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Welcome to Sail Freighter Fridays! This article is part of a series linked to our new exhibit: "A New Age Of Sail: The History And Future Of Sail Freight In The Hudson Valley," and tells the stories of sailing cargo ships both modern and historical, on the Hudson River and around the world. Anyone interested in how to support Sail Freight should also check out the Conference in November, and the International Windship Association's Decade of Wind Propulsion.  Photo of the Phoenix from the "Marine Resource Bulletin Vol. 14, No. 3", 1982. Returning to the seemingly topical and relevant subject of Oil Crisis Era sail freight revivals, we have one from Long Island Sound which was much more successful than the John F Leavitt. The Phoenix was a motor-sailer with a steel hull, and there isn't a huge amount of information on her, unfortunately, but she operated a ferry service in Long Island Sound under sail for a few years at least. She required a crew of only two, and started operations in 1982. She could carry about 20 tons, plus passengers. The Phoenix is also listed in this bibliography of wind propulsion projects from 1980 as under construction in Captain Greg Brazier's back yard: A 70 foot cargo schooner for trade on the Long Island Sound. From the other aggregate sources, it appears she was about 50 gross tons and also faced resistance from residents near a former working dock which had been converted to leisure use. The Phoenix operated until at least 1984, when journalism on the project seems to disappear. The records are not clear as to what happened to the ship, but she may have converted to educational use. It seems in 1983 the ship wasn't making a profit on cargo alone between Long Island and Connecticut. What ultimately happened is unclear, but in 1985 the price of fuel dropped precipitously, and likely doomed the project as it did many others. With modern concerns about both oil supply and climate change, the 3-hour sailing ferry route may be worth reconsidering for a new generation of Sail Freighter. AuthorSteven Woods is the Solaris and Education coordinator at HRMM. He earned his Master's degree in Resilient and Sustainable Communities at Prescott College, and wrote his thesis on the revival of Sail Freight for supplying the New York Metro Area's food needs. Steven has worked in Museums for over 20 years. If you enjoyed this post and would like to support more history blog content, please make a donation to the Hudson River Maritime Museum or become a member today!
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 For Sail Freighter Friday last week, we visited the cautionary tale of the John F. Leavitt, a wooden sailing ship built between 1976-79 and launched in October of 1979 in Thomlinson, Maine. Conceived of by amateurs as a way to revive sail freight in the wake of the Oil Crisis of the 1970s, the vessel would go on to become a cautionary tale, and set back the idea of sail freight for decades. Several years after he began filming the project, filmmaker Jon Craig Cloutier released "Coaster: A true story of the John F. Leavitt." In 1982, the year "Coaster" won best feature documentary at the American Film Festival, the New York Times interviewed Cloutier: The waves were over 20 feet high and the winds stronger than 60 miles an hour on that eighth day at sea. ''The sun was setting in the west and we were sinking in the east,'' Jon Craig Cloutier said. Mr. Cloutier, a film maker, was one of nine persons aboard a 97-foot schooner, the John F. Leavitt, on its maiden and final voyage. The ship was 187 miles off the coast of Long Island on Dec. 29, 1979, and night was approaching when the nine aboard and 3,600 feet of film were saved by two helicopters from the 106th Aerospace Rescue and Recovery Group. A Russian trawler had received the ship's call for help and sent an S O S to the New York National Guard in Westhampton. ''Two large jolly green giants appeared in the sky,'' Mr. Cloutier said. ''The last thing to go into one helicopter was my film.'' Fifty thousand dollars worth of photographic equipment was left on the ship. Watch the full film below. The film covers the ship's construction, launch, maiden voyage, and disastrous end. Narrated from the point of view of Ned Ackerman, the school teacher who dreamed up the idea of the John F. Leavitt, the film runs just over 90 minutes long. Although the official release date is 1983, the film was shown as early as 1981. This November 23, 1981 review from the Washington Post reads: "Coaster," which opened Friday at the Inner Circle, is the story of the John F. Leavitt, the trading schooner that was launched in a crescendo of windship romanticism two years ago and sank on her maiden voyage. She was the dream of a former college teacher named Ned Ackerman, a young man with a sea captain's beard and an unflagging desire to construct a 98-foot, 100-ton sailing vessel for glory and profit. From the beginning he was dogged by cameramen, and this 90-minute film is the result of their chronicle. It appealingly records the Leavitt's construction, from the laying of her keel to the fitting of the "shutter plank" that