Grays Harbor Historical Seaport is home to a legendary ship
You may have done a double-take the first time you saw the impressive Lady Washington docked. She looks like something straight out a movie – and that’s because she is! Known for her many roles in movies and TV Shows, the Lady Washington is so much more. She is a link to the past as a replica of the original Lady Washington that sailed the seas making history. Here is their story.
Historical Ships: The Original Lady Washington(s)
Like so many things in history, tracking ships can be difficult. For one thing, there were multiple ships named Lady Washingtons in the 1700s, explains Bailey Cavender, deputy director for the Grays Harbor Historical Seaport. And documents from back then are hard to find, hard to read and do not always give the detail we would hope when delving into the past.
However, we do know some things about what Bailey refers to as “our Lady Washington,” the historic vessel connected to Robert Grays of Grays Harbor. She was built in Boston, Massachusetts, in the late 1700s and was originally a single-masted sloop. From her first sailing until 1787, her movements are a mystery, but in 1787, she was sent by investors and the government to explore the north Pacific Coast. The Lady Washington was the first American vessel to dock on the West Coast. She was beaten by the Spanish in 1774 and the British in 1778.
Her mission was to establish trade relations with Indigenous people, bringing her to Washington State. “She sailed with the ship the Columbia Rediviva, and the two captains of the voyage were Robert Gray and John Kendrick,” explains Bailey. “Robert Gray was Lady’s captain on the way to the Pacific Northwest, though the two captains would later switch vessels (Kendrick was captain when Lady visited Japan).”
In addition to being the first American ship to the West Coast, she was also the first to visit Honolulu, Hawaii, in 1789 and Hong Kong 1793. She visited Japan with the ship Grace in 1791. A year before the Japanese trip, Lady Washington was converted to a two-masted brig. “The changes were ordered by John Kendrick in 1790, before he sailed her to Japan,” explains Bailey. “It is possible that they were trying to make the upcoming voyage easier, since brigs were thought to be faster and easier to maneuver, but that’s just my best guess. I did some research (shoutout to the Maritime Museum of the Atlantic!) and they call the brig ‘efficient,’ so that likely played a role in the choice to change her design for such a long trip, but, again, that’s just my best guess.”
In 1796, the original Lady Washington set sail with John Howell in command for China. She then left China for the Philippines in 1797 on what would become her final voyage. “According to Scott Ridley in his book ‘Morning of Fire,’ she was grounded on the Cagayan River Bar, then floated up the river. Anything useful was removed and reused, and the rest of her slowly rotted away. Other sources say that she was lost at the mouth of the Mestizo River, where anything useful was removed and reused. But either way, the story is basically the same: she was lost at the mouth of a river in the Philippines, many parts of her were recycled, and the rest of her is still lost.”
Recreating the Lady Washington at the Grays Harbor Historical Seaport
The Grays Harbor Historical Seaports is a nonprofit that provides educational and recreational experiences to connect people to the maritime history of the area and beyond. Replica vessels bring that history to life for visitors to experience it in a way they never could on land. When it was time to choose a ship to recreate, picking ones with a tie to Grays Harbor was natural. “Originally, the plan had been to build a Lady Washington and a Columbia Rediviva, because of their connection with Robert Gray and Grays Harbor, and being the first American ships to arrive here,” shares Bailey. “Since Lady was smaller, it was decided that she would be a good ship to build first. We would still love to have a Columbia here one day, though they do have one at Disneyland!”
The new Lady Washington was created as close to the original as possible, with sketches from the 1700s used for comparison, including one that is reprinted in Scott Ridley and Hayato Sakurai’s book, “America’s First Visit to Japan: April 29-May 8, 1791: Voyage of the Lady Washington and the Grace.” “We also knew that she was a brig, and that is a specific style of ship,” explains Bailey. “That really helped maintain the historical accuracy of our Lady!”
On March 7, 1989, just three short years after the Grays Harbor Historical Seaport was chartered, the Lady Washington was launched on the Wishkah River. Since then, she has been on thousands of sailings. Bailey says the exact number is unknown, but given that she sailed year-round for 15 years and now, with just seasonal sailings, she goes on about 200 sailings a year, she said her best guess is somewhere between 7,000 and 16,800 sailing since her launch.
But she doesn’t just hang around Grays Harbor. Lady Washington has been in at least 10 movies, TV shows and music videos. Some of the most well-known include playing the Interceptor in “Pirates of the Caribbean: Curse of the Black Pearl” starring Johnny Depp; “Star Trek: Generations” where she plays the original Enterprise on the holodeck; the Jolly Roger in ABC’s “Once Upon A Time” series; a transportation ship in “The Great American West” movie; and a ship in the Hallmark Miniseries “Blackbeard.” She’s been in several music videos as well, including Macklemore’s “Can’t Hold Us”, For KING AND COUNTRY’s “Burn the Ships” and Gabriel Wheaton’s “Alive.” The Lady Washington is featured in multiple videos for the Seattle Kraken as well. Disney even used her as inspiration for their animated film, “Treasure Planet.”
Her longest sailing was to film “Pirates of the Caribbean.” “She left from Aberdeen to Long Beach, California, and then began a 40-day voyage to the Island of Saint Vincent for the majority of the filming,” shares Bailey. She adds that you can watch footage of her sailing in an 11-minute, behind-the-scenes clip that Disney created called “Diary of a Ship,” which is included in the two-disc collector’s edition of the film.
Although a link to the past, the Lady Washington does have modern upgrades explains Bailey. “She has a modern navigational system, a modern kitchen, a generator, head (toilet on a boat), shower, black water and gray water tanks (for used water), an engine, and all the Coast Guard required safety equipment,’ she says. “The crew also has the internet, computers, and phones. However, we still use her to teach about the traditional sailing methods, even though we have an engine.”
Set sail for historical fun with the Lady Washington. You can find her latest tours and events on the Grays Harbor Historical Seaport website. You can also help keep her afloat by donating here to her restoration project.
