SAN DIEGO (KUSI\/FOX 5) — At a time in history when superyachts are designed by artificial intelligence and pieced together with prefabricated materials, a small group of old-world shipbuilders in San Diego has decided to take a step back in time.<\/p>\n
Two hundred years back.<\/p>\n
“We’re bringing history back.\u00a0 We dive deep into the history books and come up with a 19th-century sailing ship called The Pilgrim.\u00a0 It’s not a replica; it’s an interpretation of what it probably looked like,” says Brian Thomas, a shipwright on The Pilgrim 3.<\/p>\n
Here at the Driscoll shipyards on Mission Bay, the project of a lifetime is coming together the old-fashioned way, one board at a time.<\/p>\n
With a small army of paid workers and volunteers, recreating an 1825 cargo ship called The Pilgrim has\u00a0 become a labor of love.<\/p>\n
“So, where I found my niche was, to not only touch history, but pull that thread all the way through. So I’m a part of it presently and think about the past, but then bring it into the future,” says Kris Gilpin, a volunteer builder on The Pilgrim 3.<\/p>\n
Inspired by a book called “Two Years Before the Mast” by Richard Henry Dana, the original Pilgrim was built in Massachusetts and sailed around the horn of Africa to the coast of California to be used as a cargo ship.<\/p>\n
Of course in those days, there were no blue prints and no formal designs to guide the way.<\/p>\n
So, much like they did in 1825, they are doing it today.<\/p>\n
“The original boats were built so fast, nobody kept records,\u00a0 there were no plans.\u00a0 They would just use their knowledge and copy what they did the last time.\u00a0 The plans?\u00a0 The plans were in their heads,” says Thomas.<\/p>\n
Using old pictures and some of the original shipbuilding techniques, the belly of the beast has already been crafted, to the best of their knowledge.<\/p>\n
The Pilgrim 3 is slowly taking shape.<\/p>\n
“In the world of digital and computer screens, there is nothing, no screens, no plans.\u00a0 It’s all tactile, pushing the envelope mentally, so it’s very challenging and very fun,”says Gilpin.<\/p>\n
With a three-year timeline to finish The Pilgrim 3, the master shipbuilders are now one year into the project.<\/p>\n
A project that will someday serve as a floating history class for generations to come.<\/p>\n
“Well we’re building a sailing school vessel. So it’s for youth and adults, to do sailing adventure and classrooms studies.\u00a0 But this is going to be a working ship,”says Thomas.<\/p>\n
As it stands now, the Pilgrim 3 should be completed by 2028.\u00a0 At which time it will be lowered into the Mission Bay using massive cranes.<\/p>\n
Currently, there is no permanent home.\u00a0 But the people behind the project are certain they will find a proper place to drop anchor.<\/p>\n