sealed her hull. The Maine craftsmen, and their tools and techniques, are fascinating to watch and listen to. It took Ackerman four years to get the Leavitt built, but she came out right. He then cast off for Quincy, Mass., to pick up his first payload -- a cargo of chemicals and lumber bound for Haiti. Just before Christmas, heavy laden, the Leavitt set out into the North Atlantic. The temperature in Quincy was 8 degrees, and her crew was looking forward to the tropics. Less than a week later, beset by a winter gale 150 miles southeast of Cape Cod, the Leavitt had received superficial damage to her rig, found her main bilge pump inoperable, and was reporting a 30-degree list to port. With more bad weather on the way, Ackerman put in a distress call to the Coast Guard. Helicopters arrived to evacuate him and his eight-person crew. The Leavitt apparently sank sometime thereafter. The end of the John F. Leavitt was sad and inconclusive, and that is a condition that affects this documentary as well. Movie footage of the rescue itself was either lost, or not shot, so the tale simply stops. This is understandable, but difficult to forgive. Even more difficult to forgive are the relentless sea chanteys, full moons and echoing narrative that give "Coaster" an overeager heroism. Had things come out all right, that would be merely annoying; as things are, it is bizarre. "Coaster" would make more sense on television, perhaps on a weekend morning. It is not what you expect to find in a movie theater. As for Ackerman, brutal questions remain unanswered. After four years of willful publicity, in which he sought to bring back a lost era of seagoing, he abandoned ship in his first gale. Given the ambiguous ending of "Coaster," we are free to assume that Ackerman abandoned his dream ship while she was still afloat, rather than risk the lives of his crew in saving her. That is the new tradition of the sea, not the old. Ackerman probably did the right thing. But he proved the wrong point. And since he is a first-class publicity hound, he proved it big. What do you think? Do you agree with the Washington Post's review? If you'd like to learn more about sail freight and the Oil Crisis, visit the Hudson River Maritime Museum in-person or online to see our new exhibit "A New Age of Sail: The History and Future of Sail Freight on the Hudson River." Welcome to Sail Freighter Fridays! This article is part of a series linked to our new exhibit: "A New Age Of Sail: The History And Future Of Sail Freight In The Hudson Valley," and tells the stories of sailing cargo ships both modern and historical, on the Hudson River and around the world. Anyone interested in how to support Sail Freight should also check out the Conference in November, and the International Windship Association's Decade of Wind Propulsion.  Image from Sea History magazine article on Berta of Ibiza, 1978. The current oil price situation is strikingly similar to the crisis of the 1970s, and has sparked additional interest in Sail Freight. Alongside Climate Concerns, price of fuel is the main determining factor for the economic viability of windjammers. As a result, the oil crisis inspired a number of small scale revivals of sail freight: We've already covered the John F Leavitt, Na Mata-I-Sau, and Cagidonu, which were also used in this era, but we have another to add: Berta of Ibiza. The Berta of Ibiza was a relatively small schooner built in Spain in 1945, 110 feet long and with a cargo deadweight capacity of 150 tons. She sailed a cargo of furniture from Spain to New York, which sold at a small profit, and then took a cargo for Trinidad in November of 1978. She was the first sailing cargo vessel to leave New York Harbor with a cargo since 1943. She cost her owners $40,000 and was restored over a course of years. She was a wooden ship originally built for cargo work, made of oak, olive, and pitch pine, with quarters for 16 crew. Owned by 10 shareholders, 5 of whom were among the vessel's crew, the schooner was flagged in Panama to allow for payment through shares in the voyage. Berta was chartered for Trinidad due to fire damage on the main pier which prevented larger vessels from entering at Port of Spain. She was bound for a fishing dock instead, due to her relatively shallow draft and small size. After dropping her cargo in Trinidad, there is no reference to her again in the sail freight literature, so she drops off the historical radar in much the same way as Cagidonu. She was planned to be employed in the tramping trade around the Caribbean and elsewhere, but it is unknown if she remained engaged in that trade, or for how long. Until those records are available, though, her remaining career will remain a mystery. AuthorSteven Woods is the Solaris and Education coordinator at HRMM. He earned his Master's degree in Resilient and Sustainable Communities at Prescott College, and wrote his thesis on the revival of Sail Freight for supplying the New York Metro Area's food needs. Steven has worked in Museums for over 20 years. If you enjoyed this post and would like to support more history blog content, please make a donation to the Hudson River Maritime Museum or become a member today!
