Bark TRAJAN Discovered

Sailing Bark Trajan

The Sinking and Discovery of A 19th Century Lime Carrier

On December 5th 2008 the discovery and identification of the shipwreck Trajan in Newport Harbor,Rhode Island was the culmination of luck, perseverance and research by Divers/Maritime Historians John Stanford and Mark Munro.
The Trajan was a Bark rigged sailing vessel and took her name from the Roman Emperor Trajan. She was built in 1856 at the yard of H. Merrian in Rockland Maine, had a length of 125’, a beam of 29’ 6” and a draft of 13’. From 1856 to 1864 she made several passages between New York, Cuba, and England. By 1867 she was engaged in the Rockland Lime Trade under the command of Captain W. Sleeper. At the time of the Trajan’s loss, August 17, 1867, she was on a voyage from Rockland Maine to New Orleans carrying a cargo of lime. Lime was a dangerous cargo: if it got wet, a chemical reaction created heat and sometimes caused the schooner to catch fire. This was to be Trajan’s undoing.

Though no photos of the Trajan are known to exist, she was similar to this 1860s freight bark. For the rest of the story Click Here.

Isaac H. Evans

My Latest Digital Painting Isaac H. Evans Catalog # 2039

The Isaac H. Evans was built in Mauricetown, New Jersey in 1886, on the banks of the Maurice River that leads into Delaware Bay. She will be celebrating her 121st anniversary this year! She was built when oystering was the biggest fishing industry in America and spent many years working the Delaware Bay before she came to Maine for a new life. In 1971 she was brought from New Jersey to the old Percy and Small Shipyard which is now part of the Bath Maritime Museum. By 1973 she was completely rebuilt and adapted for her new industry. Today she is carrying guests instead of oysters out of Rockland , Maine.

Windjammer News December 2008

Maine Windjammer Association December 2008 Newsletter

BELEM

Built in 1896, and named for the Brazilian seaport at the mouth of the Amazon, the Belem originally shipped chocolate in its hold from Brazil to France. At 170ft its first shipment of wine from Languedoc France to Dublin this February carried 60,000 bottles of fine wine saving an estimated 140 grams of carbon per bottle. On each of the bottles is a stylized sticker reading “Carried by sailing ship, a better deal for the planet.”

Windjammer Cooking

WINDJAMMER COOKING: Great Recipes from Maine’s Windjammer Fleet

By Jean Kerr and Spencer Smith

Cover Photo by: Fred LeBlanc

For the rest of the story CLICK HERE.

ADIRONDACK II

Catalog Number: 2032

Built in 1999 by Scarano Boat Building, Adirondack II is reminiscent of the classic turn of the century pilot schooner. Like the Pilot Schooners that worked the coast throughout the 19th century she is a wooden hulled traditionally rigged schooner and she is a working boat known for her elegant profile and surprising speed.

For the rest of the story CLICK HERE.

WIND The Movie

The sailing action was so great I just had to post this video.

Schooner Sultana

The original Sultana was built in Boston in 1767, as a Revenue Cutter. It’s mission was to inspect the holds of cargo ships and ferret out smugglers, who were looking to avoid paying King George’s taxes under the Townshend Acts (1767). Goods imported into America, notably lead, paper, glass and tea (think the Boston tea party), were taxed. The result, colonialists were outraged. During the Sultana’s four years of patrolling off the U.S. coast, and after searching hundreds of merchant vessels, she had only made one smuggling seizure. Today a replica of the schooner Sultana sails out of its historic home port of Chestertown, Maryland. For the rest of the story Click Here.

Stad Amsterdam

The Stad Amsterdam - a clipper, built along the classical lines of this type of ship but equipped with the latest technology. The Stad was the result of a joint project between the city of Amsterdam (the Netherlands) and the human resources company, Ranstad. They built a ship for chartering, which at the same time would become a training center for young, unemployed people, to enable them to learn a new profession at sea.

Collector Prints December Special

Collector Fine Art Prints: December Special

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Asgard II to be raised?

According to recent reports in the Irish press, a plan to raise Asgard II will be presented to the Irish cabinet before Christmas. The defence minister, hopes to commission a salvage company to raise the government’s training vessel so that it can be restored. If a deal is agreed, the company could raise the vessel from the seabed as early as next spring.
A survey of the sunken ship by a Remotely Operated Vehicle in September showed that Asgard II is largely intact and could be saved, although it lies under 80 metres of water 31 km off the French coast in the Bay of Biscay.

Brigantine Soren Larson

The South Pacific based brigantine Soren Larsen works from her home port of Auckland during Dec-March and departs for deep ocean voyaging and tropical Pacific cruising March to November. Soren Larsen specialises in adventure sail training cruises in the tropical islands of the South Pacific and New Zealand’s Hauraki Gulf and the Bay of Islands - for people of all ages. For the rest of the story CLICK HERE.

Spirit of New Zealand

The "Spirit Of New Zealand" is a steel built barquentine, square rigged on the foremast. She is operated by the Auckland based Spirit of Adventure Trust Board and operates as a Sail training vessel for Secondary School students and handicapped people from throughout New Zealand.

