History Blog
|
|
This Monday, how about a classic song about the wild and unpredictable voyage of one of the largest sail freighters the world has ever seen? It's completely fiction, of course, and written to be absolutely ridiculous, but a classic nonetheless. To give you an idea of how ridiculous, here's an illustration of the ship as described in the song's first verse, which I wasted a full 5 minutes on. Having grown up on Irish folk music (specifically the Clancy Brothers), I'd known this song for decades before I really put together how absolutely absurd the lyrics are: 23 masts, a crew of 7, and millions of units of all sorts of just plain preposterous cargo make it a great satire of many other shipwreck songs. Carrying a load of bricks for the grand city hall in New York, but having absolutely no bricks listed in the cargo verse, and a trans-atlantic voyage of seven years in an era when it should be around 3-4 weeks is a great touch of exaggeration. Deadpan delivery tops off the whole performance. Most convenient for us at HRMM, though, is that this can arguably be a legendary song about one of the most unique Brick Schooners ever built and sailed. While legendarily it never made it to New York or the Hudson before sinking, I think we'll claim it all the same. Enjoy this rendition by the Clancy Brothers and Tommy Makem, and of course the song has been sung by many other legends of the Irish Folk scene: The Dubliners, The Pogues, The (aptly named) Irish Rovers, and many others. Mario Rincon, Mike Pagnani, and Andre Ernst all also play this tune on Solaris from time to time, if you come out on one of their concert cruises. For good measure in filling out the post, here's The Irish Rovers playing "The Irish Rover." LYRICS: In the Year of our Lord Eighteen Hundred and Six We set sail from the Cobh quay of Cork We were sailing away with a cargo of bricks For the grand City Hall in New York We'd an elegant craft, she was rigged 'fore and aft And lord how the trade winds drove her She had twenty-three masts, and she stood several blasts And they called her the Irish Rover There was Barney McGee from the banks of the Lee There was Hogan from County Tyrone There was Johnny McGurk who was scared stiff of work And a man from Westmeath called Malone There was Slugger O'Toole who was drunk as a rule And fighting Ben Tracy from Dover And your man Mick McCann, from the banks of the Bann Was the skipper on the Irish Rover We had one million bags of the best Sligo rags We had two million barrels of bone We had three million bales of old nanny goats' tails We had four million barrels of stone We had five million hogs and six million dogs And seven million barrels of porter We had eight million sides of old blind horse's hides In the hold of the Irish Rover We had sailed seven years when the measles broke out And our ship lost her way in the fog And the whole of the crew was reduced down to two 'Twas m'self and the captain's old dog Then the ship struck a rock; oh Lord, what a shock We nearly tumbled over Turned nine times around and the poor old dog was drowned Now I'm the last of the Irish Rover 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!
0 Comments
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. This week's Sail Freighter is the Clipper Ship Dreadnought, one of the most famous of the 19th century on the Atlantic route. Built in 1853 for the Red Cross Line in Newburyport Massachusetts, she was a "Moderate Clipper" built for speed, but of larger tonnage and less racing-like lines when compared to the "Extreme Clippers" like the Cutty Sark. The Dreadnought was 212 feet long and about 1227 Gross Register Tons, and could carry about 2,000 tons of cargo. The Dreadnought had a reputation for fast passages, most only about two to three weeks, and she set a record between New York and Cork (Then Queenstown) Ireland of just 9 days and 17 hours in 1859. Besides being a fast ship, she was a famous one, and earned a reputation as one of the best packets on the Atlantic. She was fast enough to out-compete steamers of her era, and even carried specialty mails. The Dreadnought served in the Red Cross Line until she was sold in 1869. She was then assigned a voyage around Cape Horn to San Francisco from New York, and wrecked off the coast of Tierra Del Fuego. She had a relatively short career, if a famous one, of only 16 years, when most sailing vessels were in service for about 25. Despite this, she is still remembered in song and story to this day. Those interested in learning more about the Dreadnought can read the articles linked above which give a good review of her extensive career. 