On Saturday, September 16th, from 2 to 4 pm, there will be a wonderful opportunity to see Portsmouth the way it was viewed by many of its residents for the city’s first 300 years…from the water.
The non-profit Gundalow Company has offered the Portsmouth Athenauem the option to charter a sail on the 45-person capacity gundalow Piscataqua at a greatly reduced rate. The sail will provide views of Prescott Park, the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard, the sites of six forts dating back to the 1630s, three lighthouses, the Wood Island Life Saving Station, and many historical homes along both the New Hampshire and Maine shorelines.
There will be a talk about the commercial and maritime history of Portsmouth and the towns surrounding the Great Bay/Piscataqua watershed. To answer questions along the way, two Athenaeum proprietors will be on board, Sue Kauffmann, who has been a professional crew member since the Piscataqua was launched in 2011, and Ed Caylor, who has been a volunteer deckhand for the past four years.
Many of the staff on the gundalow feel that September is the very best time of year to sail. The weather is often warm, the skies are crisp and clear, the winds are light, and the visibility is superb.
In order to reserve the charter opportunity, 25 confirmed tickets need to be sold two weeks prior to the sail. The ticket price is $50 per person. If the minimum sale of 25 is not reached, all tickets will be refunded. If the sail has to be cancelled due to stormy weather, all tickets will also be refunded.
Tickets for this special outing are $50 and can be reserved by following this link: https://fareharbor.com/embeds/book/gundalow/items/56463/availability/77246490/book/
Boarding will begin at 1:50 pm. Please allow time to find parking and to walk to the Piscataqua’s pier on the eastern side of Prescott Park’s shore.