Finally happening: Friends of Governor stone to soon begin rebuild of historic schooner
PANAMA CITY — A historic sailing schooner destroyed more than five years ago by Hurricane Michael is weeks away from finally being able to rebuild.
In an annual meeting on Sunday, members of a local nonprofit organization announced they expect to finally gain access in March to an approximately $1.2 million reimbursement grant from the Federal Emergency Management Agency to rebuild the Governor Stone, a two-masted, fore-and-aft rigged, centerboard, shallow-draft schooner that was obliterated in October 2018 by the Category 5 Storm.
Dubbed the Friends of the Governor Stone, the group is responsible for preserving the historic ship.
"It has been a very, very frustrating experience," Colleen Reilly, president of the organization, said of what it has taken to get to this point. "We found out that with each step of the process with FEMA, there were actually 10 steps within each step.
"We would clear one hurdle, and then another one would come up. ... There were very specific rules that we had to follow."
Past reports note that the schooner, which was built in Pascagoula, Mississippi, in 1877, was designed to sail coastal waters and cross sandbars.
It has passed through multiple owners and has sunk four times — the latest during Hurricane Michael, while it was docked at the St. Andrews marina. It was dismasted, capsized and broken apart.
Though Reilly is both relived and excited for the Governor Stone's reconstruction to be right around the corner, she said her group now faces another, unexpected hurdle: The schooner needs to be moved to a new location.
It currently is being housed at St. Andrews Elementary School, which also is slated to soon begin construction.
"Unfortunately, at the very same time that we would be starting reconstruction, we've been advised that we have to either vacate the property where the boat is now and move it to a different property in order to continue the rebuild, or we would have to shut down the project until (construction at the school) is complete," Reilly said. "We're not in a position to do that because we could risk loosing our grant."
More on the historic schooner: Panama City nonprofit to prepare historic Governor Stone for restoration with a deep clean
She noted the group is narrowing down where it will relocate the ship. It also still needs about $2,500 to pay for moving fees, as well as volunteers to help.
To donate to the Friends of the Governor Stone, or for more information on the schooner and organization, visit www.governorstone.org.
"She's got such a rich history," Reilly said of the ship. "Being the last of the original 2,000 Gulf Coast schooners in existence ... we have to rebuild her, and we have to keep that history going."
This article originally appeared on The News Herald: Friends of Governor stone to soon begin rebuild of historic schooner
