MV Times

Shenandoah traditions will continue

The famed schooner Shenandoah moored in Vineyard Haven Harbor. — Rich Saltzberg

Article in MVTimes

By Rich Saltzberg — October 19, 2020

Capt. Morgan Douglas, general manager of Black Dog Tall Ships, the company that has long managed the legendary schooner Shenandoah, recently acknowledged the transfer of the vessel to FUEL (Foundation for Underway Experiential Learning), and emphasized there will be ongoing support and a spirit of partnership in the endeavor.

“This new arrangement is a partnership,” he wrote in a release, “where we will fully support FUEL as they continue and build upon Shenandoah’s programs, and with the senior captain [Bob Douglas] still involved in the ship’s planning and operation. This transition will bridge the Shenandoah’s 57-year career to future passengers so that our traditional customers will be able to participate in ‘Kids Cruise’ and school programs through FUEL. Outwardly, very little will change.”

Capt. Morgan Douglas made note of the nautical legacy of his father, Bob Douglas, who conceived of and built the Shenandoah. He described his father’s love of the Shenandoah as “hard-wired” and enduring. 

“Over the length of her 57-year-long career, Shenandoah has moved from a contemporary of the now mostly vanished New England windjammers to a host for both Martha’s Vineyard students and ‘Kids Cruise’ campers, to a status within American maritime history that few others will ever achieve,” he wrote. “She has bridged generations of commercial sailing vessels, from a member of a passenger-carrying fleet to an outlier as she operates each summer, all the while remaining the only non-auxiliary square-topsail schooner (licensed to carry passengers) in the world. All of this starts with the lifelong commitment my father made to the history she represents, the experience she provides, and his passion for them, but is made possible by the passengers, families, schools, and organizations that participate and support. Combined, these have created a 57-year run that will almost certainly never be seen again.”

“This new arrangement is a partnership,” he wrote in a release, “where we will fully support FUEL as they continue and build upon Shenandoah’s programs, and with the senior captain [Bob Douglas] still involved in the ship’s planning and operation. This transition will bridge the Shenandoah’s 57-year career to future passengers so that our traditional customers will be able to participate in ‘Kids Cruise’ and school programs through FUEL. Outwardly, very little will change.”

Capt. Morgan Douglas made note of the nautical legacy of his father, Bob Douglas, who conceived of and built the Shenandoah. He described his father’s love of the Shenandoah as “hard-wired” and enduring. 

“Over the length of her 57-year-long career, Shenandoah has moved from a contemporary of the now mostly vanished New England windjammers to a host for both Martha’s Vineyard students and ‘Kids Cruise’ campers, to a status within American maritime history that few others will ever achieve,” he wrote. “She has bridged generations of commercial sailing vessels, from a member of a passenger-carrying fleet to an outlier as she operates each summer, all the while remaining the only non-auxiliary square-topsail schooner (licensed to carry passengers) in the world. All of this starts with the lifelong commitment my father made to the history she represents, the experience she provides, and his passion for them, but is made possible by the passengers, families, schools, and organizations that participate and support. Combined, these have created a 57-year run that will almost certainly never be seen again.”