AS A CHILD GROWING UP IN THE NORTH Alabama city of Sheffield, Carol Bramblett had a recurring dream

AS A CHILD GROWING UP IN THE NORTH Alabama city of Sheffield, Carol Bramblett had a recurring dream about a sailboat. The boat had a name: Joshua.
She began building the boat in 1993 at a boatyard in south Mobile County. Nine and a half years later, her dream came true in the form of a 72-foot-long double-masted wooden schooner.
Bramblett sails the Joshua from its Grand Mariner home port on Dog River, and the sight of the old-fashioned windjammer with its broad sails and tall masts is a delight to tourists and local residents alike.
Bramblett says the only way she can afford the vessel is by having it work for her, so she and a crew of 10 take passengers on bay-area sailing trips.
"Anybody can charter us," Bramblett said. "Most people don't have a destination. They just want to be out on the water where it's quiet."
Schooners are uncommon sights along the Gulf Coast, according to Mike O'Brien, senior editor at WoodenBoat Publications in Brooklin, Me.
Clusters of schooners
Although there are well over 100 working schooners around the United States, they are clustered regionally, with more than 50 in New England and the next-largest groupings along the California and Florida coasts, according to the Web site www.seadragon.com/schooner. Around the South outside of Florida, "you go a long way before seeing one," said O'Brien.
Two schooners are harbored at New York City's South Street Seaport: the Lettie G. Howard, which is used mainly for educational purposes, and the Pioneer, which has regularly scheduled excursions in New York Harbor from mid-May to September, past the Statue of Liberty and the Brooklyn Bridge.
Like the Joshua, the Pioneer is popular with tourists. South Street Seaport President Peter Neill says the fascination that 21st-century Americans have for 19th-century vessels is easy to explain.
"They're authentic," Neill says. "We live in a time when we have to fake reality, where reality is virtual, where everybody sits in their armchair and wants to be an armchair sailor, but you can actually do it in these vessels. It's exhilarating and rewarding, both as entertainment and for renewal."
Maine is home to more than two dozen schooners, 14 of which belong to the Maine Windjammer Association, which offers three- to six-day cruises, from late May to mid-October, to see wildlife, coastal islands and picturesque harbors. Most of the vessels are turn-of-the century wooden cargo schooners retrofitted to carry passengers; more than half have been designated National Historic Landmarks.
About the Joshua
Although the Joshua is a new boat, it was "built along the lines of the coastal schooners, the ships that used to sail this area back in the late 1800s and early 1900s," said its first officer, Capt. Cindy Frank. "These were the 18-wheelers of their day, the work boats. They were used to carry lumber, watermelons, oysters and people."
Like many of today's working schooners, the Joshua has a diesel engine that gets it in and out of its slip, "or when the wind doesn't cooperate," said Frank. "But we always prefer to sail."
The Joshua's charter trips last up to four hours. Sightseeing stops include Middle Bay Light and small islands with large bird populations. If passengers want to fish, they can.
Bramblett said special Joshua cruises for walk-on passengers coincide with the Fourth of July, Mother's Day, Father's Day and other holidays. But the busiest time for the Joshua is Easter weekend. "That's when people think it's OK to come outdoors," Bramblett said.
In winter months, the vessel is chartered by experienced sailors looking to hone their skills.
Charters
The schooner carries up to 49 people at $25 per person, with a minimum of 15 for private charters, Bramblett said as she took a break from chores on the vessel while temporarily docked at the Grand Hotel in Point Clear.
Her customers have included hotel guests such as Virginia Lester and her husband, George, who chartered the Joshua last year for a family cruise celebrating their 50th wedding anniversary.
"The idea was that we would go out in time to watch the sun go down and the moon come up, and we had a great evening," Mrs. Lester recalled.
The Joshua has also been designated Mobile's official tall ship, escorting visiting Navy vessels and handling other ceremonial welcomes on the city's waterfront.
The vessel measures 68 feet to the top of the mast. It has six sails, but only three are used when passengers are aboard to comply with U.S. Coast Guard regulations, Bramblett said. The crew is a mix of sailing enthusiasts, from college graduates to commercial airplane pilots.
Product of 'midlife crisis'
Bramblett turned to sailing full time after being laid off from International Paper Co. She said she began building the boat at the old Zirlott boatyard near Bellingrath Gardens in 1993 during a "midlife crisis."
She recently completed a "goodwill" trip to Apalachicola, Fla., with stops along the way to distribute literature about Mobile. "The crew stayed on 18 days to Apalachicola. We loved it," she said, adding, "I don't live on the schooner, but that wouldn't be bad."