After having seen the Matthew Turner on the SF Bay waters for about five years…we finally sailed on the vessel.
The Matthew Turner is a Brigantine two-masted ship built as a replica of a larger vessel originally constructed by Turner, a boatbuilder of ships in the heyday of shipping in the Bay Area. You can learn more by checking out the link.
A few tidbits. It took almost 10 years to build the vessel. It sleeps 39 and has a superb galley. The square sails on the foremast are impressive. I’d never been on a sailing ship with the sails set for power. This type of vessel was commonly employed by pirates as it was faster than the typical full rigged ships of the era. The course through the water was rather comfortable.
Here are a few photos.
We highly recommend the sail. It was a nice 2.5 hours on the Bay. I hope to participate in one of the overnight or several day sails in the near future.
The ship sails from a dock near the Bay Model established by the Army Corps of Engineers. That’s also worth checking out if you have any interest in the hydrology of the SF Bay. Here is a link.
https://www.spn.usace.army.mil/Missions/Recreation/Bay-Model-Visitor-Center/
