I drove downtown today to watch the Schooner Lynx arrive in St Augustine where she will spend the winter. Her arrival time was listed in the local paper and online as 3:00 pm. Alas, as I drove over the Bridge of Lions, I could see her already berthed at the municipal marina with her crew furling sails. For once, I found a parking space right by the Plaza and hustled over to watch, where I met a woman who works at the Castillo de san Marco. She had seen the Lynx come in under sail and caught a photo of her crew firing her cannon on the fort. The fort gun crew, apparently as misguided as I about the time, couldn't be pulled together quick enough to fire back. The Lynx is a beautiful ship, built in  Rockport Maine by Taylor Allen of Rockport Marine (a harbor I know well) and launched in July 2001. She was the first square topsail schooner to be launched in Rockport Maine since 1885. Knowing the pride Downeast craftsmen put into their work, the Lynx should be a sturdy ship and sail the seas far and wide for a long time to come. She was designed by naval architect, Melbourne Smith and modeled after the privateers who sailed with letters of Marque from the fledgling United States government during the War of 1812. My current plan is to go take an afternoon sail on her sometime this winter. I've sailed on schooners before, but she will be another great adventure, a sail with history!