around noon on July 1 while berthed near Victory Chimes.
Phoenix said that the Coast Guard received a report of Pilot sinking due to unknown causes on July 1. She said the owner was conducting a salvage plan and had a boom deployed around the vessel.
Built in 1900, Victory Chimes operated as a windjammer starting in 1954, giving tours of the Maine coast and accommodating up to 43 passengers.
It was previously known as Edwin and Maud and hauled cargo in Chesapeake Bay until 1946, when it was converted to carry passengers.
