COLUMBIA is not simply a yacht — she is a living piece of American maritime history. Built in 2014 by Eastern Shipbuilding Group in Panama City, Florida, she is a meticulously researched steel-hulled replica of the 1923 Gloucester Fishing Schooner Columbia, the legendary racing schooner that nearly defeated Canada's BLUENOSE for the International Fishermen's Cup. The original was designed by W. Starling Burgess — the same naval architect behind America's Cup defender Rainbow — and lost with all hands off Sable Island in 1927. Her line drawings, rediscovered decades later in the Essex Shipbuilding Museum, made this rebirth possible.
Today's COLUMBIA preserves every grace of the 1923 design: the sweeping sheer line, the long bowsprit, the heart-shaped transom, the schooner's unmistakable silhouette. But beneath the decks, she is a fully modern luxury yacht — a steel hull built to Lloyd's Register standards, Caterpillar auxiliary power, state-of-the-art navigation and safety systems, and hydraulic winches for effortless sail handling.
She is expertly maintained by her original owner, who commissioned the build. In 2023 she took line honors at the St Barths Bucket Regatta, the world's most competitive superyacht sailing event — proof that she is not a static museum piece but a genuine, race-capable sailing yacht built for both extraordinary voyages and legendary regattas.
Where the original COLUMBIA had a large cargo hold for fish hauled over her low-lying sides, the modern COLUMBIA has a luxuriously appointed interior finished in teak, maple, and mahogany — materials that honour the schooner's fishing-boat origins while delivering the comfort expected of a modern superyacht.
The deckhouse, slightly longer than on the 1923 original, conceals the entrance to an interior of brass lamps, leather banquettes, custom marquetry, and a real fireplace. It is one of the most distinctive sailing yacht interiors afloat.
The original COLUMBIA was launched on April 17, 1923 from the A.D. Story shipyard in Essex, Massachusetts — the historic heart of American fishing schooner construction. Designed by the innovative William Starling Burgess and built for just $35,000, she was bred for speed.
In the fall of 1923, under Captain Ben Pine, she challenged the legendary Canadian schooner BLUENOSE in the International Fishermen's Cup Races in Halifax. She lost by the narrowest of margins — one of the few American schooners ever to give BLUENOSE a real fight. She won her trials in 1926 but never had another chance in the finals.
On August 24, 1927, COLUMBIA was lost with all hands in a gale off Sable Island, the notorious "Graveyard of the Atlantic." She remained legendary — and gone — until Brian D'Isernia, founder of Eastern Shipbuilding Group, rediscovered her original line plans at the Essex Shipbuilding Museum and committed to rebuilding her for the modern age.
COLUMBIA carries a traditional gaff-rigged schooner sail plan built to the 1923 specifications, but with modern concessions to practicality — hydraulic winches and contemporary rigging materials make the powerful sail plan manageable by a working crew without compromising her classic character.
Under sail she achieves a remarkable 17 knots, with an auxiliary Caterpillar C-18 diesel delivering 13 knots when the wind falls silent. Her 4,000 nm range under power makes her fully capable of transatlantic crossings and world cruising.
COLUMBIA is one of the most distinctive sailing yachts in the market. Reach out to Josh Gulbranson directly for pricing, a private viewing, or to discuss the Lease-with-Option-to-Purchase structure.
Contact Josh →COLUMBIA is the perfect marriage of luxury and history, perfection and provenance — a superyacht and a schooner in one vessel. There is nothing else like her afloat.— Josh Gulbranson, Fraser