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. NOTE: This week we have a guest post from the San Francisco Maritime National Historical Park about the Schooner C A Thayer a uniquely West Coast sail freighter. You can find more on their website. How often do we hear phrases such as “The last of its kind” or “One of a kind”? With a cultural resource, how or should we evaluate the value of such a statement? And what constitutes the truth of such a statement? Built in 1895, the C.A. Thayer is a bald-headed, three-masted West Coast lumber schooner, and yes… she is the last of her kind. Constructed in the yard of Hans Bendixson in Fairhaven, California (near Eureka, in the far northwestern part of California), she is both typical and atypical. She is typical in that she was a common type of vessel built for lumber service on the U.S. West Coast. She is atypical in that she survives when hundreds of her kin have rotted away or were otherwise lost. Vessels with her hull and elements of her rigging design were not to be found anywhere else in the country, and these elements, though not solely responsible, played a key role in the decision for a rebuilding that has left her in practically new condition. She was, in fact, a highly specialized West Coast maritime product, designed for both the environment in which she was meant to sail and the cargo she was meant to haul. With lumber hauling along the West Coast as her intended mission, the design of the Thayer reflects the contours of the West Coast as well as economy. Large, protected harbors such as San Francisco Bay are rare along the western seaboard. The majority of the California coast is a sailor’s nightmare. Whereas San Francisco Bay is a large and sheltering anchorage, most of the coast is rocky with many cliffs, and exposed. Big Sur, south of San Francisco, is majestic, beautiful, and breathtaking… if you are on shore looking out to the ocean. But upon the deck of an engineless sailing vessel, it could be completely frightening. And if wrecked, there are no obvious ways to get safely ashore. So, it was wise to have a handy maneuverable rig. Thus, the fore and aft schooner rig was very popular, especially for the trip north into the prevailing wind and ocean currents. As this rig evolved on the West Coast, the bald-headed schooner became common, particularly in three masted designs, in which there were no separately attached topmasts. Given the tall Pacific lumber available for mast timbers, this simplified her sail and rigging arrangement. On occasion, one might also see a peculiar sail addition. This was the West Coast square sail (and sometimes surmounted by a raffee). Found on the forward mast, a yard was crossed and so arranged that a sail could be laterally set on one or the other side. So, instead of setting this square sail from the top down, it was set from the center line of the vessel outboard, one side at a time, since the foresail would block the wind of the other/leeward side. The Thayer did not carry such a sail for most of her career, but is documented as carrying one during some of her voyages south to Australia, so as to take better advantage of any following winds on the long trans-Pacific voyage. Combine all of the above with a steam donkey engine (not something unique to the West Coast) mounted within the deckhouse, the primary sails could be made in incredibly large size, yet the vessel sailed with a small, and a correspondingly cheaper to employ, crew. This engine, therefore, had the same effect that automation technology does today, and allowed the C.A. Thayer to be sailed with as few as eight crew members: four sailors, one cook, two mates, and a Captain. The Columbia River in Oregon, the site of many of the Douglas Fir loading ports, influenced the Thayer’s hull form. A ship with a single deck and relatively flat bottom was what was called for. The C.A. Thayer and the rest of her West Coast kin had to be built to pass safely over the sand bars at the mouths of such rivers. Though not explicitly flat-bottomed herself, the Thayer has very little dead rise and is much wider (36’4”) than she is deep (11’8”). One result of this shallowness is that about half her load of 575,000 board feet of lumber was stacked up on deck. Due to this, there was a second set of pin rails mounted high on her shrouds to provide accessible belaying points for her running rigging when a full load was carried. The sailors merely used the deck load top as a line handling deck. But with the resulting broad beam and shallow depth of hold, she was able to safely mount the sand bars. This hull design, incidentally, also provided stability when sailing empty. When northbound, it was often unnecessary to load ballast. The building material with which all this was achieved was the same as that which most often formed her cargo, old growth Douglas fir. Given her wide beam, but shallow depth of hold, her upper ceiling planking played a critical role is resisting