~ Jon James
A piece of Maine’s maritime history has been lost after the iconic schooner Victory Chimes sank in New York City.
The 128-foot wooden windjammer, recognized by many Mainers after appearing on the 2023 Maine commemorative quarter, was found submerged in Brooklyn’s Henry Street Basin over the weekend.
Maritime writer Brad Vogel, who follows New York Harbor’s historic vessels, said the schooner likely went down sometime between Friday night and Sunday. A powerful squall moved through the area Friday evening, damaging several vessels. Another historic schooner, Pilot, which was moored alongside Victory Chimes, also sank during the storm.
When Vogel visited the basin Sunday after hearing reports online, he found Victory Chimes completely underwater. He said the vessel had shown signs of deterioration in recent months, with sections of its wooden hull appearing badly weathered. Pumps had reportedly been running aboard the ship as recently as May.
Victory Chimes left Rockland Harbor in October 2023 after being sold with plans to transform the historic vessel into a floating restaurant. The schooner was first tied up on Manhattan’s west side before later moving to Brooklyn.
The ship was purchased at auction in May 2023 by brothers Miles and Alex Pincus for $75,900. Through their company, Crewny, the pair operates several restaurant vessels in the New York City area. Pilot, which also sank during the storm, had already been serving as one of those floating restaurants. Requests for comment from the company were not immediately returned.
For decades, Victory Chimes was a familiar sight along the Maine coast. The schooner featured 21 passenger cabins and carried up to 43 guests on traditional windjammer cruises after entering Maine’s sailing fleet in 1954.
The vessel’s history stretches back even further. Built in Delaware in 1900 as the cargo schooner Edwin & Maud, it spent decades hauling freight throughout the Chesapeake Bay before being converted into a passenger vessel after World War II. It was considered the last large cargo schooner of its kind still sailing.
The schooner also had several notable owners over the years. In 1987, former Domino’s Pizza owner Tom Monaghan purchased the vessel and funded an extensive restoration at Samples Shipyard in Boothbay, renaming it Domino Effect. Two years later, after plans surfaced to move the ship to Japan as a floating sushi restaurant, Maine captains Kip Files and Paul DeGaeta bought the vessel and returned it to the state’s windjammer fleet.
That rescue effort led the Maine Legislature to designate Victory Chimes as the state’s Official Windjammer.
The ship was later purchased by Sam Sikkema in 2018. Four years later, Sikkema announced that rising maintenance costs, Coast Guard compliance requirements, the lack of a suitable haul-out facility in Maine, and financial losses from the pandemic made it impossible to continue operating the vessel.
Victory Chimes completed its final sailing season in 2022 before spending time anchored in Rockland Harbor ahead of its move to New York. Less than three years later, the beloved schooner’s long journey came to an unexpected end beneath the waters of New York Harbor.
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