Teenage trainees line the yards on the Spirit of New Zealand. The trust that operates the tall ship has been named the world's best sailing training organisation.

Sail Trainee Recruit Video

In preparation for the Tall Ships Atlantic Challenge 2009 a campaign to encourage younger sail trainee crews to get more involved in the Tall Ships Races, Sail Training International launched a new video at their recent Annual Conference.

Texas Tall Ship Elissa

ELISSA is the Official Tall Ship of Texas. ELISSA is a three-masted, iron-hulled sailing ship built in 1877 in Aberdeen, Scotland by Alexander Hall & Company. She carries nineteen sails covering over one-quarter of an acre in surface area. From her stern to the tip of her jibboom she measures 205 feet. Her height is 99 feet, 9 inches at the main mast and she displaces about 620 tons. Unlike some tall ships of today ELISSA is not a replica, but a survivor. She was built during the decline of the "Age of Sail", to fill a niche in maritime commerce. Over her 90-year commercial history, she carried a variety of cargos to ports around the world, for a succession of owners. The story of ELISSA's discovery and restoration is nothing short of miraculous, and is beautifully retold in photographs and two video presentations at the Texas Seaport Museum. Today ELISSA is much more than an artifact from a bygone era. She is a fully-functional vessel that continues to sail annually during sea trials in the Gulf of Mexico. For the Rest of the story CLICK HERE.

Barque Kaskelot

Kaskelot was built in Denmark in 1948 and first earned her living carrying supplies to the remote East Greenland coast and later as a fisheries support vessel. Brought to the UK in 1981 she was then re-designed and re-rigged into a three-masted barque. Kaskelot is the largest wooden-hulled vessel in the world. With most of her income coming from a host of film credits, Kaskelot is also available for sail training, management training and corporate hospitality.

Windjammer News November 2008

Maine Windjammer Association November 2008 Newsletter

Cape Horn , Part 2

Tall Ship of Rhode Island

NEWPORT, R.I.—Rhode Island has a new symbol of its maritime heritage. Gov. Don Carcieri on Wednesday designated the Oliver Hazard Perry as the state’s tall ship during a ceremony at Bowen’s Wharf. The vessel is a three-masted replica of a 19th century warship. It will be operated as a working sail training ship. The ship is named for Newport naval hero Commodore Oliver Hazard Perry. It is scheduled to be commissioned in 2010.

Collector Prints November Special

Collector Fine Art Prints: November Special
" Block " 11x11 archival pigment ink print on
media, matted 16x16 (includes shipping and handling) $ 39.00
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Underwater Galapagos

7 minutes of underwater scenes and creatures, shot in the Galapagos
September 2008 by Darek Sepiolo

Clipper Ship Cards

Clipper ship trade cards are cards that were issued by dispatch lines to advertise specific voyages of clipper ships from one port (usually New York or Boston) to another (usually San Francisco). They were distributed primarily during the late 1850s and early 1860s.
During the pre-Gold Rush era, clipper ship sailings were advertised primarily by brief, unadorned announcements in newspapers. Once gold fever struck, posters and broadsides were the printed media most often used. For the rest of the story Click Here.

Queen of the Grand Banks Schooners

Sailing on Penobscot Bay, Part 3

Schooner Victory Chimes being pushed.
Ketch Angelique underway.

Angelique's Capt. Mike McHenry watches an approaching storm.

Maine windjammer fleet anchored at WoodenBoat.

Schooner Heritage sail away.

A Downeast Lobster bake.

Three masted schooner Victory Chimes.

Cape Horn, Part 1

GRACE QUAN

Grace Quan: A San Francisco Bay Shrimp Junk.
The Grace Quan is a 43-foot replica of a San Francisco Bay Chinese shrimp fishing junk.
Between 1860 and 1910, these were the workhorses of the Bay Area's Chinese–owned dried shrimp industry. The San Francisco Bay Shrimp Junks closely resembled vessels from the fishermen's home waters in Guangdong Province, China.

The Grace Quan and a historic image of a shrimp junk taken in the 1880s. Both photos show the San Francisco waterfront in the background.

Windjammer News October 2008

Maine Windjammer Association October 2008 Newsletter

Zanzibar Dhow

A dhow is a traditional Arab sailing vessel with one or more lateen sails. They are primarily used along the coasts of the Arabian Peninsula, Pakistan, India, and East Africa. Larger dhows have crews of approximately thirty, while smaller dhows typically have crews of around twelve.