hogging tendencies. Therefore, when visiting the vessel and entering her hold, one can spy individual planking 8 inches thick and up to a shocking 80 feet long. Her clamps too are of major size, though her restoration team was unable to obtain pieces of original (10 inches thick and 110 feet in length) size. Due to her being designed for immense deck loads, her hanging knees, supporting her deck, are huge and especially interesting as they cannot be cut to shape. To have the necessary strength to support deck loaded lumber cargoes, they have to be of a naturally curved grown shape. This was a particular challenge, especially when considering the lack of natural curves in Douglass Fir. In other parts of the country where other types of trees were more common, these natural curves (referred to as compass timber) were often acquired where large branches grew in a curving outward arc from the trunk. With Douglas Fir trees, branches grow out from the trunk at nearly 90 degrees. So in order to get the natural curved shape needed, effort was made to make use of the stumps and roots of the tree. In particular from trees that grew on the side of a hill where the curving roots would have an especially sharp angle. Though not unique along the West Coast, there were many features that made these ships totally distinctive compared to the Gulf Coast, East Coast, or Great Lakes practices. These design features, and the fact that she is now the last of her kind, were important factors why the decision was made to proceed with her massive reconstruction. Today, the C.A. Thayer has a largely “new ship” feel about her. Though longevity is something all wooden structures aspire to, wooden vessels/ships, given the marine environment they live in, are particularly vulnerable to entropy. With her reconstruction now nearly complete, visitors will have access to a unique West Coast historic maritime resource for a long time to come. Bibliographic References Books: Olmsted, Roger. C.A.Thayer and the Pacific Lumber Schooners. Los Angeles: Ward Ritchie Press, 1972. Unpublished Works: Cleveland, Ron. The Rigging of West Coast Barkentines & Schooners. Unpublished manuscript, Maritime Research Center, San Francisco Maritime National Historical Park, no date. Myers, Mark Richard. “Pacific Coast-Built Sailing Ship Types: 1840-1921.” B.A. Honors Study Thesis, Pomona College, 1967. Official Reports: Architectural Resources Group. “Historic Structure Report: Schooner C.A. Thayer.” National Park Service, San Francisco Maritime National Historical Park, 2022. Delgado, James P. & Gordon S. Chappell. “National Register of Historic Places Inventory, Nomination Form: C.A.Thayer (Schooner).” National Park Service, Western Region, 30 June 1978. Periodicals: Andersen, Courtney J. “Exciting Times in the Life of C.A. Thayer. Re-rigging and Old Sailing Ship: A Maritime Detective Story.” Sea Letter 72 (Fall 2015), 2-12. Canright, Stephen. “Born of the Lumber Trade: An Historical Context for the C.A. Thayer.” Sea Letter 50 (Summer 1995), 3-11. Canright, Stephen. “Preserving the C.A. Thayer: What is to be Done?” Sea Letter 50 (Summer 1995), 20-25. Canright, Stephen. “Rebuilding the C.A. Thayer.” Sea Letter (Summer 2007), 6-24. Cox, Thomas R. “William Kyle & the Pacific Lumber Trade: A Study in Marginality.” Journal of Forest History 19:1 (January 1975), 4-14. Cox, Thomas R. “Single Decks and Flat Bottoms: Building the West Coast’s Lumber Fleet, 1850-1929.” Journal of the West XX: 3 (July 1981), 65-74. Dennis, D.L. “Square Sails of American Schooners.” The Mariner’s Mirror 49: 3 (August 1963), 226-227. McDonald, Captain P.A. “Square Sails and Raffees.” The American Neptune V (1945), 142-145. Miles, Ted. “The Later Lives of the C.A.Thayer.” Sea Letter 50 (Summer 1995), 13-19. AuthorChristopher Edwards is a National Park Ranger at San Francisco Maritime National Historical Park. 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. For today's Sail Freighter Friday, we're going to go back a ways further historically than last week, but only about 2,100 or so years. This week, we'll be looking at the type of sailing cargo vessels of the Mediterranean Sea which built much of the ancient Greek, Roman, and Carthaginian empires of the classical world. They were advanced sailing craft plying well developed trade routes, and supplying some of the largest cities of their time with food, stone, metals, ceramics, timber, wool, cement, firewood, glass, charcoal, livestock, and more from all over the Mediterranean basin. In tonnage and fleet strength, they were likely unsurpassed from the decline of the Roman Empire until the Renaissance, a period of nearly 1,000 years. Ships in this period, roughly 2300-2000 years ago, were wooden, constructed in what we would now call a mortise-and-tenon, shell-first