RawFaith
{{More citations needed|date=December 2010}}
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{{Infobox ship image |Ship image=Image:RawFaith under full sail.jpg |Ship caption=RawFaith }} {{Infobox ship career |Hide header= |Ship country=United States |Ship flag={{flagicon|USA|size=60px}} |Ship name=RawFaith |Ship namesake= |Ship owner=George McKay |Ship operator=George Mckay |Ship registry= |Ship route= |Ship ordered= |Ship awarded= |Ship builder=George McKay |Ship original cost= |Ship yard number= |Ship way number= |Ship laid down=1999 |Ship launched=2003 |Ship sponsor= |Ship christened= |Ship completed= |Ship acquired= |Ship commissioned= |Ship recommissioned= |Ship decommissioned= |Ship maiden voyage= |Ship in service= |Ship out of service= |Ship renamed= |Ship reclassified= |Ship refit= |Ship struck= |Ship reinstated= |Ship homeport= |Ship identification= |Ship motto= |Ship nickname= |Ship honours= |Ship honors= |Ship captured= |Ship fate=Sunk on December 8, 2010 |Ship notes= |Ship badge= }} {{Infobox ship characteristics |Hide header= |Header caption= |Ship class= |Ship type=three-masted schooner rig on unique homemade hull |Ship tonnage= |Ship displacement=300 T |Ship length={{convert|80|ft|m|abbr=on}} at waterline, {{convert|88|ft|m|abbr=on}} on deck, {{convert|118|ft|m}} sparred length |Ship beam={{convert|26|ft|m|abbr=on}} |Ship height={{convert|80|ft|m|abbr=on}} |Ship draught= |Ship draft={{convert|7|ft|m|abbr=on}} |Ship depth= |Ship hold depth= |Ship decks= |Ship deck clearance= |Ship ramps= |Ship ice class= |Ship power= |Ship propulsion= |Ship sail plan= |Ship speed= |Ship range= |Ship endurance= |Ship test depth= |Ship boats= |Ship capacity= |Ship complement= |Ship crew= |Ship notes={{convert|3000|sqft|m2}} sail area. White oak wood hull, Douglas fir masts }} |
RawFaith was a wooden sailing vessel built and owned by George McKay in Maine, United States.
Construction
RawFaith was built in Addison, Maine, by George McKay and his three sons. Construction took 28 months, spread over four years. The construction was performed using a variety of makeshift methods. This was exemplified in the use of a half hull model ship, steam box, the builder's interpretation of 16th-century lines, and other old shipbuilding techniques, but using power tools and laminates to aid in construction and simulate strength. She was constructed of a wide variety of woods and materials, most not normally considered appropriate for marine construction. Rawfaith was not built using shipwrights or naval architects. She was controversial in all aspects and was regarded by most professionals as being very poorly built and designed.
Design
RawFaith was designed with 16th-century race-built galleons such as the {{ship|English ship|Revenge|1577|2}} in mind. Raw faith was intended to be wheel chair accessible.
The ship was designed by the owner with no previous knowledge of naval architecture. Accordingly, the vessel did not actually resemble any galleon or traditional vessel, and was rigged as a schooner. However, the mast and sail configuration was also atypical.
Purpose
RawFaith was wheelchair accessible, and the intent was to provide free sailing adventures to groups which would normally be deterred from sailing by a member in a wheelchair. Many accessibility features had not yet been installed,{{When|date=February 2011}} though the captain's daughter, a wheelchair user, lived aboard for many months.
Controversy
RawFaith had been the target of criticism for her lack of seaworthiness.{{cite news |url=http://thebollard.com/2010/05/10/adrift/|title=Adrift | the Bollard }} On Thanksgiving Day 2004, she was rescued by the United States Coast Guard about {{convert|80|mi|km}} off the Maine coast after the rudder mechanism failed and the top of the foremast snapped off. She was towed to Rockland, Maine, to undergo repairs.{{cite news |first=Leanne M. |last=Robicheau |title=Repairs Under Way on Sailing Vessel RawFaith: Captain Hopes to Have Ship Inspected Soon |newspaper=Bangor Daily News |date=July 21, 2005 |accessdate=December 8, 2010 |url=http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P2-11786634.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121102101829/http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P2-11786634.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=November 2, 2012}}
In another incident on May 9, 2006, all three masts snapped during another storm off the coast of Maine. One of the crew was struck in the head by a piece of the falling mast, but not seriously injured. RawFaith was rescued by the Coast Guard cutter Seneca about {{convert|50|mi|km}} off Mt. Desert Rock and was again towed to Rockland for repairs.{{cite web |url=http://www.sail-world.com/cruising/index.cfm?nid=23890&rid=11 |title=Galleon Loses Three Masts: Crew Injured |publisher=Sail-World.com |date=May 15, 2006 |accessdate=December 8, 2010}}
Sinking
File:101208-G-0000-001-Sailing-vessel-RawFaith-sinks.JPG on December 8, 2010.]]
On December 8, 2010, RawFaith began taking on water in rough seas off the coast of Nantucket and sank in {{convert|6000|ft|m}} of water. Two people had been rescued from the ship by a helicopter from Coast Guard Air Station Cape Cod the previous day.{{cite news |url=http://www.capecodonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20101208/NEWS11/101209795 |title=Maine-built Sailing Vessel Sinks off Nantucket |newspaper=Cape Cod Times |date=December 8, 2010 |accessdate=December 8, 2010 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20110617063430/http://www.capecodonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=%2F20101208%2FNEWS11%2F101209795 |archivedate=June 17, 2011 }}
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References
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External links
- [https://web.archive.org/web/20101210042823/http://www.rawfaithadventures.com/ Rawfaith{{'s}} homepage]
- [http://www.workingwaterfront.com/online-exclusives/Rocklands-ghostly-galleon/13325/ An article from the Working Waterfront Newspaper]
{{2010 shipwrecks}}
{{coord missing|Atlantic Ocean}}
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Category:Tall ships of the United States
Category:Maritime incidents in 2010