schooner

In early January, excitement builds aboard the Avontuur - a 100-year-old schooner - as it sets sail from Germany and heads towards the rough waters of the North Sea.

The show is set on board the American Pride tall ship docked at Long Beach’s Pine Avenue Pier, a 130-foot schooner that today is primarily used as an education-focused vessel.

By the late 1850s, two brothers, Oscar Lovell Shafter and James McMillan Shafter, had established a large operation to produce butter and cheese, and ferried their goods to San Francisco on small schooner ships.

As captain and first mate, they say piloting their 75-foot schooner has only strengthened their brotherly bond, with their small expedition team serving as an adoptive family.

Six schooners outfitted by George Washington to intercept British vessels at sea flew the flag in 1775 as they sailed under his command.