construction, with frames added second. They usually also had an additional layer of planking on the inside of the frames. This is rarely used today, but was stronger than "stitched" or "sewn" construction of previous eras, and allowed for much larger vessels of up to 600 tons to be built routinely. Their wide, relatively shallow hulls were reasonably stable, and propelled by up to three square-rigged masts. The size and number of ships on the Mediterranean Sea in this period began to increase, as cities grew in population and trade increased. Grain, wine, and olive oil from Egypt and Syria, as well as Spain and North Africa, were essential to keeping Rome fed, and the voyage could take weeks against contrary winds, resulting in the need for a large fleet with seasonal availability. It also meant that the ships had to be tough and seaworthy, which they were, but they weren't necessarily fast: Some made an average of barely 2 knots per hour when sailing against the wind. Downwind, they could make average speeds of just over 6 knots. These sailing craft were the result of many generations of development and cultural exchange between the Greeks, Egyptians, Phoenicians, Iberians, Romans, and Latins, ideally suited to their environments and available materials. Without them, the cultural and material exchange which allowed these cultures to flourish would have been impossible, as would many of the future developments in navigation and shipbuilding which are discussed in this series. Unfortunately, they also had a profound ecological impact: Despite their being built of wood, a renewable resource, the demand for ship timbers and fuel was higher than the forests growth rates at many points, and led to deforestation and desertification which still has effects on the local ecosystems today. With a modern understanding of forest management, this can be avoided, but there is a limit which must be worked within to keep both a healthy forest, and a healthy fleet. If you're interested in these ancient ships, their construction, and use, I recommend starting with Sailing From Polis To Empire, available free as an E-Book at the link. 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. The Morning Star was a sloop based out of the Rondout Creek in the 1790s, and many of her records were included in Paul Fontenoy's 1994 study of Hudson River Sloops. As a result, we can do some analysis of not only this one sail freighter, but her cargos and the exports of the Rondout Creek in her era, without spending dozens of hours in archives. This is a good thing, because there's a lot of lessons to be taken from her records. As a Hudson River Sloop, she was designed for our specific waters, with a shallow draft, drop-keel to make sailing upwind easier when enough water was available, and a simple fore-&-aft rig. These elements made the Hudson River Sloops ideally suited to the shifting mudflats and variable winds of the Hudson. In addition, they required relatively few crew members to handle the two or three sails. As for cargo, while the records aren't listed in tons, we can see a lot of patterns in her bills of lading. Passenger and cargo business was essential for the Sloops, and most passengers were headed North. Most of the cargo, however, was headed South to New York City and beyond. The cargo was principally agricultural goods, which were either used in the city or traded on in the West Indies Provisions Trade. The Hudson Valley was the breadbasket of the West Indies and parts of Southern Europe, but this trade to the West Indies allowed for the constant mono-cropping of sugar on those islands. New York and the Hudson Valley made much of its money off the Slave Trade both directly and indirectly through the provisioning trade. The agricultural trade profit which motivated the settlement and agricultural growth of the Hudson Valley in the 17th and 18th century is inseparable from the Slave Trade. Returning to the technical side of the discussion, we can also see the sailing season and voyage times from the records of Morning Star. With a 258 day sailing season and 11 voyages, the average duration of a round trip is about 24 days. March must have coincided with the river ice clearing, and December with the ice becoming enough to discourage sailing. The other thing to notice is how profitable the Sloops were. With a nearly 75% return over expenses, this is a very encouraging business. Profits were boosted by the lack of competition from steam propulsion, in the form of either trains or steamships. As that changed over the next 100 years, the profit margin of sloops declined, but in 1793 they gave a very significant return. Anyone interested in the technical details of the Hudson River Sloops should find a copy of Fontenoy's book, as it contains a well researched and easily read account of their development and operations for over 200 years. 