My thanks to David Jackson, who identified this boat as the schooner Zodiac, currently on a Watercolor Cruise in the San Juans. This 1924, 160-foot schooner (127 feet on deck) takes up to 24 passengers for overnight cruises in the San Juans and Desolation Sound. She is also available for private charter. Check out StarSail Cruises, www.starsailcruises.com.
According to www.nwschooner.org., the beautiful boat was designed by William Hand, Jr. in the early Twenties, built for heirs to the Johnson and Johnson Band-Aid fortune. She was sold to the San Francisco Bar Pilots during the Depression, and renamed California. She worked the rugged waters outside the Golden Gate for 40 years, retiring in 1972, as the last working pilot schooner in the United States. In the late 70s, the Vessel Zodiac Corporation was formed to operate and maintain the schooner, whose maiden name was promptly restored to Zodiac. Drawing on an experienced crew of sailors and shipwrights who have worked on other tallships such as the Adventuress, Sea Cloud, Eagle, Lady Washington, and Robertson II, the ship was restored to her former beauty and sailing strength. I took this photo Friday afternoon from Port of Anacortes Pier 1 during a public tour of the Port’s massive rock transport project. Guemes Island looms in the background.