The Yankee Clipper was one of the Tall Ships owned and operated by Windjammer. She was built in Kiel Germany in 1927 and her original name was CRESSIDA. She was a rare armor-plated vessel, 197 feet long, and she carried three masts.
The ship was confiscated as a war prize during WW 11 and was used as a submarine scout. She was eventually acquired by the Vanderbilts and renamed PIONEER. She was considered one of the fastest Tall Ships on the West Coast, where she raced off Newport Beach in California. PIONEER was sold to Windjammer in 1965, renamed YANKEE CLIPPER, and sailed as a passenger ship until Windjammer went out of business in 2007.
The YANKEE CLIPPER was a sight to behold when she sailed into Admiralty Bay, largely due to the fact that she really SAILED. Heeled over, sails filled with wind, the Clipper would tack into the bay and drop anchor about the same time she dropped her sails. I often watched her sailing in and knew that the passengers were having the time of their lives. The Clipper came once a week, arriving at 8:00 and departing early the following morning. THAT tourist ship was the gravy on top of my mashed potatoes, pretty well every passenger came to the Pizzeria for conch fritters, lobster pizza, lime pie and copious amounts of rum punch.
The rum punch at the Pizzeria was a beverage prepared by my staff, to this day I have never made it myself. Because of the effect it had on the Clipper passengers I had them change the recipe so that it wasn’t made with just strong rum; drinking more than two of Mac’s rum punches could be lethal and the passengers drank it down like soda pop. The day I spotted a passenger trying to dance with one of my gas cylinders with a Cuban cigar dangling from his lips was the day I had the rum punch recipe weakened!
The passengers on board the YANKEE CLIPPER were fun-loving folks and the Captain and crew made sure they had a memorable time. Each morning the Captain would have “Story Time” on deck, telling his passengers about the Island they would be visiting that day. This meant that the tourists would go ashore knowing what there was to see and do. Monday mornings Bloody Marys and sticky buns were served without fail, and each evening at around 5:00 it was time for Rum Swizzles and snacks, a social time for passengers and crew alike. Due to the ship’s size, the interaction between the crew and the passengers was constant and many friendships were forged as a result. Casual was the name of the game, and passengers were encouraged to take the bedding from their cabins to sleep under the stars up on deck. It was a fun cruise, and as a result the Clipper enjoyed a steady repeat clientele.
Mac and I had become friendly with the Captain and crew, and were often invited on board for Rum Swizzles or dinner. One day the Captain asked us if we wanted to attend that night’s Toga party, everyone had to wear a sheet (just a sheet, nothing else!) and only one safety pin was allowed. That wasn’t as easy as it sounded, one safety pin didn’t help much, but Mac and I did our best and boarded the Clipper wearing our sheets. I took along a big bowl of conch fritters for the snack table, and the Rum Swizzles started to flow as soon as we got up on deck.
The passengers were having a ball. Mac and I already knew many of them from previous years, there were always familiar faces on board as well as first-timers, and they were a fun bunch. Everyone had donned a sheet and secured it with the single safety pin allotted to them, stepping carefully to avoid an accidental dis-robing. One couple had decided to do something “out of the box”, and made their entrance with great fanfare. The lady was dressed in her sheet, but she had made a costume for her husband that had the whole ship howling with mirth.
They had collected leaves from the beach, and made a Roman-like covering for the man’s genitals and backside by sewing the leaves together. They had also made a head-band from the leaves, and the outfit was hilarious. Mac suddenly shouted, “Oh no!! Take it off! Take it off!”. The laughter grew as people figured Mac was trying to get the man to perform a strip-tease.
Mac had a good reason for shouting “take it off!” – he noticed that the leaves they had collected and painstakingly sewed together were Manchineel leaves, and Manchineel is poisonous. The Captain told us the following week that the lady’s hands had blistered terribly from sewing the leaves together, and that the man’s forehead had suffered the same fate. As for the rest, well, all I can say is that poor man couldn’t do much of anything for the rest of his vacation!
I am enjoying your stories immensely! I first set foot on Bequia as a passenger on the S/V Mandalay in the late 80’s. Many weeks spent on Windjammer Barefoot Cruise’s lovely vessels meant several visits to lovely Bequia. In addition to enjoying lobster pizza at Mac’s each visit, we had many fun times at what we called ‘the swing bar’ over in Friendship (I think that’s where it was anyway – maybe too much rum punch has clouded my memory!). We are hoping to return and stay for a couple of weeks; hopefully soon!