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. EDITOR's NOTE: Today's post is a collaboration with the Galway City Museum and Galway Hooker Sailing Club, to give a biography of one of the Galway Hookers still in use today, named Loveen. You can learn more about the club and their boats at their website: https://www.galwayhookersailingclub.ie/ Loveen was built by John Francis Reaney as a rowboat in 1925 and carried cargos of seaweed much of her career, and saw work in the fishing trade. She was out of working trade by the late 20th century and restored for pleasure sailing in 2021. Loveen is an outstanding example of her class of vessel: A Gleoiteog (explained below), she started her life as a 22 foot rowboat, but was converted to a gaff cutter rig in the 1980s. The Galway Hooker boats or the "Workhorses of Galway Bay” were used for fishing and carrying peat turf fuel, seaweed for fertilizer, general shop cargo supplies- grain, flour, tea, sugar, livestock, newspapers, people, and more over Galway Bay, to and from Kinvara, Burren, Aran Islands, and in and out of Connemara piers, harbours, and importantly from Connemara into Galway City. On the return journeys they often brought larger building materials home such as timber: One such boat was An Maighdean Mara brought building materials to help in the construction of the Carraroe Church, the local school and the priest’s house in Carraroe Connemara from Galway City in 1894. Another example was limestone from New Quay to Aran Islands, to neutralise the acidic soils of Connemara. Animal livestock such as cattle, sheep, pigs or horses to fairs and markets were brought to Fairhill in Claddagh. For many communities these boats were their primary lifeline. Galway Hookers are not large, the largest class (the "bád mór," or "big boat") ranging from 35-44 feet, carried 12-15 tons of cargo at a time, and had a shallow draft to allow access to many small landings and ports. The Leathbhád (half-boat) was about 28-32 feet, while the Gleoiteog ranges in length from 7 to 9 metres (20 to 28 feet). They were used for fishing and carrying smaller cargo. They were all gaff rigged sloops with two headsails in front of the mast, and one mainsail aft. Most can be handled with a crew of two, but can fit more people if needed. These boats helped keep the small communities and shops of Connemara supplied and connected to Galway City or to the mainland. Many families and communities depended solely on these boats, and If it hadn't been for the Galway Hookers, smaller communities, particularly Ceantar na nOileán (small island communities West of County Galway) and Carna wouldn't have thrived. They were commonly referred to as "báid móna" or turf boats and recognised as such for their main cargo. Each cargo of turf was loaded and offloaded by hand – the Bádóirí's money was well earned! Unfortunately, after the Second World War many met their decline as improved roads and cheap fossil fuels meant lorries (trucks, for the Yanks) became the new modern way of transport in Connemara, leading to the decline in use for the Galway Hookers. Bottled Kerosene gas was another sharp blow to the boatmen and skippers, as it was the main competition to the boat’s traditional cargo of peat turf fuel. By the 1970’s the Galway Hookers were in complete decline with only two remaining in trade with the Aran Islands. The Galway Hooker has links to the US as well. It was introduced to US Waters in the 19th century, when Irish Immigrants in Boston and elsewhere started building the boats they knew from home for fishing and moving cargo. Referred to as "Boston Hookers" or "Market Cutters" they served much the same roles they had in Ireland, and significantly influenced the building of small craft in New England. Just like in Galway they were designed and used for multiple purposes. Loveen's restoration took two years due to the COVID-19 Pandemic. The Galway Hooker Sailing Club was embarking on a momentous task of restoring a 96 year old boat called Loveen with the guidance and workmanship of Master Boatbuilder Cóilín Hernon, his two sons Éinde and Cóilín Óg, the Club commodore Ciaran Oliver and all the crew members belonging to the club who volunteered their time, energy and passion. The boat was then taken apart slowly, carefully and gradually. Her old planking was removed. The shape of the boat was kept in place using twelve long laths as temporary guides and were fitted into the rabbet in stem- six on each side. The upper planks were removed first gradually moving to the lower planks. The boat was always kept supported and propped. The keel, ribs, beams, thwarts, and planking were all repaired and replaced, she was re-caulked (seen in the video below) and re-rigged.
