Sail New York Harbor
Though the South Street Seaport Museum’s indoor spaces remain closed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, we invite visitors to enjoy our virtual programs and events, shop at our online store, or sign up to our mailing list to stay up to date on our upcoming programs.
The only place to sail New York Harbor aboard a historic 1885 schooner! See the sights of New York Harbor, the magnificent Lower Manhattan skyline, and Governor’s Island from the decks of this national historic landmark vessel. Bring your family for an afternoon sail, a date for a sunset sail, or just yourself to enjoy history at sea. See the city from a new perspective as you grab a halyard to help raise a sail or simply sit back and enjoy the view. Bring a picnic lunch or dinner, afternoon snack, beverages, or a bottle of wine to enjoy on your sail.
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Charter Schooner Pioneer
Schooner Pioneer is the perfect platform for your next group or company outing. Departing from Pier 16, Pioneer’s charters sail New York Harbor and afford some of the most breathtaking views of the city and Statue of Liberty. Pioneer is also the ideal setting for your next photo or film shoot. Click the button to get in touch and learn how to make your next event an historic one!
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Education Programs on Pioneer
Sail New York Harbor aboard the historic 1885 schooner Pioneer. Students help raise sails, see the Statue of Liberty and other Harbor landmarks, observe a variety of ships and waterborne commerce, and engage in exciting hands-on activities.
South Street Seaport Museum
By subway: Take the A, C, 2, 3, J, Z, 4, or 5 train to Fulton Street.
By bus: Take the M-15 SBS or M-15 to Fulton Street.
By water: The NYC Ferry, and New York Waterway provide service to Pier 11. The Staten Island Ferry provides services to Whitehall Terminal.
Parking: Parking lots can be found at Front and John Streets, as well as 294 Pearl Street.
About Schooner Pioneer
In the days before paved roads, small coastal schooners such as Pioneer were the delivery trucks of their era, carrying various cargoes between coastal communities: lumber and stone from the islands of Maine, brick on the Hudson River, and oyster shell on the Chesapeake Bay. Almost all American cargo sloops and schooners were wood, but because she was built in what was then this country’s center of iron shipbuilding, Pioneer had a wrought-iron hull. She was the first of only two cargo sloops built of iron in this country, and is the only iron-hulled American merchant sailing vessel still in existence.
By 1930, when new owners moved her from the Delaware River to Massachusetts, she had been fitted with an engine, and was no longer using sails. In 1966 she was substantially rebuilt and turned into a sailing vessel once again. Now she plies the waters of NY Harbor carrying adults and children instead of cargo in her current role as a piece of “living history.”
Today Pioneer is an award-winning sail training vessel teaching volunteers traditional maritime skills and the art of tall ship sailing.