The
Harry L. Belden, a plumb stemmed Gloucester fishing
schooner, is viewed passing Thacher's island off Rockport, Massachusetts
in 1889. In 1892 under the command of Captain Maurice Whalen, she
was the winner of the legendary "Race It Blew" which was
sailed on the 250th anniversary of the founding of the town of Gloucester.
The race was sailed in a wild summer gale. The captains of the vessels
refused to lower sail, and the Belden had
the advantage of 80,000 pounds of fish in her hold for ballast. Dennison
J. Lawlor, her designer, was famous for his successful Boston pilot
schooner designs. The Belden is here depicted
carrying her original sail plan which, after trials, was somewhat
reduced in sail area. The ship was said to have the longest bowsprit
in Gloucester Harbor, and was built in Essex, Massachusetts yard of
Moses Adams in 1889.