All the spars (mast, boom, bowsprit and gaff) were made using a laminating process. Lengths of identical size, shape and length of timber pieces were glued together. These glued lengths turned into one piece, a block of solid wood. Each two or three lengths were clamped together and left to dry at each stage. The block of solid wood was rounded into shape using an adze tool, as seen in the first half of the video above. The later stage was sanding using a length of stretched sandpaper connected and kept together with two handles. Each spar was fitted with its own metal bands. The mast was fitted with its own spider band and the boom was fitted with a gooseneck to fit into the mast’s collar. Sails were traditionally measured and cut by our resident master boat builder Cóilín Hernon, cut in the traditional space: The local Dominican Church. After two years, Loveen took to the water again, and can now be seen sailing Galway Bay as she has for 97 years before. You can listen to more about Loveen here. For those interested in the Hookers overall, this recorded lecture at the City Museum of Galway by master boatbuilder Cóilín Ó hIarnáin is well worth a listen, especially his points about the addition of sail area to working boats as they are changed into racing and pleasure craft. Richard J Scott's book The Galway Hookers is also a good, easy read on this topic. AuthorMartina Thornton is the Historian of the Galway Hooker Sailing Club. 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. The Ketch Nordlys is claimed to be the oldest engineless wooden sail freighter in service today, having been built in 1873 on the Isle of Wight. Though she started her career as a fishing trawler, she was converted to Sail Freight after being purchased by Fair Transport in 2014. She started coastal trading on European routes in 2015. As a Ketch, Nordlys is well suited to coastal trade. The Fore-&-Aft rig allows for sailing close to the wind, which is important when working in coastal waters. She is a small ship, only 82 feet long and carrying 25 tons of cargo. However, she is also light on crew, requiring only 5 professional crew and taking on up to 4 passengers or trainees. Her cargo is normally high value goods such as wine, whiskey, and similar products. As an engineless vessel, Nordlys is a representative of the most extreme version of Sail Freight. The majority of sail freighters have engines on board for emergency and docking use, as well as for use in crowded harbors. Nordlys, like her fleet-mate Tres Hombres, relies on the wind entirely for power, and this exposes the vessel to all the same threats and risks as sail freighters a century or more ago. While there are modern communications equipment and solar panels on board to power them, these are not a tool for propulsion. They do increase safety when interacting with other vessels, but can't shorten the time at sea if stuck in the doldrums or power the ship off a lee shore in a storm. In exchange for these disadvantages, engineless ships offer the largest carbon emissions gains, and in the case of Nordlys, even more than normal: She replaces trucks and trains instead of other ships due to her coastal trade routes, much like the far more local schooner Apollonia. You can learn more about Nordlys and Fair Transport here. 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. The Grain de Sail is a modern small cargo schooner, launched in 2020 and in service since, carrying wines and chocolate from France to NYC and the Caribbean. The ship can carry a total of 35 tonnes of wine with a crew of 4, and takes about three months on her circuit from France to NYC, the Caribbean, and back. The plans are to have her make two circuits per year, one in spring and one in the fall, and has completed three voyages thus far. In 2021, Grain de Sail and Apollonia met up in New York Harbor and transferred cargo between the boats, one of the first such exchanges between inland and transoceanic sailing vessels in US Waters this century. Grain de Sail is unique, in that she is specifically designed for hauling wine. Her hold is climate controlled, the wines are types suited to the rolling motions of the ship, and other considerations have been made to ensure the wine is not damaged by transport. She is a Marconni-Rigged Schooner, using more modern designs of soft sails than the traditional gaff-rigged schooners which are iconic parts of the Downeast Maine seascape. These allow sailing slightly closer to the wind, and they make automated sail handling far easier. Roller-Furling replaces much of the crew labor in reefing or handling jibs and headsails, and sheets can be controlled remotely. While she has an engine onboard for emergency and docking use, she uses it very rarely. You can learn a bit more about Grain de Sail on their website: www.graindesailwines.com 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. The wooden Brigantine Tres Hombres was launched in the Netherlands in 1943, and served initially as a fishing boat. After her first career, she sat idle until 2007, when she was purchased by three friends intent on reviving sail freight. After a two year restoration, she was relaunched in 2009, and began her sail freight career. One of the early pioneers of transatlantic sail freight, Tres Hombres was one of the vessels which paved the way for others, proving the commercial viability of sail freight for high-value cargoes. Now, Grain de Sail has taken on this model with newly built sail freighters designed for carrying wine and chocolate, as just one example of follow-on movements from the Tres Hombres. Tres Hombres can carry 40 tons of cargo, mostly coffee, chocolate, rum, and other high-value items from the Caribbean to Europe. As an engineless vessel, she is a truly zero-emission vessel, and has made 12 transatlantic circuits since 2009. She is also involved with coastal trade in Europe, rebuilding coastal trade relationships which have fallen away in the last 80-100 years. With a crew of 7 and 8 additional trainees, Tres Hombres serves as a training vessel alongside moving cargo. This will be a big advantage to the Sail Freight movement, as her Brigantine rig combines both Square-Rig and Fore-And-Aft rig sailing, allowing for trainees to become familiar with both types of traditional rig. These trainees will be needed when they complete the program to crew other sail freighters in construction or planning, such as Ceiba, Brigantes, Hawaila, and the EcoClipper Fleet. You can learn more about Tres Hombres and the FairTransport company at https://fairtransport.eu/. The webpage also includes her sailing schedule, and how to sign up to sail as a trainee. 