Friendship of Salem
Friendship of Salem, docked at the Salem Maritime National Historic Site
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| History | |
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| Name: | Friendship of Salem |
| Namesake: | Friendship (1797) |
| Owner: | National Park Service |
| Builder: | Scarano Brothers Shipyard |
| Launched: | November 1996 |
| Acquired: | September 1, 1998 |
| Homeport: | Salem, MA |
| Status: | in service |
| Badge: | Woman in classical dress offering a bouqet of flowers |
| General characteristics | |
| Class and type: | Full rigged ship |
| Length: | 171 ft (52 m) bowsprit to spanker boom |
| Beam: | 30 ft (9.1 m) |
| Height: | 20 ft (6.1 m) keel to deck at midship |
| Decks: | main deck, 'tween deck, and holds |
| Installed power: | onboard generators |
| Propulsion: | 21 sails, twin diesel engines |
| Speed: | 7.2 maximum / 5.8 average knots |
| Boats & landing craft carried: |
1 jolly boat |
| Complement: | 25 crew, up to 45 persons |
The Friendship of Salem is a 171-foot replica of a 1797 East Indiaman. It was built in 2000 in the Scarano Brothers Shipyard in Albany, New York. The ship usually operates as a stationary museum ship during most of the year. But it is a fully functioning United States Coast Guard-certified vessel capable of passenger and crew voyages; it makes special sailings during various times of the year. The Friendship of Salem is docked at the Salem Maritime National Historic Site, established in 1938 as the first such site in the United States. The site, which includes several structures, artifacts and records, is operated by the National Park Service.
The replica of Friendship was commissioned by the National Park Service as The Friendship of Salem. It was built using modern materials and construction methods, while retaining the appearance of the original 18th-century ship. The hull is cold molded with laminated wood and epoxy. The replica's design is based on a model in the collections of the Peabody Essex Museum. The model was built by Thomas Russell, the Friendship's second mate, and Mr. Odell, the Friendship's carpenter, as a gift for Captain William Story's infant son. Russell and Odell made the model during a voyage to China and Sumatra from June 1802 to August 1804. The replica's color scheme was taken from an 1805 painting of the ship by marine artist, George Ropes.
The ship is operated by a volunteer crew under supervision of the National Park Service. The Friendship of Salem sails as an ambassador ship for the Essex National Heritage Area.
The original Friendship was built in Salem, Massachusetts by Enos Briggs's shipyard at Stage Point on the South River for owners Aaron Waite and Jerathmiel Pierce. The Friendship was launched 28 May 1797. It weighed 342 tons and was registered at the customs house on August 18, 1797. The Friendship was 102 feet long and 27 feet 7 inches wide. She regularly recorded speeds of 10 knots and was known to have logged a top speed of 12 knots. The Friendship made fifteen voyages during her career and visited Batavia, India, China, South America, the Caribbean, England, Germany, the Mediterranean and Russia.
The Friendship cleared Salem for Canton in August 1797 on her first voyage under the command of Captain Israel Williams, but changed her destination to Batavia in the Dutch East Indies. Captain Williams had a keen interest in science and was a member of the East India Marine Society. When the ship's supply of water gave out at 22°50′S 21°46′W / 22.833°S 21.767°W, he improvised a way to distill water.
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