The Sinking of Victory Chimes

In late 2024, I wrote a research article on Victory Chimes, a historic schooner that was docked at Brooklyn Bridge Park and was in the process of being converted into a restaurant boat. My article perfomed well on NLJ, earning a Wikipedia citation and rating as my 22nd most-visited article of 2025. Granting its past success, it hit a new level beginning around July 4 in a surge which continued through the 7th, rating as our second most-visited article of July 4-10. Unfortunately, my article did well for a sad reason. A fellow “Nick” named Nick Bello explained on his blog, South Brooklyn History:

Victory Chimes, a historic schooner beloved in the state of Maine and commemorated in a 2003 quarter, sank in Red Hook over the weekend. Victory Chimes becomes the second historic schooner owned by Crew to sink in less than a week, as the schooner Pilot sank last Wednesday.

I never wrote about the Pilot, which preceded Victory Chimes in sinking on July 1, but it had been a working restaurant/bar boat at Brooklyn Bridge Park for several years. I had read about the sinking of the pilot before reading the Victory Chimes news. I thought the Pilot sinking sounded odd and, when I saw that it had been owned by Crew, which I recalled owned Victory Chimes, I thought to myself that surely Victory Chimes, which had been covered by a tarp in Brooklyn Bridge Park over the winter before being removed to Red Hook, would not sink too. But sink it did just a few days later.

My photo of Victory Chimes at Brooklyn Bridge Park from August 21, 2024.

I venture no guesses here as to why these historic, ships both owned by the same entity sunk within days of each other in Red Hook, although Mr. Bello reports vaguely that there is “speculation online” and cites to some accounts that the ships had appeared to be in “rough shape” in recent months. But I will note with some concern that another ship I covered in 2025, the Governor Alfred E. Smith, which is currently a working restaurant ship in Brooklyn Bridge Park, is also owned by Crew. While the Alfred E. Smith looks to my eye to be in good shape, the sinking of its two friends would seem to raise questions about Crew’s ability to take care of its growing (or perhaps now shrinking) restaurant fleet.

Having enjoyed researching and writing about Victory Chimes, I hope that both V.C. and Pilot can be salvaged.

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