Now is the time to rebuild the Glory of the Seas.
Help create a community tall ship for our times.
The Glory Campaign
In order for the Glory to start working, we need to build community of volunteers and raise $200,000 within a year to reinforce the hull and prepare the vessel to ship cargo and undertake our first voyage. With your support we can start working in 2026.
If you can help us raise $200,000 by the end of the year we have a chance at receiving a Washington State Heritage grant which would match these funds. This would allow us to do a traditional rebuild. If not, we plan to re-sheath the hull and refit the interior so we can start programs.
WRITE US TO HELP TODAY.
What’s the story?
The story of the Glory of the Seas is unwritten, a traditionally built tall ship, an end of life masterpiece built by the legendary northwest shipwright Frank Prothero over 40 years, the last example of four generations of ship building. The sturdy working ship was inspired by historic sail cargo ships and survived fires and neglect.
Before the pandemic a group of storytellers and shipwrights saved the vessel from being broken up, and found a home port in the San Juan Islands. Our vision was to build a community that could finish the job Frank started, and create a wooden community tall ship that makes sense in 2024.
The Glory of the Seas will be a new kind of tall ship that will serve the pressing issues of our time.
The vessel will connect its shareholders, community and crew with work that grounds us in our natural world. The Glory will serve as a carbon free platform for scientific research, education, cultural programing, and sail cargo bringing together Salish Sea coastal communities from Victoria to Olympia and connecting the northwest with the world.
Connecting coastal communities through carbon-free trade and serving as a platform for art, exploration and education.
The Glory of the Seas is a wooden coasting schooner - a working ship, designed to transport lumber and fish up and down the American coast. Renown Lake Union shipwright Frank Prothero launched the Glory in 1985, a replica of the 1870’s coastal trading schooners his family used to build. Although the vessel (87 ft loa, with topmasts reaching up 77 ft.) is only 35 years old, it is the culmination of four generations of wooden boat building and maritime community tradition in the Pacific Northwest.
When the Lake Union shipwright Frank Prothero launched the Glory in 1985, Seattle was still a logging and fishing town. In 1995 when the vessel was commissioned, the city was turning into a technology hub, and wood schooners had long gone out of fashion.
Last year the Glory of the Seas was on the hard, and close to being broken up. A group of friends quickly formed a foundation to save the historic vessel. Countless hours of volunteer labor buoyed by creativity and luck got the ship back into the water and up to Lopez Island months later, only slightly delayed by the pandemic. Now we are raising funds to ready the tall ship to carry cargo and passengers around the Salish Sea.
The Glory of the Seas sails on the un-ceded ancestral waters of the Sooke, Saanich, Songhee, Lummi, Samish and Semiahoo people. This acknowledgement serves as just the first step in honoring these indigenous communities.
Our mission is to use the Glory of the Seas to build a sustainable cargo shipping and trading business while simultaneously providing coastal communities access to the Salish sea for education and exploration related activities.
Carbon Free Shipping
Sail transport provides a carbon neutral way of transporting goods and services in an energy-hungry society. The Glory of the Seas will provide a small, but viable solution to move goods up and down the Puget sound without emissions. By doing so, the ship will strengthen connections between coastal communities, open new markets for small producers and and turn us back towards the waters we need to protect.
The Glory of the Seas will join a growing movement across the world using historical sailing vessels to bring attention to the carbon cost of our shipping habits. The Puget sound with its long tradition of marine transport is an ideal place to bring back sailing cargo. We believe it can also be profitable.
Connection through Education and Exploration and Art
Learn with us
We believe the best education connects young people with adventure in the natural world. Tall ships across the world (like our own Zodiac and Adventuress) offer a transformative experience for young people to connect with each other, learn new skills, and better understand the world they live in. The Glory of the Seas will work closely with schools and youth programs to give more young people access to the Salish sea,
Explore with us
The Glory of the Seas will serve as an exploratory platform for scientists, artists, and young people when not carrying cargo. Our multipurpose cargo hold is modular and will allow us to quickly set up a classroom, extra bunks, a science lab, a studio, or a library as required. We are most excited about exploring the Salish Sea to better understand the ecosystem that sustains us all while decolonizing the regions history. We also want to support artists and young people who are crafting new narratives for this challenging time by getting them on the water.
We have many ideas, and would love to hear yours.
Invest in the Glory!
Thousands of volunteers hours have already gone into saving the vessel, now we are looking for a small group of like minded partners to join us on this journey and invest in the vessel and its mission. Your investment will show carbon free shipping is possible, give our communities greater access to the sea, and persevere an important historical vessel.
This spring the Glory of the Sea foundation is launching its first capital campaign to raise funds for the next phase of work. We are currently working on developing the legal framework and business plan. All funds will go directly into improving, refitting, and maintaining the vessel.
Please contact us if you are interested in investing in this unique project.
Join us on the voyage
Work Parties
Join our work parties!
We will focus on completing small projects that prepare the vessel for its future working life. Please email us directly if you would like to participate.
We currently need help with the following projects:
Designing and installing the ships electrical system
Designing and installing the ships water system
Finishing interior joiner work
Sanding, varnishing, and painting
Volunteer:
The Glory of the Seas is a community ship, and only made possible because of volunteers from across the world who have put in thousands of hours. We need help on everything from storytelling and fundraising to event planning and rigging. Soon we will need sailors. Email us and we will get back to you when needs arise and space opens up.
Wishlist
Our progress so far has been aided by the gifts of time, equipment and lumber. We currently need:
Sails
Rigging
Make a tax deductible donation
We are in the process of setting up a non-profit so that donations made to the Glory of the Seas foundation can both reduce your tax liability and help us get out on the water. Donations will fund both the preservation of the historic vessel, and our social impact programing. Email us directly to learn more.
Get in touch.