Emptied Oceans

Sailing on Penobscot Bay, Part 2

Getting underway
Hoist the Boats
Raise the Sails



Maine Windjammer Ketch ANGELIQUE

Collector Prints October Special

Collector Fine Art Prints: October Special

" USS CONSTITUTION " 11x16 archival pigment ink print on

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Tristan Jones

Sloop GJOA & Roald Amundsen

Gjøa was the first vessel to transit the Northwest Passage. With a crew of six, Roald Amundsen traversed the passage in a three year journey, finishing in 1906. The 70 ft square-sterned 48 ton sloop was built by Kurt Johannesson Skaale in Rosendal, Norway in 1872, the same year Amundsen was born. For the next 28 years she served as a herring fishing vessel, before Amundsen bought her in 1900, for his forthcoming expedition to the Arctic Ocean . Gjøa was much smaller than vessels used by other Arctic expeditions, but Amundsen intended to live off the limited resources of the land and sea through which he was to travel, and reasoned that the land could sustain only a tiny crew. Roald Amundsen became the first European explorer to navigate through the Northwest Passage (1903-1906), and went on to become the first man to reach the South Pole (1911). For the rest of the story CLICK HERE.

Sailing on Penobscot Bay, Part 1

I recently returned from a photo assignment cruising Penobscot Bay, Downeast Maine aboard one of the Maine Windjammers, the ketch ANGELIQUE. This is part 1 of a multi-part photo essay from that week sailing with the Maine Windjammer Fleet. Bowsprit and boat of the ANGELIQUE docked in her homeport Camden, Maine

Schooners GRACE BAILEY & MERCANTILE in Camden, Maine.

Ketch ANGELIQUE underway and three-masted schooner VICTORY CHIMES off the starboard bow.

Restoration of the Barque James Craig

BARQUE JAMES CRAIG for the rest of the story Click Here

Olin Stephens

Olin J. Stephens II, America's preeminent yacht designer of the 20th century -- died September 13, 2008 -- five months to the day after celebrating his 100th birthday. Widely recognized as the most respected, admired and accomplished yacht designer of the 20th century, Stephens once said, "
Stephens' name is most often associated with the prestigious America's Cup Race. In 1937, he collaborated with W. Starling Burgess to design the Super-J, Ranger, which was later selected to defend the Cup after only seven races. Sparkman & Stephens went on to design many of the most revered 12-Meters that raced for the Cup, including Columbia, Constellation, Freedom, Intrepid and Courageous. In 1993, Stephens' and his winning designs were honored when he was inducted into the America's Cup Hall of Fame.

ASGARD II Sinks

Ireland's majestic sail-training ship, the Asgard II, sank mysteriously off the French coast Thursday, but its 25 passengers and crew escaped safely on lifeboats. At the time of its sinking, the Asgard II was nearing the end of a weeklong voyage from Falmouth, southwest England, to the French port of La Rochelle. Its "trainees" were aged from 16 to their mid-60s and included 18 Irish people, a Briton and an Italian. A former captain of the Asgard II, Frank Traynor, said the ship was built to survive hurricane-strength winds. He suspected that a faulty "sea cock" — one of dozens of valves designed to permit sea water to enter the ship to cool engines or flush toilets — was to blame.

Petition to Save FALL OF CLYDE

Please Sign this Petition to save the FALL OF CLYDE

Windjammer News September 2008

Maine Windjammer Association September 2008 Newsletter

Worlds Longest Tall Ship

Tall Ship LIBERTAD

La Libertad, the longest tall ship in the world with the three masts of reaching some 160 feet off the water. At 356 feet, the ship is longer than a football field, carrying 180 cadets from the Argentinean Navy is the country's official sail training vessel. She was built in the 1950s at the Rio Santiago shipyards near Buenos Aires, Argentina her maiden voyage was in 1962. In 1966 she established the world record for transatlantic crossing (only sail navigation) between Cape Race (Canada) and Dursey Island (Ireland), 1,741.4 nautical miles in 6 days and 4 hours.

Collector Prints September Special

Collector Fine Art Prints: September Special " VIRGINIA "

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24th Annual Great Schooner Race

VIRGINIA winner of the 24th Annual Mayor's Race at the Gloucester Schooner Festival .

Rounding a mark schooners ALABAMA, VIRGINIA with AMERICAN EAGLE leading.
Schooners LETTIE G. HOWARD, ROSEWAY and LIBERTY CLIPPER.
For the 24th Annual Great Schooner Race Results CLICK HERE.

Schooner Grace Bailey

Schooner GRACE BAILEY ( catalog #2018 )

The Grace Bailey was built in 1882 by Oliver Perry Smith in Patchogue, New York. Throughout her long history she carried a wide variety of cargoes including lumber, oysters, and granite, It is likely that she carried granite from Crotch Island, Maine to New York City for the Post Office and Grand Central Station. Bought her in 1940 by Captain Frank Swift of Camden,Maine and began her career as a windjammer in the passenger trade. For the rest of the story Click Here.

7 Masted Thomas Lawson

The Thomas W. Lawson was a seven-masted, steel-hulled schooner originally planned for the Pacific trade, but then used primarily to haul coal and oil along the East Coast of the United States. Built in 1902, the ship holds the distinction of being the largest schooner and the largest pure sailing ship (without an auxiliary engine) ever built.
The Thomas W. Lawson was destroyed near the Scilly Isles Hellweather's Reef, in a storm on December 14, 1907, killing all but two of her 18 crew including the pilot who was already aboard ship.