by Peter von Buol
Special to Inside
When the Red Witch, an authentic wooden schooner, sailed out into Lake Michigan from its berth at Burnham Harbor on May 15, Chicago reclaimed a bit of its maritime history.
A schooner is a type of two-masted tall ship built for speed. To quality as a schooner, the ship's mainmast must be taller than its foremast. The top speed of the Chicago-based Red Witch is 10 knots per hour. Constructed of mahogany and cypress, with a deck of Douglas fir, the schooner is 77 feet long.
Prior to being purchased by Bruce and Karen Randall, the Red Witch had been based in Sandusky, OH. As the official flagship ambassador of the state of Ohio, the Red Witch had visited Chicago during the city's 2003 tall ship festival. Now the schooner can restore a part of Chicago history that has been gone from the lakefront for 75 years.
During the 19th century, wooden schooners were a common sight in Chicago and the colorful sailing ships contributed greatly to the city's growth. The fast and reliable sailing ships hauled passengers, lumber and grain but were ultimately replaced by steel ships.
According to historians Theodore J. Karamanski and Deane Tank, authors of the book "Maritime Chicago," "more wooden ships arrived in Chicago [in 1871] than in New York, San Francisco, Philadelphia, Baltimore, Charleston, and Mobile combined."
While 1871 was a high-water mark for Chicago's wooden sailing ships, by 1930 the masts of the once-ubiquitous wooden schooners were gone from the lakefront.
The Red Witch was built in 1986 as a charter ship and has been based in Hawaii, California and Ohio. The ship was designed by the nautical architectural firm of John G. Alden, a company known for its traditional designs. Its name evokes the eponymous ship that sailed the South Pacific in the novel "Wake of the Red Witch" by adventure writer Garland Roark. In 1949, Roark's book served as a basis for a movie which starred John Wayne and Gail Russell. The interior of the Chicago-based ship will soon be decorated with pictures and posters from the movie.
Due to its traditional construction, the Red Witch has been used as an educational platform for traditional rig sailing and is a member of the American Sail Training Association.
John Wayne was not the only "Duke" to star in the 1949 movie, as the native Hawaiian actor and Olympic Gold medalist named Duke Kahanamoku had a role as a Polynesian chief. Interestingly, on the ground floor of the Field Museum of Natural History and just five minutes away from the Red Witch's berth at Burnham Harbor, a statue of Duke's brother, Sargent Kahanamoku, is on permanent exhibit as a Hawaiian surfer.
The Red Witch has joined the fleet of locally-owned Lakeshore Sail Charter. The ship is certified to carry 49 passengers and available for charters or tours. The company also owns the Crescendo, a 36-foot sail boat that is also available for charters.
The owners of Lakeshore Sail Charter, Bruce and Karen Randall, are active members of the Chicago Maritime Society and say that while they appreciate modern vessels such as their Crescendo, it is their love for nautical history that inspired their purchase of the Red Witch.
"We hadn't planned to buy a tall ship but when the Red Witch became available, we decided to buy it," said Dr. Karen Randall, who in addition to being company owner is a psychologist with a downtown practice. Interestingly, they learned the Red Witch was for sale while they were just trying to purchase sail boat parts on-line. |