Welcome to Sail Freighter Fridays! This article is part of a series linked to our new exhibit: "A New Age Of Sail: The History And Future Of Sail Freight In The Hudson Valley," and tells the stories of sailing cargo ships both modern and historical, on the Hudson River and around the world. Anyone interested in how to support Sail Freight should also check out the Conference in November, and the International Windship Association's Decade of Wind Propulsion.  Launch of the "John F Leavitt" 1979. By Stovebolt671, via Wikimedia Commons. The Schooner John F Leavitt was built at the Newbert & Wallace shipyard from 1976-1979, and launched in October of '79 in Thomlinson Maine. Built and financed by Ned Ackerman, a former teacher and schooner enthusiast, she was the first engineless cargo vessel built in the US since 1938. She was an 83 ton vessel with two masts, designed primarily for coastal trade between shallow water ports in the Northeast.  Ackerman answering questions aboard "John F Leavitt" on launching day. Stovebolt671, via Wikimedia Commons. Ackerman was the sole investor in the schooner, and the project was propelled by the ongoing oil crises of the 1970s (which our current energy situation parallels). Ackerman was not a professional sailor, nor were most of his crew. The initial voyage in ballast from Thomlinson Maine to Quincy Massachusetts started poorly by running aground on the way out of harbor, and she did not arrive in Quincy until November. She waited there for a time to receive her first cargo, which consisted of lumber and industrial chemicals bound for Haiti. One of the experienced crew was injured loading the cargo, and did not go with the ship when she left Quincy for Haiti, leaving the entire crew as amateurs on the North Atlantic in winter. After rounding Cape Cod and sailing south of Long Island, she encountered a Nor'Easter, which quickly overwhelmed the crew. Due to poor stowage, the chemicals leaked, meaning the small motor which ran pumps and winches could not be turned on without a high risk of igniting the cargo. After several days, the crew made a mayday call and were picked up by New York Air National Guard rescue helicopters. The Leavitt sank in heavy seas, and while the crew survived, replacing the vessel was financially impossible, estimated at a cost of around $500,000 (about $2 million today). It has been widely opined that the Leavitt was capable of surviving the incident, if better crewed (see pp 40-41 here). The documentary film "Coaster" was made from the footage available of the Leavitt's construction and voyage. The film met with high ratings and was received well when it was released in 1983. However, the very public failure of the Leavitt meant that the idea of sail freight suffered a crushing defeat just before the price of oil crashed a few years later. While a good attempt was made, the shortcomings and over ambition of the project ultimately led to her demise. While the idea of Sail Freight has been revived, the Leavitt's fate is still remembered in coastal Maine and New England's windjammer community. AuthorSteven Woods is the Solaris and Education coordinator at HRMM. He earned his Master's degree in Resilient and Sustainable Communities at Prescott College, and wrote his thesis on the revival of Sail Freight for supplying the New York Metro Area's food needs. Steven has worked in Museums for over 20 years. If you enjoyed this post and would like to support more history blog content, please make a donation to the Hudson River Maritime Museum or become a member today!
Welcome to Sail Freighter Fridays! This article is part of a series linked to our new exhibit: "A New Age Of Sail: The History And Future Of Sail Freight In The Hudson Valley," and tells the stories of sailing cargo ships both modern and historical, on the Hudson River and around the world. Anyone interested in how to support Sail Freight should also check out the Conference in November, and the International Windship Association's Decade of Wind Propulsion.  Sketch of "Cagidonu" from "Proceedings of the regional conference on sail-motor propulsion," Asian Development Bank, 1985. If you've been following Sail Freighter Friday, you'll have noticed last week was about a Fiji Government Vessel by the name of Na Mata-I-Sau. If you haven't read that article yet, you might want to catch up before you read this one. She was retrofitted with sails in 1984, but sank in January of 1985. Her rig was inherited by today's featured Sail Freighter, the Cagidonu. While the Cagidonu was larger than the Na Mata-I-Sau, the rig still proved useful, and the experiment in sail assisted propulsion continued. The Cagidonu was a similar ship to her predecessor, in that she displaced 338 tons (64 more than the Na Mata-I-Sau), and was on a similar route. However, the Cagidonu was originally designed as an auxiliary sail vessel. Due to lack of crew training and an overly heavy set of original rigging which destabilized the ship, her rig had been cut off soon after her launch in 1978. In 1985, she was equipped with a new, better designed rig and the crew training issue was also addressed. Logs from Na Mata-I-Sau were transferred to the new ship, and the experiment started earlier was continued with good results. Cagidonu used the modified rig for several years, saving around 21-36% on fuel, depending on her route and sail deployment. Since her engine-use strategy was to reduce port times, she rarely if ever sailed under wind power alone, so she wasn't a real Sail Freighter if we go by strict definitions. Despite pushing for the maximum speed instead of maximum fuel savings, she still performed well and encouraged research and expanded use of sail until the collapse of oil prices in 1986. However, she played a similar role to her predecessor, and proved that wind assist as a retrofit is effective in both cost and economic benefits on small vessels. This research and development can be critical to rapidly adopting sail freight in the present day, because many of the Pacific Island States are currently suffering from extremely similar forces to the Oil Crisis Era of 50 years ago: High oil prices, and an especially vulnerable exposure to the effects of climate change and sea level rise. The use of maritime transport in a nation defined by its dispersed island nature is non-negotiable and unavoidable, meaning the use of sail will be especially important to the survival of these regions for economic and ecological reasons in the coming years and decades. AuthorSteven Woods is the Solaris and Education coordinator at HRMM. He earned his Master's degree in Resilient and Sustainable Communities at Prescott College, and wrote his thesis on the revival of Sail Freight for supplying the New York Metro Area's food needs. Steven has worked in Museums for over 20 years. If you enjoyed this post and would like to support more history blog content, please make a donation to the Hudson River Maritime Museum or become a member today!
