Crew member Jacob McDonald has a deep affection for the vessel, which he said, is designed for a special purpose.

“This ship is the Appledore V, and is a 65-foot-long, gaff-rigged schooner,” he said. “She was designed to force the Northwest Passage, and go through the Arctic Circle. With that being said, she actually has a reinforced steel hull for ice breaking.”

The vessel’s home port is Bay City, Michigan, and is owned and operated by BaySail, a 501(C)3 non-profit organization dedicated to education.

In addition to the Appledore V, BaySail also owns its sister ship, Appledore IV, meant to take children out and teach them about ecology levels of the water, different types of micro-organisms, and teach them how to sail, said McDonald.

Graham Jaehnig/Daily Mining Gazette — The 65-foot gaff schooner Appledore V, on its way from Duluth, Minnesota, to Eerie, Pennsylvania, moored at the Houghton Waterfront Thursday to pick up a new deckhand, and was compelled to remain in the area due to storms on Lake Superior.

Appledore V was the fifth in a series of Appledore schooners commissioned by Herb and Doris Smith and launched in 1992. Traverse Tall Ship Company purchased Appledore V from the Smiths and sailed her under the name Westwind. BaySail acquired the ship in 2002 and changed her name back to Appledore V.

BaySail offers a variety of educational programs, including a half-day Science Under Sail environmental education experience for third-12th grade classroom groups and multi-day Windward Bound sail training voyages for youth.

The ship will be in the Houghton area at least until Saturday morning, due to rough weather predicted on Lake Superior which was predicted to start Friday morning.

McDonald said the worst seas he has experienced aboard the schooner were seven-foot seas, which struck at night, throwing him out of bed.