Blown transmission strands English Tall Ship in Boston
By Eddie Medina, Boston.com Staff, 07/18/00
The John Laing, a 69-foot ketch from England in town to participate in Sail Boston 2000, continues to be stuck here after developing engine trouble during its departure Sunday.
The Class C-III vessel was leaving Boston Harbor along with the other participants of the Tall Ships 2000 race leg to Halifax, Nova Scotia. During the parade, its "transmission blew," according to Sail Boston spokeswoman Carla Cicalese, and it had to be towed back to Charlestown.
"They're trying to find somebody to fix it," Cicalese said.
"They don't think it's anything too, too serious," said Kathy Camp, ship liaison for Sail Boston. "It's not anything that can't be fixed in an hour or two. We just need someone who understands it and has the tools to [fix] it."
In the meanwhile the ship is docked at the Charlestown Navy Yard, Pier 4, while the crew, 14 boys between the ages of 14 and 16, enjoys a day seeing the sites around Boston, hosted by the Metropolitan District Commission.
Camp said the ship's resources are running low, and that help would be appreciated. "Every day they're here, they're losing money ... The poor guys are walking to the Foodmaster to pick up food."
The John Laing's homeport is Portsmouth, England. The vessel is used as a sail-training boat for Ocean Youth Trust, which runs the largest youth sailing fleet in Europe.
