Peacemaker (ship)

Peacemaker is an American barquentine owned by the Twelve Tribes religious group.

This article is about the modern tallship. For other ships, see Peacemaker (disambiguation).
Peacemaker Marine 1 under full sail
History
United StatesUnited States
NamePeacemaker
OwnerThe Twelve Tribes
OperatorThe Twelve Tribes
BuilderFrank Walker (hull), Wayne Chimenti (rig)
Laid down1986
Launched1989
Renamed2007
HomeportBrunswick, Georgia
Identification
General characteristics
TypeBarquentine
Displacement400 T
Length108 ft (33 m) at waterline, 124 ft (38 m) on deck, 150 feet (46 m) sparred length
Beam34 ft (10 m)
Height126 ft (38 m)
Draft14 ft (4.3 m)
PropulsionSail; two 400HP diesel engines
Notes10,000 square feet (930 m2) sail area. Ipê wood hull, aluminum masts, laminated Douglas fir spars[1]

History
Peacemaker motors toward the Leo Frigo Memorial Bridge on her journey into the Port of Green Bay and past the Grassy Island Range Lights.

Peacemaker, originally named Avany, was built on a riverbank in southern Brazil using traditional methods and tropical hardwoods, and was launched in 1989.[2] The original owner and his family motored in the southern Atlantic Ocean before bringing the ship up through the Caribbean to Savannah, Georgia, where they intended to rig it as a three-masted staysail Marconi rigged motor sailer. The work was never done, however, and in the summer of 2000, it was purchased by the Twelve Tribes, a religious group with 50 or so communities in North and South America, Europe, and Australia.[3] They spent the next seven years replacing all of the ship’s mechanical and electrical systems and rigging it as a barquentine. The refit vessel set sail for the first time in the spring of 2007, under the name Peacemaker.[4]

Purpose

Peacemaker is used to travel between the communities of the Twelve Tribes while providing an apprenticeship program for their youth in sailing, seamanship, navigation, and boat maintenance. In 2013, some victims of the Twelve Tribes’ practices came forward and alleged to the FBI that the ship is used to transport drugs for use in ritual ceremonies. No trial was ever held on these allegations, and the case was closed with no action.[5]

The ship has a United States Coast Guard attraction vessel permit and is available for festivals and dockside hospitality events.

Features

Peacemaker has a large deckhouse and spacious cabins finished in mahogany, modeled after the interior of Cutty Sark. It also has an innovative transom that can be lowered while in port to reveal a watertight bulkhead with two large doors opening into a cargo area and fully equipped workshop.

Present day

In 2013, Peacemaker participated in the Tall Ships 1812 Tour, a pan-provincial event that traveled throughout Ontario during the summer of 2013, commemorating the bicentennial of the War of 1812. Sixteen ports participated in this event which partnered with the Tall Ships Challenge Great Lakes 2013 series. The first port of call for the tour was Brockville, Ontario, June 14–16, 2013.

In 2015, Peacemaker was listed for sale and gained notoriety when it was published that the Vollmer twins had hopes of purchasing it for use as what can best be described as a voyage to their deaths, with 'tribesmembers (including Zerubabel) coming along to teach final use of the vessel. The deal reportedly did not go forward when a Venezuelan bond package failed, resulting in lack of funds.[6]

The Twelve Tribes brought the Peacemaker for a visit to Rhode Island in July, 2021.[7]

References
  1. "Peacemaker specifications". Retrieved 2008-12-23.
  2. Burleigh, David (2008-10-16). "Tall Ship Peacemaker article". Twelve Tribes freepaper. Archived from the original on 2012-10-12. Retrieved 2012-12-31.
  3. Felty, Dana Clark (2008-11-29). "Savannah Now article". Savannah Morning News. Archived from the original on 2008-12-02. Retrieved 2008-12-23.
  4. "Peacemaker history". Retrieved 2008-12-23.
  5. "Public record files".
  6. "A Voyage Deferred: An Update on the Vollmer Twins". 18 November 2015.
  7. Farzan, Antonia Noori (8 July 2021). "A tall ship docked in Providence is home to the controversial Twelve Tribes religious sect". The Providence Journal. Retrieved 8 July 2021.
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