A Thames sailing barge is a type of commercial sailing boat once common on the River Thames in London. The flat-bottomedbarges, with a shallow draught and leeboards, were perfectly adapted to the Thames Estuary, with its shallow waters and narrow tributary rivers. The larger barges were seaworthy vessels, and were the largest sailing vessel to be handled by just two men. The average size was about 120 tons and they carried 4,200 square feet (390 m²) of canvas sail in six working sails. The mainsail was loose-footed and set up with a sprit, and was brailed to the mast when not needed. It is sheeted to a horse, as is the foresail; they require no attention when tacking. The foresail is often held back by the mate to help the vessel come about more swiftly. read more…
The Sea Cloud Spirit is a three-masted full-rigged ship built as a cruise ship by the Hamburg shipping company Sea Cloud Cruises. The ship was ordered on March 22, 2007 from the SpanishVigo. The ship’s keel was laid on July 18, 2008. In the summer of 2010, the shipyard went bankrupt. The further construction of the ship was then initially set. read more…
The BAP Unión is a training ship of the Peruvian Navy. It is a four-masted steel hulled full rigged barque built in 2014 by Shipyard Marine Industrial Services of Peru, known as SIMA. In June 2015, the ship received its masts and propeller; and the interior fitout began in charge of contractors Acopafi and MO Contract. Also, according to an agreement between SIMA and Navantia, the ship was provided with an “Integrated Control System Platform, Navigation and Communications”. The ship’s name honors a Peruvian corvette that took part in the first stage of the 1879-1883 War of the Pacific as part of a naval squadron under the command of Miguel Grau, the most important hero of the Peruvian Navy. Like other similar ships, the Unión has been conceived not only for training purposes, but also to be a sailing ambassador for her home country. Due to its features and dimensions, it has been considered (as of the date it was commissioned) as the largest sail vessel in Latin America. read more…
Star of India was built in 1863 at Ramsey in the Isle of Man as Euterpe, a full-rigged iron windjammer ship. After a full career sailing from Great Britain to India and New Zealand, she became a salmon hauler on the Alaska to California route. Retired in 1926, she was not restored until 1962–63 and is now a seaworthy museum ship home-ported at the Maritime Museum of San Diego in San Diego. She is the oldest ship still sailing regularly and also the oldest iron-hulled merchant ship still floating. The ship is both a California Historical Landmark and United States National Historic Landmark. Named for Euterpe, the muse of music, she was built for the Indian jute trade of Wakefield Nash & Company of Liverpool. She was launched on 14 November 1863, and assigned British Registration No.47617 and signal VPJK. read more…
