The Adventure is coming back to Charleston! Built from scratch at a shipyard in Maine, the replica 17th-century trading ship, known as a ketch, will be making its way this fall down the East Coast to Charles Towne Landing State Historic Site, where it will be berthed at Albemarle Point. The new ship replaces the original Adventure, built for the South Carolina Tricentennial in 1970 and a huge favorite at Charles Towne Landing until it was claimed by time and the elements four years ago.
Trading ships like the Adventure were essential to the survival of Charles Towne, which did business with Native Americans, England, Barbados and other Caribbean Islands through the use of these sturdy little ships. Once settled into its new home, the new Adventure will be open to the public as a floating classroom. Visitors can climb aboard to see what life might have been like inside a 50-foot trading ship from the earliest days of Colonial America. Plans are being made to give the new ship a proper welcome. Its arrival date is uncertain (just like in the old days, the weather is the prime determinant.) Check back here for updates.