Update: Boat laid up Narragansett shore rocks / Photo
5:33 PM Fri, May 16, 2008 | Permalink
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NARRAGANSETT –– A salvage crew is on site at the water’s edge off Hazard Avenue where a 48-foot wooden schooner smashed up against a wall of rocks this afternoon. But it doesn't look as if it will be able to save the Truant, which has been taking a series of beatings as the wind and waves pick up ahead of a forecast storm. While its owner, Peter Maack of Narragansett, was safely taken off the boat this afternoon by rescuers in inflatables, the salvagers say they can't do the same for the schooner itself. High tide is approaching at 6 p.m., making the situation worse. Rain is spitting, and lightning was spotted earlier. The boat itself is leaning into the rocks -- known for being dangerous -- with a Jolly Roger flag flying at half-mast. The boat’s owner, Maack, is on scene, along with members of the Department of Environmental Management’s Emergency Response Team, Coast Guard investigators, and Bob Cherenzia, from Shellfish Assassin Conglomerate Vessel Services, a Point Judith-based salvage company. Maack and Cherenzia were wearing wet suits as they worked to recover the Truant’s gas tank before high tide. They had managed to remove it by 5 p.m., as other items were being washed off the boat's deck. Although neighbors and city and state officials expressed concern about contamination, Maack said that there was only about 20 gallons of gasoline in the boat. Maack said he was under sail just before noon when a rudder broke on the boat, known as a Newfoundland schooner. He was taken off the schooner by rescue crews from the Coast Guard station in Point Judith and the Narragansett Fire Department. --- projo.com staff writer Brandie M. Jefferson, with reports from Journal staff writer Donita Naylor CORRECTION: The name of boat owner Peter Maack was incorrect in earlier versions of this report. 
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After 38 years it breaks our hearts to see the old girl dying on the rocks.
Worked on and sailed on the Truant from 1966 to 2004 and she was truly a member of the family. Our 35 year old daughter feels she has lost a sister.
After all the years of trying to care for Truant we just plain ran out of money (and time)and sold her for $1.00 to a younger couple with fantastic plans. Unfortunately they did not work out and they had to give her up.
A little history:
1941: built North Bay, NewFoundland to fish the Grand Banks, strictly sail.
1945: coal freighter- Cabot Strait
1955: school ship - St. Andrews, New Brunswick
1966- 1968: purchased by Paul Harling and Doug Parsons as a pleasure craft. Rebuilt in Campobello Island, New Brunswick by Paul, Doug, Ira Dugas, and Varn Fletcher
1968 - 2004: repaired, rebuilt, maintained in Gloucester, MA by Paul, Doug, and John Hinckley. Raced in the Gloucester Schooner races, served as a Sea Scout ship and took part in the reenactment of the Arnold Expedition to Quebec 1975
2004: sold out of Gloucester, sadly!
Doug and GLoria Parsons
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I am a former Sea Explorer from Easthampton Ma. Who was lucky enough to crew the Truant in the summer of 1976. However, more than that, she was in dry dock for repairs that summer and I was lucky enough to have the opportunity to work on her hull and help prepare her for our journey.
The lessons that she and Paul Harling taught the crew and I have stayed with me for my entire life. She treated us well on our journey and left me with countless memories that I will always cherish. I was truly saddened to see her pinned against the rocks and would have given anything to be able to help save her. I know she will rest in peace because she touched so many lives and especially those who worked her rigging and were proud to be Sea Scouts/Explorers.
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I remember well the summer of 1971, when we sail her from Gloucester to West Quoddy Head, the maiden voyage of the then fully restored ship after several years of refit from keel to mast head. It bought tears of joy to the eyes of the residents of West Quoddy Head who never imagined seeing the old girl sail again in their waters. As a young teen in Sea Scouts, it was the happiest and most productive summer of my life. I probably grew more that one summer aboard ship under the leadership of Paul Harling, then skipper/owner of Truant, than I did in any three years before or after. It was indeed a "game-changer." My favorite picture of Truant is posted at dpt.wdc.googlepages.com/sestruantc.1972
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