The sail training ship Irving Johnson

1 July 2018 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: Greater Los Angeles Area, Tall ships, Yacht of the Month Reading Time:  10 minutes

2010 Festival of Sail © flickr.com - Port of San Diego/cc-by-2.0

2010 Festival of Sail © flickr.com – Port of San Diego/cc-by-2.0

The twin brigantines Irving Johnson and Exy Johnson are the flagships of the Los Angeles Maritime Institute‘s (LAMI) TopSail Youth Program, a non-profit organization that helps at-risk youth learn discipline and teamwork through sailing. They join LAMI’s topsail schooners the Swift of Ipswich and the Bill of Rights. The boats are named for sail training pioneers Irving and Electa “Exy” Johnson. The brigantines are based on original plans designed in the 1930s by Henry Gruber but never built. Noted yacht designer W.I.B. Crealock was brought in to adapt the plans to meet modern Coast Guard regulations and to fit LAMI’s own stringent specifications based on their years of trial and experience. Master shipbuilder Allan Rawl was retained to oversee the project.   read more…

The Dar Pomorza

1 July 2016 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: Tall ships, Museums, Exhibitions, Yacht of the Month Reading Time:  10 minutes

© Artur Szeja/cc-by-2.5-pl

© Artur Szeja/cc-by-2.5-pl

The Dar Pomorza is a Polish full-rigged sailing ship built in 1909 which is preserved in Gdynia as a museum ship. She has served as a sail training ship in Germany, France, and Poland.
The ship was built in 1909 by Blohm & Voss and dedicated in 1910 by Deutscher Schulschiff-Verein as the German training ship Prinzess Eitel Friedrich, named for Duchess Sophia Charlotte of Oldenburg, wife of Prince Eitel Friedrich of Prussia. Her yard no. was 202, her hull was launched on the 12th of October 1909. In 1920, following World War I, the ship was taken as war-reparations by Great Britain, then brought to France, where she was assigned to the seamen’s school at Saint-Nazaire under the name “Colbert”. The ship was then given to Baron de Forrest as compensation for the loss of a sailing yacht. Due to the high costs of refurbishing the ship, she was sold in 1929.   read more…

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