Sailing into history

Lifestyle

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Photos by Mike Springer/Gloucester Daily Times Michael O'Leary of Gloucester talks to fifth-graders from Grace Scola's Plum Cove Elementary School class during a cruise aboard the schooner Thomas E. Lannon off Gloucester. Photos by Mike Springer/Gloucester Daily Times
The schooner Thomas E. Lannon lowers its sails as it cruises into Gloucester Harbor with a group of fifth-graders from Plum Cove Elementary aboard Sept. 27. in Gloucester. The schooner Thomas E. Lannon lowers its sails as it cruises into Gloucester Harbor with a group of fifth-graders from Plum Cove Elementary aboard Sept. 27.
Mike Springer/Gloucester Daily Times Plum Cove Elementary School fifth-graders Connor Vittands, foreground, and Emily Ross look out over Gloucester Harbor from the schooner Thomas. E. Lannon in Gloucester. The students in Grace Scola's class were on a traditional fall field trip that began at the Cape Ann Museum and ended with a cruise on the Lannon. Mike Springer/Gloucester Daily Times
Fifth-grader Matthew Green-Burke raises his hand to answer a question during a field trip to the Cape Ann Museum.
Mike Springer/Gloucester Daily Times Students from Grace Scola's fifth-grade class at Plum Cove Elementary School walk through the Cape Ann Museum on Sept. 27 in Gloucester. Mike Springer/Gloucester Daily Times
Cate Delany takes the wheel of the schooner Thomas E. Lannon. off Gloucester on a school field trip that included a visit to the Cape Ann Museum and a cruise aboard the Lannon. Cate Delany takes the wheel of the schooner Thomas E. Lannon.
Josephine Prudenzi takes the wheel of the schooner Thomas E. Lannon as the boat's owner and skipper, Tom Ellis, looks on, off Gloucester.
Museum Educator Liza Browning talks about Gloucester history during a visit to the Cape Ann Museum by fifth-graders from Plum Cove Elementary School.

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October 5, 2012

Sailing into history

Fifth-graders study heritage on field trip

By Michael Springer Correspondent Gloucester Daily Times The Gloucester Daily Times Fri Oct 05, 2012, 12:00 AM EDT

It’s become a tradition for fifth-graders attending Gloucester’s public schools.

Every fall, the city’s fifth-grade classes take a field trip to explore this seaport’s maritime heritage, visiting the Cape Ann Museum and taking a cruise aboard the schooner Thomas E. Lannon.

On a beautiful fall day, Sept. 27, pupils from Grace Scola’s class at Plum Cove Elementary School had their turn.

They started the day at the museum, where museum educator Liza Browning led them on a tour that started on the main floor with the historical painting collection and ended upstairs with a close-up look at some antique boats and old-fashioned fishing equipment.

Then the schoolchildren and their chaperones walked to the docks, where they enjoyed a picnic lunch before boarding the Lannon for a two-hour cruise. Built in 1997, the Lannon is modeled after the Gloucester swordfishing schooner Nokomis, which was built in Essex in 1903. The Lannon is named after owner and skipper Tommis Ellis’ maternal grandfather, who fished out of Gloucester in the early 20th century.

When the Lannon was out of the harbor, the Plum Cove fifth-graders helped hoist the sails. Crew member Michael O’Leary of Gloucester taught them how to tie knots and sing traditional sea shanties.

Perhaps the highlight of the trip for many was the moment when Ellis allowed each child to briefly take control of the wheel.