{{Infobox ship |display_title=ital |section1={{Infobox ship/image | image = DSC01115 - Tall Ship Larinda.jpg | image_caption = Larinda in 2012, Shelburne, Nova Scotia }}
|section2={{Infobox ship/career | country = United States | flag = | name = Larinda | laid_down = 1970 | launched = 1996 | commissioned = | decommissioned = | struck = | fate = Sunk and raised in 2003; Active }}
|section3={{Infobox ship/characteristics | hide_header = | header_caption = 1996 | displacement = | length = {{convert|86|ft|abbr=on}} | beam = {{convert|16.5|ft|abbr=on}} | draft = {{convert|8|ft|abbr=on}} | speed = | complement = | armament = }} }}
The '''''Larinda''''' is a recreational schooner inspired by the 1767 Boston schooner {{HMS|Sultana|1768|6}}. It was built over a period of twenty-six years in the backyard of its owner and launched in 1996. It sank during Hurricane Juan on September 29, 2003, was raised a month later and eventually returned to service.
==History== The idea for a ship originated when owner and creator Larry Mahan was in the fourth grade. His dream was to build the biggest ship on Cape Cod. In 1970 at his new house in Marstons Mills, he began construction. Over the next 26 years, the ship was built by over 1,000 volunteers. The ship is {{convert|86|ft}} long with a specialized reinforced concrete hull. {{convert|2800|sqft}} of red sail are also utilized. The figurehead is carved from a 100-year-old cypress tree.<ref name="Ship-wreck">{{cite web|url=http://www.ship-wreck.com/messages/4103.html|title=Schooner Larinda Sinks|author=Jim|date=October 1, 2003|publisher=Ship-wreck.com|accessdate=11 April 2010|location=Halifax, Nova Scotia}}</ref><ref name="Specifications">{{cite web|url=http://www.larindaslanding.com/pages/larinda_plan.html|title=Larinda Plan|accessdate=11 April 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101221040254/http://www.larindaslanding.com/pages/larinda_plan.html|archive-date=2010-12-21|url-status=dead}}</ref> While the hull was inspired by the lines of the 1767 schooner ''Sultana'', ''Larinda'' has a Chinese junk rig, a different deck layout and whimsical ornamental carvings not found on the 1767 schooner, notably a figurehead of a frog holding a telescope.
The schooner was launched in 1996. It was moved from its home to the launching point in Falmouth, Massachusetts. Prior to its sinking, ''Larinda'' visited 19 states, seven foreign countries, served as a goodwill ambassador to Cuba, sailed alongside the {{USS|Constitution}}, and was part of Boston's Tall Ships 2000. In 1999, the Mahans sold their house to be with the ship permanently.<ref name="Ship-wreck" />
On September 28, 2003, the schooner was at Halifax Harbour at the Maritime Museum of the Atlantic preparing to sail to Lunenburg, Nova Scotia, and then home to Cape Cod<ref name="Ship-wreck" /> when Hurricane Juan struck. ''Larinda'' was moored north of the corvette {{HMCS|Sackville|K181|6}} when the corvette broke loose and rammed the schooner. According to the Canadian Coast Guard, winds reached up to {{convert|140|km/h}}. The schooner took on large amounts of water and sank just after the hurricane ended early on September 29. The sinking took place so quickly that only a few documents were saved, although all of the crew escaped unharmed. The schooner was raised by a crane and barge on October 17, 2003.<ref>Beverly Ware, "Ship Raised from the Depths", ''Halifax Chronicle Herald'', Oct. 18, 2003, p. A1</ref> However the schooner was badly contaminated by harbour sewage. Mahan was unable to afford repairs and decontamination and was forced to sell ''Larinda''.<ref>Beverly Ware, "Skipper says schooner will not sail again", ''Halifax Chronicle Herald'', Oct. 21, 2003, p. A4</ref> ''Larinda'' was purchased by Arthur Scott and Charlene Corkum of St. Margaret's Bay, Nova Scotia who completed repairs and now use the schooner to promote a cottage and restaurant complex.<ref>Beverly Ware, "Triumphant Return for ship", ''Halifax Chronicle Herald'', July 14, 2009, p. A3</ref> The Mahan family sued ''Sackville's'' owners, the Naval Memorial Trust in 2009 for $815,000<ref>[https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/nova-scotia/tall-ship-lawsuit-enters-final-stages-1.877532 ''Tall Ship Lawsuit Enters Final Stages'' (June 4, 2010)] CBC News.</ref> but the Nova Scotia Supreme Court dismissed the case on August 4, 2011, concluding that the Trust had taken all necessary and appropriate precautions to secure ''Sackville''.<ref>[https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/nova-scotia/hmcs-sackville-not-liable-for-larinda-sinking-1.1093927 "HMCS Sackville not liable for Larinda sinking", CBC News, August 4, 2011]</ref>
==References== {{Reflist}}
==External links== *[https://web.archive.org/web/20100420003412/http://www.larindaslanding.com/pages/larinda.html Brief history of the ship] *[http://www.titanictwins.com/larinda.html Home page when the ship was owned by the Mahans]
Category:Barnstable, Massachusetts Category:Replica ships Category:Individual sailing vessels Category:Sailing ships Category:Shipwrecks of the Nova Scotia coast Category:History of Halifax, Nova Scotia Category:1996 ships Category:Concrete ships