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. NOTE: This week's post is a guest post from Captain Shane Granger of the Historic Vessel Vega. The Vega has operated in the Pacific, between remote islands, since 2004, and was built in 1892. In early 1890 cement factory owner Johan Carlsson commissioned a sail powered cargo boat to service small villages along the coast of Sweden. That boat was named Vega, after his eldest daughter. At that time Sweden and Norway were one country so Mr. Carlsson looked to the ship builders of Norway for his newest Jacht (Jacht or Jaght being generic names for small sail powered cargo boats). Outstanding among Norwegian ships of the time were those of Hardanger fiord where a tradition of building strong swift sailing vessels was already well established in the late 1400’s. The finest Hardanger jachts of the day were designed and built by Ola H. Nerhus. According to Lars Nerhus, great grandson of Ola Nerhus and himself a boat builder, “By 1891 Ola Nerhus had an unrivalled reputation for strong well-formed ships and quality workmanship. He was the designer and surveyor for most prominent [ship]yards in this region of Norway.” From the beginning Vega was conceived to carry heavy concentrated loads and be certified for trade in the Arctic, a task most wooden boats shunned. Vega’s intended cargo demanded a strong full-bodied vessel with exceptional load bearing capacity for her length and beam. Due to existing tax, harbour, and pilot regulations Carlson specified she be a bit short of sixty feet between perpendiculars with a sixteen foot beam yet be rated at 55 tones to meet the demands of his cement trade. Similar regulations meant for the first few years of her life Vega was rigged as a traditional cutter, rather than the well proven two masted galleass with its more versatile sail area and smaller crew. Faced with the age-old conundrum of how to make a small boat carry the same cargo as a larger one Ola Nerhus did a splendid job designing Vega, one that would eventually win him an award for design innovations at the great Oslo exhibition of 1898. Our surveyor once commented, “Vega’s frames are more reminiscent of a naval man of war from the early 1800’s than a merchant ship.” Those frame sets consist of between 4 and 6 grown oak ribs tightly trunnelled and bolted together with only enough room between them for ventilation. 130 years later Vega is among the select few officially classified "Historic Vessel", a long way from the dilapidated state we discovered her in. Vega 1892 is a small “Mom & Pop” charity that operates on a purely volunteer basis. A large group of friends, who want to make a difference but wish their assistance to go directly into the hands of those who need it most, donate the tools and supplies we deliver each year based on lists given to us by the teachers and health workers we assist. Meggi and I volunteer ourselves and Vega, since that is all we have. There are no big companies throwing money at us. In many ways we are like a glorified DHL, delivering what we receive each year, or purchase with funds donated by friends. Our mission has always been simple and straight forward. We cannot save the world but we can make one small part of it a little bit better. Indonesia is a nation with over 17,500 islands. Many of the smallest islands have fallen through society’s cracks and been neglected, or are so difficult to access it is impractical for government to support them. Those are the forgotten people we have assisted for almost two decades. Every year we sail our 130-year-old wooden boat almost 6,000 miles to make those deliveries. For the past 20 years, until COVID struck, Vega delivered roughly 20 tons of new educational and medical supplies annually to remote island communities in Eastern Indonesia and East Timor supporting 22 rural schools, 122 midwives and 18 health posts. Some of those communities are so remote that when we leave they do not see another outside face until we return. The supplies we bring help save lives and improve education for the children on these remote islands. You might enjoy spending a few minutes exploring our website to discover more about our work. What we accomplish on microscopic budgets will amaze you. https://vega1892.com AuthorShane Granger is the captain and owner of Historic Vessel Vega. 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!
|
AuthorThis blog is written by Hudson River Maritime Museum staff, volunteers and guest contributors. Archives
March 2024
Categories
All
|
Hudson River Maritime Museum
50 Rondout Landing Kingston, NY 12401 845-338-0071 fax: 845-338-0583 info@hrmm.org The Hudson River Maritime Museum is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization dedicated to the preservation and interpretation of the maritime history of the Hudson River, its tributaries, and related industries. |
Members Matter!Become a member and receive benefits like unlimited free museum admission, discounts on classes, programs, and in the museum store, plus invitations to members-only events.
|
Support EducationThe Hudson River Maritime Museum receives no federal, state, or municipal funding except through competitive, project-based grants. Your donation helps support our mission of education and preservation.
|