Famed Maine Schooner Goes Down in New York City, Just Like Any Other Derelict Vessel

Restaurant Chain Bought ‘Victory Chimes’ in 2023

Peter Swanson Jul 7

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The most overused word in the English language at this moment in history is iconic. Almost everything is iconic nowadays, it would seem. Nonetheless, those overworked three syllables are the best possible descriptor for Victory Chimes, the three-masted schooner from Maine that a waterfront restaurant chain in New York City left to sink.

Yeah, the boat on the tails side of the Maine quarter¹ sank over the weekend. She and Pilot, another old-timey wooden boat which also sank, were being stored at anchor by the Crew restaurant company. The sinking happened during or after a squall that was much publicized because it had hit the Tall Ships in New York for the 250th celebration while at anchor.

Victory Chimes was built in 1900 as a cargo ship to work Chesapeake Bay. The 128-footer was originally named the Edward & Maude. She had no engine and relied on a pushboat for close-quarters maneuvering, a “yawl boat.”

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For the most part of 50 years, beginning in 1954, Victory Chimes carried passengers for hire on multi-day tours of Midcoast Maine, staging from Rockland.² With capacity for up to 10 crew and 40 passengers, thousands of visitors sailed aboard her over the decades, handling lines and eating chili and chowder out of big pots.

There was great sadness at news of the sinking, and bitterness too.

Captains Kip Files and Paul DeGaeta bought the boat in 1990 and operated as a passenger vessel until 2018. Here’s what DeGaeta said this week after hearing the news:

After seeing Victory Chimes in July 2025, I predicted she’d sink this winter. The tough old girl lasted longer than I thought.

I didn’t see signs of even the most minimal maintenance being done. She was pumping water at an incredible rate, which makes me wonder if anyone was even noticing and how much she was insured for.

Things worked out very differently than Kip and I had hoped for in passing her along to future caretakers. She had 118 good years followed by a steady decline that only accelerated.

Heartbreaking. But you’d have to show me a three-masted or larger American sailing vessel that represented the American spirit any better than Victory Chimes: Her legacy was earning a steady living under working sail longer than any of the larger American traditional sailing vessels—she never had a penny of foundation or 501(c)(3) money. Victory Chimes supported herself, until she couldn’t anymore.

The Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum could have had her but decided on a bascule bridge instead. Kip worked for years trying to get her to Mystic. We watched historic builds of copycat vessels raise millions, while the Chimes could have been had for a fraction of that cost.

And now, maybe those elitist frauds at WoodenBoat magazine will do an article in relation to the Tall Ships parade. They never paid any attention to Victory Chimes during (another owner’s) efforts to save her in 1987, aside from a snide remark about the name change, nor during our 28 years as her caretakers. Instead, they portrayed the new owners as heroic figures, gallantly riding in to rescue her as a restaurant. In reality, they did nothing more than allow her to sit unattended and give up the ghost.

How freaking ironic—she participated in Operation Sail during the Bicentennial in 1976, then ends up on the bottom as a host of traditional sailing vessels from countries that truly care about them parade by for 250 years. You’ll never convince me that vessels lack a soul; that was her final message as an American National Historic Landmark and representing Maine on the State Quarter. She didn’t want to be a restaurant; she was meant to run free before the wind.

In May 2023, New York City restauranteurs Miles and Alex Pincus bought Victory Chimes at auction in May 2023 for $75,900. Under the corporate name Crew, the brothers operate several waterfront or harbor-themed restaurants, a few of which are old boats. Pilot, which sunk a day or so before Chimes, had been taken out of service as a floating eatery not too long ago.

“We’ve admired Victory Chimes for quite some time. When she went up for auction, we felt a responsibility to step in and ensure her preservation. We don’t have a plan yet other than to get her into safe harbor,” the Pincus brothers said in a May 2023 statement.

Brad Vogel, who covers maritime happenings in Brooklyn, said the vessel sank sometime between Friday night and Sunday. Using his screen name BoweryBird, Vogel had some harsh words for the vessel’s caretakers at Crew:

bowerybird

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Brad Vogel on Instagram: “  And now Victory Chimes has sunk! T…

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In a July 6 statement, Crew company Vice President Marisa Chiarello said in part:

In response to both incidents, our team called in maritime salvage experts to make a plan to safely raise the vessels, determine the cause of the sinking, and assess any damage to the hulls. We remain hopeful they can be salvaged and restored. Since Crew was founded in 2014, we have been committed to restoring historic vessels for future generations and sharing the spirit of maritime adventure.