Sail As You Are, 501c3

The Schooner Hindu is the second longest running charter boat on the East Coast. Since 1946 the Hindu has been offering sunset and daysail sailing charters at the end of Cape Cod, in Provincetown MA. Generations of families have crewed and celebrated special occasions including proposals, weddings, and celebrations of life onboard. The Schooner Hindu is recognized by the Provincetown Historic Commision for her local historical significance; she is the only wooden schooner still sailing in a port that once boasted nearly 5,000 large wooden schooners known as Grand Banks fishing vessels. A half scale version of a Grand Banks fishing vessel, the Hindu is the last representation of the vessels that sustained the people of Provincetown until the middle of the 20th century. 

Above and beyond her significance in Provincetown, MA, the Hindu is a widely adored ambassador of American maritime history, having been featured in two feature films, and participating in schooner races and Tall Ships festivals around the United States, as well offering 20 years of busy winter sailing in Key West Florida. Fans come easily with a history as rich as the Hindu’s. 

She was designed by prolific American yacht designer William Hand Jr., known for his handsome and sea-kindly creations. Originally hailed as ‘Princess Pat’, after the British Princess Patricia who sewed banners with her own hands for a military unit in Canada at the turn of the 20th century, the schooner, like her original namesake, has proven over nearly a century to be beautiful and capable.

Built in Boothbay Maine by the Hogdgen Brothers, she was launched in 1925, in the same year the Great Gatsby was published. She changed names and hands several times within a short period, notably sailing alongside, and ultimately falling behind, the racing greats of the 1930 Newport to Bermuda race. Amidst the turmoil of the Great Depression, she was purchased by William A. Parker, who had a creative idea for his new luxury yacht to earn her keep. Parker sailed the schooner to India to pick up spices, and brought them back to trade in Boston. Along the way, he christened the vessel the Hindu; the name that stuck.

As was the case with many wooden vessels, the Hindu was commandeered by the Navy to participate in the coastal picket brigade during WWII. The Hindu served during World War II as a scout for German U-boats along the eastern seaboard. She had a machine gun mounted to her foredeck, her hull was painted gray, and lined with depth charges to drop on submarines if any should pass beneath her. The coastal picket brigade’s presence was a huge success in a previously unchallenged and crippling attack on American cargo vessels. After her service she was purchased by Al Avellar, a Provincetown capt who had served as Chief Petty Officer with the ‘hooligan navy’.  Having been fully stripped of her luxury cabins during the war, and fitted by the coast guard with watertight bulkheads, she transitioned easily into a recreational commercial vessel.  Noticing that passengers grew wild excitement every time a whale showed up, Al Avellar initiated the first ever whale watch trips on board the Schooner Hindu and later aboard the M/V Dolphin, which now constitutes one of the largest tourism businesses on the water not only in Provincetown but along the northeast coast. 

The Hindu was the first boat to raise the equality flag, and has sailed with it ever since. The Hindu is one of only five William Hand schooners still sailing in the world, and based on the status of 3 of these five sister vessels, is assumed to meet the criteria for the National Historic Register, which is being pursued, and expected to be completed when the vessel floats again (a prerequisite for the nomination).