One of Washington’s most historic maritime vessels is returning to its full glory.

The Adventuress was hauled out on Monday, Dec. 5 for its biennial check-up from the Coast Guard, and while she’s out of the water for the winter, her topmasts will at long last be restored.

“This is how it was launched in 1913. When she was launched, she was a topsail schooner,” said Catherine Collins, the executive director for Sound Experience. The nonprofit has been operating the only National Historic Landmark sailing vessel in the state of Washington for more than 30 years.

The new topmasts are being built by Haven Boatworks, which has donated  labor and materials.

Yet even with that assistance, the project will still cost around $60,000, Collins said.

“It’s expensive to do all the rigging and the topmasts,” she said.

The return of the topmasts will be the cherry on top of more than a decade of renovation.

Originally built as a yacht for John Borden, who made his fortune purchasing what he would transform into the Chicago Yellow Cab Company, Adventuress’ topmasts were a statement when she first launched during a Boston winter in February 1913.

“The seamen of Boston shook their heads at Adventuress’ rig, thinking her topmasts were too tall and her topsails would not survive winter sailing,” writes Trink Shurian in the book “Adventuress: The Four Lives.”

Those towering topmasts last came down in 2018 while restoring the “million dollar deck,” Collins said.

The additional almost 30 feet they add will give the vessel back access to her topsails, which are used in lighter winds to capture more momentum.

“We need to make sure that we have the use of the topmasts again because it also gives us more capability for doing underway training with young people,” Collins said. “Hopefully we’ll have the ability to do that again soon.”

Sound Experience serves more than a thousand youth each year who come aboard Adventuress primarily with schools and community based-partners.

“We’re doing that all the time, but what’s really cool is we’ve been able to meet some needs of our partners for young people who would never have the opportunity to go on a vessel like this, or even really do much on the water,” Collins said.

The group works with organizations like Casino Road, which serves mostly young hispanic families and communities in South Everett, as well as LGBTQ+ organizations, and were recently awarded the chance to work with Urban League of Metropolitan Seattle.

“We just were awarded a really exciting, competitive award with lead partner Urban League of Metropolitan Seattle to bring 35 young people out aboard Adventuress in a career launch training,” Collins said. “There’s a lot of opportunity on the waterfront. There’s a lot of opportunity being on the water for jobs or careers.”

“But a lot of times if you don’t have access to the water or you don’t feel welcome on the water, you’re going to not ever have those opportunities,” she added.

While Seattle’s name graces Adventuress’ transom, Sound Experience makes sure to bring her to Port Townsend when she needs some love.

“That’s where our craftspeople are,” Collins said. “That’s where our captains live. If the Salish Sea had a beating heart, which of course it does, for wooden boats it would be Port Townsend.”