June 2nd, 1930

The American Eagle has had a varied life since her launch in 1930; first as an auxiliary schooner, then an eastern-rig dragger, and now as a windjammer.

  • June 2nd, 1930
    Gloucester, Massachusetts

    “Standing at her bow, arms laden with flowers and grasping a bottle of something we used to see much of before Prohibition, Miss Rosalie Murphy, daughter of Captain Patrick Murphy, who will command the craft, smashed the bottle on the shoe of the schooner as she started…”
    - Gloucester Daily Times

    Launch Photo
    Patrick Murphy (center) with his son Andrew (left) and daughter Rosalie (right) at the launch.

    June 26, 1930

    The schooner Andrew & Rosalie leaves on her first fishing trip.

    Andrew & Rosalie
    Andrew & Rosalie as she was set up for swordfishing sometime in the 1930s.

    July 14, 1937

    Angry Swordfish

    May 5, 1941

    American Eagle

    Andrew & Rosalie is renamed American Eagle by then owner Capt. Ben Pine. This was done to keep German submarines from mistaking the Eagle for a Canadian vessel before the United States entered World War II.

  • 1946

    The Piscitello family purchases American Eagle from the Atlantic Supply Company.

    John and Piscotellos

    Late 1940s/Early 1950s

    This time was the peak of the Gloucester fishing industry.

    PMM Photo Undated
    The American Eagle rigged as a dragger. Picture courtesy of the Penobscot Marine Museum.

    1970s

    Eagle Color 70s

  • October 31st, 1983

    The American Eagle arrives in Rockland at the North End Shipyard to begin her rebuild into a windjammer.

    Eagle old photo
    The American Eagle hauled at out after arriving in Rockland for her rebuild. Photo courtesy of the Penobscot Marine Museum.

    The Eagle was quite tired after 53 years of fishing and required a full rebuild. While most of the timber above the waterline had to be replaced, the years of cold Atlantic water and constant use preserved much below the waterline. Today pitchfork marks still can be seen along the ceiling in the midships cabin.

    No Deck
    The Eagle mid rebuild, before her deck had been put on. Photo courtesy of the Penobscot Marine Museum.

    Finish Work
    The Eagle with her deck and cabin structures built. By this time it was mostly interior work left to go. Photo courtesy of the Penobscot Marine Museum.

    On the Railway
    The Eagle on the railway at the North End Shipyard. Her masts are in, but she’s missing her rig. Photo courtesy of the Penobscot Marine Museum.

    Launch Day
    The Schooner American Eagle was launched in April 1986 after her almost three-year rebuild. Photo courtesy of the Penobscot Marine Museum.

    Launch Piscitellos

  • July 4, 1986

    The 1986 sailing season was a big one for the Schooner American Eagle. In July the schooner sailed down to New York City for Operation Sail 1986 to celebrate the centenary of the Statue of Liberty.

    Eagle NYC
    The American Eagle during the Parade of Sail during OpSail 1986. Just in front of her is Libertad, the Argentinian Navy’s sail training vessel, and behind that the New York City skyline.

    1991

    The Schooner American Eagle is designated a National Historic Landmark. She is only one of six remaining Gloucester fishing schooners.

    1992

    The Eagle heads down for SailBoston.

    1994

    The Eagle makes her first trip to Canada since her fishing days.

    2022

    Capt. John Foss retires after 35 years sailing the American Eagle, handing the reins to Capt. Tyler King .

Our Small Boat Fleet

  • The crew of the seine boat celebrates winning their race

    Seine Boat

    Built in 1985 during the rebuild of the Eagle and modeled after traditional seine boats used to fish for school fish like herring or mackerel up and down the Atlantic coast.

    The Eagle would have carried similar boats from 1930-45 on summer seining trips.

    Our hardworking crew has rowed the seine boat to victory in the last two Great Schooner Race “Small Boat” class races.

  • Captain Tyler pilots the Amesbury Skiff across the water

    Amesbury Skiff

    Built in 1973 at Lowell’s Boatshop in Amesbury, Massachusetts, and restored in the winter 2023 by Capt. Tyler.

    The design is based on the Grand Banks dory, which Lowell’s historically supplied in great numbers to the Gloucester fishing fleet.

    The Eagle would have carried similar dories powered by oars and a small sail when dory trawling for ground fish.

    Each dory could carry thousands of pounds of fish.

  • The whitehall rests on the beach with the schooner in the backgroudn

    Whitehall

    Built in Lowell’s Boatshop in an unknown year.

    A whitehall is a style of boat developed in the US in the 19th century.

    Strongly resembles a ship’s gig or Thames River wherry used by watermen as a taxi service

    First made in the US at the foot of Whitehall St. in NYC to ferry goods and people to ships in New York Harbor

  • Roscoe sits on a beach with three schooners in the background

    Roscoe

    Roscoe was the second hull of a design built by John Foss for the Lewis R. French in the 1970s.

    She is a unique mixture of the Swampscott dory and a traditional yacht tender, marrying the stability and agility of both types.

  • Cappy is sailed by three people as the sun sets

    Cappy

    Built on North Haven in 1919, Cappy is the number 27 North Haven dinghy.

    The North Haven dinghy is the oldest continuously raced one-design sailboat in the United States going back to the 1880’s.

    She is a cat boat with a gaff rig sail.

Capt. Tyler at the wheel of the American Eagle wearing Grudens foul weather gear.

The Captain

Captain Tyler King has been working on and around boats since his childhood. Growing up in his family’s small wooden-boat yard in Gloucester, Massachusetts, he has built or repaired nearly every type of wooden vessel and their systems. Before taking the helm of the Schooner American Eagle, he spent his summers along the New England coastline, learning all that he could about maritime history and the Maine windjammer trade.

After 37 years of operating the American Eagle, Captain John Foss passed the stewardship of operating and maintaining the historic schooner to Capt. King.

Capt. King is dedicated to keeping and preserving the written and unwritten ways of traditional sailing for many years to come.

A sailing trip with Capt. King is a course in the history and dynamics of schooners, fishing, the Gulf of Maine ,and of the literature of the Sea. His good humor and enthusiasm for the fleet radiates to his crew and guests, embodying what it means to drive a Maine windjammer.

Our Crew

It takes a crew of six to operate the American Eagle: a captain, mate, two deckhands, chef, and galleyhand. Our experienced crew has many years of windjamming experience to make sure you have a great trip.