Writing my “memoirs” for my kids to enjoy in their later years and did a search on the Yankee Clipper and found your delightful page. I had won a week cruise on the Clipper in 198? in a poker championship in Miami. The cruise consisted of one week but we (girlfriend at the time) ended up staying for two weeks then got stuck in Martineque for a third week as we had to go standby home, having missed our return flight. In my 75 years on this rock, those 3 weeks rate in the top 3 adventures and greatest times of my life.
I sailed on the yankee clipper in 2003, amazing memories that will stay with me for a lifetime.
Are there any pics or videos of the Yankee clipper being remodeled in Miami florida
Sorry I have no answer for you …
I convinced my fiance that this was our honeymoon. She reluctantly agreed. I had no idea why i wanted this, but i did. I am prone to sea sickness, but decided enough dramamine and rum would fix that. 1984 was a good year to sail! It was the very best time ever….and we can attest to the early morning bloody marys and the toga party night. Such an intimate and yet inclusive time….no pressures made it your choice. I have a Clipper golf shirt still today….and a framed picture of that magnificent yacht. Mount Gay rum is still our go to. So glad we had that chance to sail for real.
Was Paul the captain in 1984 or did he come later? I remember a handsome fellow from South Africa as Captain around that time. What a special honeymoon – especially for someone prone to seasickness!
WIndjammer Barefoot Cruises is no longer in operation. I sailed on the Yankee Clipper in late December 2001 from Grenada to Curriacou, Mayreau, Bequia, and the Tobago Cays and was immediately hooked, as the only way to cruise. Captain Neil Carmichael (a Scotsman) was a delightful character and able seaman.
The Fantome had tragically sunk, with only its crew onboard, in a hurricane in October 1998. The founder/owner of Windjammer Cruises, Mike Burke, died in May 2013, several years after a stroke. He’d left the business in a Trust to his children, who misspent the earnings and failed to pay the company’s bills – leaving ships, crews, and passengers stranded at various ports. The company went bankrupt in 2007-2008.
Capt. Neil Carmichael (of the Yankee Clipper), died in Dec. 2009 at age 51.
I haven’t researched the fates of all the ships in the Windjammer fleet. The Mandalay, as of 2020, was cruising the Galapagos Islands as the S.S. Mary Anne. I believe one or two of the other ships were sold, as working ships for other sailing ship outfits.
The Yankee Clipper’s docking fees at some Caribbean island (not sure which one) went unpaid for years, where it rotted and sank at the dock. A tragic end to such wonderful experiences for so many of us who got that opportunity.
There’s a well-researched, beautiful coffee-table picture book on the history of the Windjammer outfit and all its ships, by Ed Crowell and Robert Schachner, called “Barefoot Pirate – The Tall Ships and Tales of Windjammer” (publ. 2003, Orion Press). I purchased my copy on eBay, and found a mug and t-shirt there, but souvenirs are seldom listed.
Would someone please do more research as to where the Yankee Clipper sank, and to the outcomes for the other ships?
Hang onto your precious sailing memories!
FYI, the photos in this article are not of the Yankee Clipper of Barefoot Windjammer Cruises. Looks very similar but the Yankee Clipper was a twin-master schooner. My brother and I sailed on her (with the blond-bearded Captain from S Africa!) extensively the late summer 1984 and remember her fondly. Many memorable nights were spent not in our cabin, but topside sleeping under the stars.
Yankee Clipper was reconfigured I believe in the late 80s….
Scott, you’re right – the Yankee Clipper was a two-masted schooner orginally, but in 1985 a third mast was added as part of a retrofit. My reference is page 114 of the Barefoot Pirate book (listed above) where photos before and after illustrate it. You’re probably one of the last to sail on it before the retrofit.
The book also provides the history and provenance of each vessel (and some captains) up to its 2003 publication date, and is a fascinating read.
I sailed on the clipper in 1966 and she had three masts. Have photos.
Sailed on her in 1966 with Mike Burke as Captain. She was 3 masted.
Nice Memories…sailed her twice in the mid 1970s. The 151 rum was a wake up call to fun…My wife helped close out a skit performance in style one night…
With A lemmon between her Butt cheeks as she bent over as the “Bitter End!
Yup – that sounds like Yankee Clipper fun!