Scene on the Sound: Icebreaker meets the Lady Washington

Icebreaker overtakes tall ship
Photo by Jan Hansen

On Tuesday afternoon the US Coast Guard icebreaker Healy headed out and quickly passed the official ship of the state of Washington, the Lady Washington on Puget Sound off Innis Arden.

From Tall Ships America

Launched on March 7, 1989, Lady Washington was built in Aberdeen, Wash. by Grays Harbor Historical Seaport Authority. She is a full-scale reproduction of the original Lady Washington, built in the British Colony of Massachusetts in the 1750’s.

The original ship carried cargo between colonial ports until the American Revolutionary War, when she became an American privateer. After the war, she was given a major refit to prepare her for a unprecedented trading voyage around Cape Horn. 

In 1788, she became the first American vessel to make landfall on the west coast of North America. A pioneer in Pan-Pacific trade, she was the first American ship to visit Honolulu, Hong Kong and Japan. Lady Washington opened the black pearl and sandalwood trade between Hawaii and the Orient when King Kamehameha became a partner in the ship.

The modern Lady Washington was thoroughly researched by historians and constructed by skilled shipwrights. She was launched as part of the 1989 Washington State Centennial celebration. The new Lady Washington meets all of the U.S. Coast Guard safety requirements for a 21st–century ship.