.png)
The Expereince
An evening on the lake
Step aboard Providence for a two-hour sunset sail on Lake Erie. Our professional crew handles the sails and rigging while the city gives way to open water and the sky shifts into evening color. Bring your own food, or order ahead from the Galley to grab and go before you board.
It's a relaxed, scenic way to spend an evening on the lake, with good company and one of the last wooden tall ships still sailing these waters.
About the Ship
the Providence
Providence is a true working sailing vessel, built in the tradition of the wooden ketches that once worked the Great Lakes.
Every sunset cruise is shaped by the evening's wind and conditions, so the route and pace will vary slightly week to week, but the experience of sailing under canvas on a historic ship stays the same.
Vessel Specifications:
52′
Length overall
13.5'
Beam
6'
Max Draft
55'
Air Draft
40k
Displacement, lbs
Teak
Solid Hull
The History
Six decades of history
Providence is one of just 11 Mayflower-class ketches built by American Marine in Junk Bay, Hong Kong, in 1960, designed by Hugh Angelman and Charles Davies, and framed in solid teak with bronze fasteners. Only a couple are known to still exist.
In six decades she has crossed the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans, the Caribbean Sea, and the Great Lakes under many owners and captains, nearly scrapped, then painstakingly brought back to the wood. This is how she got here.
1960
Built of Solid Teak in Hong Kong
The Providence was one of the Mayflower-series ketches that followed the Sea Witch off the ways at American Marine in Junk Bay. Framed with double-sawn timbers, planked in solid teak, and fastened with bronze, she was designed in the tradition of the nineteenth-century full-keel ketch: fifty-two feet on deck, deep and steady, and easy to handle in almost any weather.
1960s -2000s
A Life Across Four Bodies of Water
Over her first sixty years, The Providence sailed the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans, the Caribbean Sea, and the Great Lakes. She passed through the hands of many owners and captains along the way, a rare and beautiful vessel with a story to match.
1990s
Sailed Home to Fresh Water
Shipwright Dave Steehler lived aboard Providence for six years and made a hard solo passage from Florida to Cleveland to bring her north, fighting thirty-knot winds and fourteen-foot waves the whole way. He later called them the worst winds he had ever seen. Still, he brought her in, and she has stayed in fresh water ever since.
2016
Rescued From a Storage Yard
After years wrapped in plastic in a Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin storage yard, marine designer Tim Graul looked the vintage ketch over at CenterPointe Marina and saw a treasure worth saving. Wood like that, he said, simply is not built anymore. Captain Bruce Bishop set out to prove him right.
2016 -2018
Restored to the Wood
John Byrnes led a full restoration at CenterPointe. When the crew stripped the hull back to bare teak, Bishop stopped them: this boat would not be painted. Instead they clear-coated the hull so the grain could show. Every piece was removed, refinished, restored, or replaced, right down to new sails, new lines, and historically accurate rigging.
2018
The Providence Returns to the Water
Two years and six times the original estimate later, Providence sailed again. She cruised Lake Michigan and the Bay of Green Bay, drawing photographers and admirers wherever she docked.
Today
A New Home on Lake Erie
Today The Providence is one of the last wooden tall ships still sailing the Great Lakes. She now carries guests out of Cleveland and into the sunset with The Cleveland Foundry, a new chapter for a ship that has already seen so many!
Good to Know
What to expect aboard
A few things to know before you step aboard for the evening.
Two hours on The Water
Boarding times shift through the season as the sunset moves, so check the time for your date when you book. Every session will be on the water for two hours.
Every Sail is Different
Route and pace shift with the evening's wind and conditions, no two sunsets on the lake are quite the same.
A Working Tall Ship
Watch a professional crew set sail and work the rigging of one of the last wooden tall ships on these waters.
Be the First to Know
Get notified when spots open
Add your name and we'll email you the moment a new spot opens aboard The Providence.
Please note: adding your name to the waitlist does not guarantee a spot, only that you'll be notified when new dates become available. Providence sunset sails are booked on a first-come, first-served basis, and spots fill extremely quick.
Thank you for your support, it means the world to us!
