Balclutha a Cape Horner

BALCLUTHA, also known as Star of Alaska, Pacific Queen, is a steel-hulled full rigged ship that was built for the Cape Horn trade. She is the only square rigged ship left in the San Francisco Bay area and is representative of several different commercial ventures, including lumber, salmon, and grain. She is a U.S. National Historic Landmark and is currently preserved at the San Francisco Maritime National Historical Park in San Francisco, California.
The Balclutha, built in Scotland in 1886, has graced the San Francisco waterfront for more than 50 years as the centerpiece of the San Francisco Maritime National Historical Park. The sailing ship Balclutha - a classic in the truest sense of the word - is in an Alameda shipyard getting an overhaul that will add years to its life.
The Balclutha's sturdy steel construction allowed the vessel to survive 17 trips around Cape Horn at the tip of South America

Schooner WAWONA

The once-elegant schooner WAWONA ( three massted 165' ) will embark on its last voyage Monday, leaving its South Lake Union moorage for a nearby dry dock to be dismantled, Seattle, Washington. A badly deteriorated Wawona, once powered by four huge sails in Pacific coastal waters, has been moored for nearly 30 years near the Armory, awaiting a financial rescue that never came. Public-private fundraising efforts have been ongoing for decades in hopes of saving one of the largest three-masted schooners ever built on the West Coast. The Wawona once caught more cod than any other member of a 400-member Pacific schooner fleet -- and is now one of only two surviving fleet members. The Wawona's sister ship, the C.A. Thayer in San Francisco, years ago received federal, local and nonprofit support to undergo a historic renovation estimated to cost $13 million. But such funding did not come the Wawona's way, in some ways hurt by the federally funded effort in San Francisco.

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New Antique Collection

My New Antique Collection slide show

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Windjammer News February

Mainr Windjammer Association February 2009 Newsletter

ELISSA Sailmaker

Discovery HMS Victory

Clipper Red Jacket

Rockland Maine-built clipper ship Red Jacket. Well-known for its fast 13-day, 1-hour passage from New York to Liverpool, in 1854.

Poster advertising the clipper ship Red Jacket, reporting its fast voyage from Liverpool to Melbourne, Australia in a record 69 days. Red Jacket was built in Rockland, Maine in 1853.

New Nautical Collection

My new NAUTICAL COLLECTION slide show

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Treasure Quest

The story behind a Florida marine archeology group’s discovery and exploration of the long-sought shipwreck of British warship HMS Victory, lost with all hands in a storm in 1744, is the subject of the documentary “Treasure Quest” scheduled to air 10 p.m. (ET) Thursday on The Discovery Channel.

1744 HMS Victory Discovered

This cannon was found by Odyssey Marine Exploration on the HMS Victory shipwreck in the English Channel.

Admiral Balchin's HMS Victory Discovered
Lost Without a Trace in 1744 - Mystery Solved

Odyssey Marine Exploration pioneers in the field of deep-ocean shipwreck exploration, has discovered the long-sought shipwreck of HMS Victory lost in 1744, solving one of the greatest mysteries in naval history.

The direct predecessor and inspiration behind Nelson’s flagship, Balchin’s Victory was the mightiest and technically most advanced vessel of her age. She sank during a storm in 1744 with all hands and was the last Royal Navy warship to be lost at sea with a complete complement of bronze cannon. Two of the greatest admirals in English history, Sir John Norris and Sir John Balchin, called her their flagship. Research indicates that Balchin’s Victory sank with a substantial amount of gold and silver specie aboard.

Having discovered it in deep water far from where history says it was lost has served to exonerate Admiral Balchin and his officers from the accusation of having let the ship run aground on the Casquets due to faulty navigation.

Maritime Heritage Paul Palmer

Built in Waldoboro, Maine, the five-masted, 276-foot schooner Paul Palmer carried bulk cargos throughout the East Coast, Gulf of Mexico, and Caribbean. During its 12-year career, the schooner Paul Palmer transported 280,000 tons of coal, as well as phosphate, railroad ties, ice, and sugar. After unloading coal in Bangor, Paul Palmer departed Rockport, Maine, for Virginia on Friday, June 13, 1913. Sailing south, the schooner caught fire off Cape Cod. Several vessels responded to the stricken schooner, but were unable to extinguish the fire. The schooner’s crew abandoned ship and was picked up by a waiting fishing boat. The Paul Palmer burned to its waterline and then sank. The Paul Palmer was the only five-masted East Coast schooner to be lost to fire.