Portland Press Herald Glass Negative Collection

For the 1926 trip, the Bowdoin was accompanied by its sister ship, the Sachem III, piloted by 28-year-old Captain John T. "Jack" Crowell.

MacMillan explained to the crowd that day in Wiscasset that “in the old days it was customary for exploring ships to go out in pairs.”

The sister ship was built similarly so that should anything happen to one or the other, parts were interchangeable and crew could be carried on one vessel if need be.