Schooners that graced a Maine-themed quarter or hosted Cousteau rest at the bottom of a NYC canal

Schooners that graced a Maine-themed quarter or hosted Cousteau rest at the bottom of a NYC canal 1 of 5 | Debris of the Victory Chimes and the Pilot floats in the Henry Street Basin, Wednesday, Aug. 26, 2026, in the Brooklyn borough of New York. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura) 2 of 5 | The Victory Chimes passes the Rockland-breakwater-lighthouse" class="entity-link entity-location" data-entity-id="198522" data-entity-type="location">Rockland Breakwater Lighthouse during the Maine-windjammer-parade" class="entity-link entity-event" data-entity-id="198526" data-entity-type="event">Maine Windjammer Parade, July 17, 2009, in Rockland, Maine. (AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty, File) 3 of 5 | Debris of the Victory Chimes and the Pilot floats in the Henry Street Basin, Wednesday, Aug. 26, 2026, in the Brooklyn borough of New York. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura) 4 of 5 | Debris of the Victory Chimes and the Pilot floats next to abandoned Red Hook Grain Terminal in the Henry Street Basin, Wednesday, Aug. 26, 2026, in the Brooklyn borough of New York. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura) 5 of 5 | Debris of the Victory Chimes and the Pilot floats next to abandoned Red Hook Grain Terminal in the Henry Street Basin, Wednesday, Aug. 26, 2026, in the Brooklyn borough of New York. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura) 1 of 5 | Debris of the Victory Chimes and the Pilot floats in the Henry Street Basin, Wednesday, Aug. 26, 2026, in the Brooklyn borough of New York. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura) 1 of 5 Debris of the Victory Chimes and the Pilot floats in the Henry Street Basin, Wednesday, Aug. 26, 2026, in the Brooklyn borough of New York. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura) Add AP News on Google Add AP News as your preferred source to see more of our stories on Google. Share 2 of 5 | The Victory Chimes passes the Rockland-breakwater-lighthouse" class="entity-link entity-location" data-entity-id="198522" data-entity-type="location">Rockland Breakwater Lighthouse during the Maine-windjammer-parade" class="entity-link entity-event" data-entity-id="198526" data-entity-type="event">Maine Windjammer Parade, July 17, 2009, in Rockland, Maine. (AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty, File) 2 of 5 The Victory Chimes passes the Rockland-breakwater-lighthouse" class="entity-link entity-location" data-entity-id="198522" data-entity-type="location">Rockland Breakwater Lighthouse during the Maine-windjammer-parade" class="entity-link entity-event" data-entity-id="198526" data-entity-type="event">Maine Windjammer Parade, July 17, 2009, in Rockland, Maine. (AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty, File) Add AP News on Google Add AP News as your preferred source to see more of our stories on Google. Share 3 of 5 | Debris of the Victory Chimes and the Pilot floats in the Henry Street Basin, Wednesday, Aug. 26, 2026, in the Brooklyn borough of New York. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura) 3 of 5 Debris of the Victory Chimes and the Pilot floats in the Henry Street Basin, Wednesday, Aug. 26, 2026, in the Brooklyn borough of New York. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura) Add AP News on Google Add AP News as your preferred source to see more of our stories on Google. Share 4 of 5 | Debris of the Victory Chimes and the Pilot floats next to abandoned Red Hook Grain Terminal in the Henry Street Basin, Wednesday, Aug. 26, 2026, in the Brooklyn borough of New York. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura) 4 of 5 Debris of the Victory Chimes and the Pilot floats next to abandoned Red Hook Grain Terminal in the Henry Street Basin, Wednesday, Aug. 26, 2026, in the Brooklyn borough of New York. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura) Add AP News on Google Add AP News as your preferred source to see more of our stories on Google. Share 5 of 5 | Debris of the Victory Chimes and the Pilot floats next to abandoned Red Hook Grain Terminal in the Henry Street Basin, Wednesday, Aug. 26, 2026, in the Brooklyn borough of New York. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura) 5 of 5 Debris of the Victory Chimes and the Pilot floats next to abandoned Red Hook Grain Terminal in the Henry Street Basin, Wednesday, Aug. 26, 2026, in the Brooklyn borough of New York. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura) Add AP News on Google Add AP News as your preferred source to see more of our stories on Google. Share Updated [hour]:[minute] [AMPM] [timezone], [monthFull] [day], [year] For more than a century, the Pilot and the Victory Chimes — two historic schooners with towering sails — have between them served the country in wartime, hosted the likes of Jacques Cousteau and graced the Maine state quarter.But an inlet just off New York City’s famously polluted Gowanus Canal could be their final port of call.The boats — now owned by a company that turns historic vessels into floating bars and restaurants — sank there in early July while docked on the Brooklyn waterfront.Now many in the maritime community are calling on the company to do what it can to save them — and to account for how they sank in the first place.The 121-foot (37-meter) Pilot, which is a little more than a century old, and the 128-foot (39-meter) Victory Chimes, which dates to 1900 and is the ship that graces the 2003 Maine quarter, are owned by New York City-based company Crew. Both schooners sank around the time of strong squalls, though the exact cause of the sinkings has not been fully determined.Crew is working with insurers, marine salvage experts and marine surveyors to determine what to do about the sunken boats, said Alex Pincus, the company’s CEO.“Raising wooden vessels of this size is a highly complex operation that requires specialized equipment, careful planning and extensive coordination,” Pincus said. “The vessels remain submerged as part of that ongoing process while assessments and planning continue.” Maritime groups want to see the ships saved if possibleMany in the maritime community are calling on the company to do what it can to save the ships and to account for why they sank. Brad Vogel, a member of a canoe club called the Gowanus Dredgers, whose members paddle near the site, called the potential loss of the ships “a shame” and “in some ways unforgivable.”