New Jersey’s got a state fruit (the blueberry), state bird (the American goldfinch), a state dog (the Seeing Eye Dog) but did you know New Jersey also has an official tall ship?
The A.J. Meerwald, which is an oyster schooner that normally docks at the Port Norris Marina along the Maurice River in Bivalve, Cumberland County, will sail its way up to Trenton next month for the annual dockside reception and sail at South Riverwalk Park, behind the Trenton Thunder baseball stadium.
This is no ordinary sailboat; it’s a historic, wooden, traditionally-rigged tall ship that sailed on the Delaware Bay and Delaware River from 1928 to 1994, when oyster harvesting was a huge industry in the area. The Meerwald was one of nearly 500 schooners built along the Delaware Bay before the decline of the local shipbuilding industry in the 1930s. One hundred years later, there are just a handful of converted schooners still harvesting oysters!
In 1998, then-Governor Christine Todd-Whitman designated the schooner as New Jersey’s official tall ship, and now it’s run by the Bayshore Center in Bivalve as a traveling classroom. You’ll learn about fish identification, boat navigation, life as an oysterman, the captain’s responsibilities, the ecology of the area and how pollution affects the watershed. You’re able to help the crew hoist the sails, you can walk across the 115-foot boat and peek down into the captain’s area and the kitchen, or you can sit and enjoy the scenery along the way. Sometimes the captain will pull up some oysters for you to see.
The A.J. Meerwald will be anchored from May 14 to 18. You can catch your first glimpse between 11 am and 2 pm on Wednesday, May 14. There will be a dockside reception at 3 pm, open to invited guests and the public. Education sails will be held on Thursday, May 15, and Friday, May 16, departing around 9 am and 1 pm for 45 passengers each. Public sails will be offered at 5 pm Friday and Saturday; and 1 pm and 4 pm Sunday. On the morning of Saturday, May 17, free public dockside boat tours and activities with educational partners will be held from 10 am to 12 pm.
Tickets are $50 per person. Bring your own snacks and beverages for the 2-hour sails.
Since 1994 the boat has been used for educational tours, including a lot of school group tours. It comes to Trenton once a year to sail east along the river, but there are more sails planned in New Jersey throughout the year.
The Bayshore Center is a non-profit organization that also operates the Delaware Bay Museum and offers shore-based programs at its campus and in Bivalve. For more information, visit www.bayshorecenter.org or contact the Bayshore Center at Bivalve at 856-785-2060 or info@BayshoreCenter.org.
Catch a glimpse of the sail on our Instagram page.
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