Welcome to Sail Freighter Fridays! This article is part of a series linked to our new exhibit: "A New Age Of Sail: The History And Future Of Sail Freight In The Hudson Valley," and tells the stories of sailing cargo ships both modern and historical, on the Hudson River and around the world. Anyone interested in how to support Sail Freight should also check out the Conference in November, and the International Windship Association's Decade of Wind Propulsion.  Photo of "Na Mata-I-Sau" under sail from "Proceedings of the regional conference on sail-motor propulsion," Asian Development Bank, 1985. The Na Mata-I-Sau isn't strictly speaking a sail freighter, but she is important to the story of sail freight's revival in the Pacific during the 1970s Oil Crisis, as well as to some modern efforts such as the SV Kwai, so we're giving her the time she deserves in this blog. She was originally a motor vessel belonging to the Government of Fiji, but six years after her launch she was selected for an experiment in sail assist propulsion due to the extraordinary rise in oil prices which had crushed the economy of many Small Island States in the Pacific. As a result, she was equipped with a Fore-&-Aft sailing rig to reduce the amount of fuel she burned on a government-subsidized packet route to many remote islands. Displacing only 274 tons and carrying as many as 60 passengers, she was involved in a mixed trade involving mostly undeveloped ports, and had a large crew of about 18, to assist with loading and unloading cargo using ship's gear. She saved on average about 30% on fuel when using the rig as intended for assistance to the engine, and she saved up to 60% of fuel when she sailed by wind power alone even just 10% of the time. She became popular with passengers because the sails reduced rolling and other movement when underway. She was very popular, except for one bad review from a passenger on a voyage back to Fiji from Rotunga, which had a cargo of vegetables, fruit, copra (coconut husks), and one pig: As one of the best short academic footnotes ever written states, "The pig was very seasick."  Sketch of "Na Mata-I-Sau" from "Proceedings of the regional conference on sail-motor propulsion," Asian Development Bank, 1985. Na Mata-I-Sau served for about a year until she foundered in the height of Tropical Cyclone Eric. This resulted in the loss of two crew members. Remarkably, her engine had failed on the way to her destination in the face of the storm with the Prime Minister of Fiji, a full complement of nearly 60 passengers, and her full crew on board. She sailed under wind power alone to the island of Moala, which was a significant distance to windward. The crew was able to bring all passengers and the majority of the crew to shore before the storm struck, saving the lives of all the passengers involved. Without the sail power which had been only recently added, it is likely all hands would have been lost at sea. After the wreck, the rig was salvaged and placed on the Cagidonu for further experimentation, but that is a story for another blog post. The rig and the adaptation of a motor vessel to sail with dramatic gains in efficiency not only saved a number of lives, but provided the evidence and model for other ships such as the SV Kwai which is still operating today in the Marshall Islands. AuthorSteven Woods is the Solaris and Education coordinator at HRMM. He earned his Master's degree in Resilient and Sustainable Communities at Prescott College, and wrote his thesis on the revival of Sail Freight for supplying the New York Metro Area's food needs. Steven has worked in Museums for over 20 years. If you enjoyed this post and would like to support more history blog content, please make a donation to the Hudson River Maritime Museum or become a member today!
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