We had our first schooner visit of the year over the weekend. Here you see her, the J&E Riggin, leaving Great Cove yesterday (Memorial Day) after spending a pleasant-sounding night – she’s on a four-day live music cruise, according to her schedule.
The Riggin was built in 1927 as an oyster dredger for Charles Riggin of New Jersey. He named her for his two sons, Jacob and Edward (“J&E”) Riggin. She’s 120 feet long overall with a beam (widest part) of 23 feet. She dredged for oysters in the Delaware Bay area until the 1940s, when she was sold, converted to power, and sent out in search of mackerel and other fish.
In the 1970s, she was sold again and reconverted to a passenger vessel. In the process, her inboard engine was removed to make more room for cabins. Now out of Rockland, Maine, the Riggin still cruises the area waters without an inboard engine; she relies on her diesel-powered yawl boat to push her when she’s not under sail. When pushing, her yawl boat is lashed to the schooner’s stern with its motor running and is not manned.
That’s what happened yesterday, when the Riggin left Great Cove. Much to my disappointment, the Riggin was pushed out by her yawl boat despite a fair wind and clear skies; not a bit of canvas went up. (Images taken in Brooklin, Maine, on May 29, 2023.)