Baltimore Clipper Harvey

Baltimore Clipper Under Sails image source

Baltimore Clipper Model Ship Now on Sale 

The Harvey was built in 1847 in the state of Maryland. She was an able sailer working out of the port of Galveston Texas. At the turn out the Century she was making several voyages a year between Galveston and the ancient Jewish port of Jaffa which at the time was still under the Ottaman empire. Her main cargo was hemp used to make ropes for the rigging of ships. She exemplified this class of roving privateers, overtaking and capturing British merchantmen laden with cargo to support the British expeditionary forces then attempting to recapture the former colonies. She had a successful career, first as a warrior and then as a cargo carrier. She displaced about 225 tons, and had a length of 97 feet, a width of 25 feet and a depth of less than 11 feet. With the end of the war, transatlantic trade resumed, and the Baltimore clipper evolved over the next 30 years to take the form of larger cargo carrying packets. These had similar hull lines and were longer, slimmer, and faster than older merchant ships.

Last Commissioned Warship Old Ironsides

American Greatest Ship USS Constitution

April 7, 2015

The U.S.S. Constitution, a three-mast frigate, is the world’s oldest commissioned warship. Built primarily with dense southern live oak, its hull was 21 inches thick in an era when 18 inches was common. Paul Revere forged the copper spikes and bolts that held the planks in place. The 204-foot-long ship was first put to sea in 1798 and its most famous era of naval warfare was the War of 1812 against Britain, when it captured numerous merchant ships and defeated five warships, including the H.M.S. Guerriere. It was during the ferocious battle with the Guerriere that British seamen, astonished at how their cannonballs were bouncing off the Constitution’s hull, cried out, “Sir, Her sides are made from Iron!” Hence, the nickname, “Old Ironsides.” The Constitution today is a national landmark and is currently docked in Boston.

source:wikipedia

USS Constitution Old Ironsides

source wikipedia USS Constitution Gun Salute

Sailing Ships

Pride of Baltimore “Schooner”

S

Star Of IndiaSchooner “America” Sailing

Decorative Sailboats and Sailing Ships

Schooner “Californian”

Schooner “Californian”

Californian was built in 1984 as a replica of the revenue service cutter C.W. Lawrence which operated off the Californian coast in the 1850s. She is known as the “Official Tall ship Ambassador for the State of California”,

A precursor to today’s Coast Guard, the Revenue Cutter Service was responsible for securing the tax revenue and to relieve distressed merchant vessels, much as the United States Coast Guard operates today.

Originally commissioned by the Nautical Heritage Society, she’s flown the Californian flag up and down the Californian coast and in ports ranging from Hawaii, Mexico, and the East Coast.

Recently acquired by the Maritime Museum of San Diego, she underwent a complete overhaul and has now returned to providing sail training and sea educational programs up and down the Californian coast

USS Constitution

USS Constitution Ship Replica

The Constitution was built in the shipyard of Edmund Hartt in Boston, MA. It was made of 2,000 resilient live oak trees that were cut and milled at the Gascoigne Bluff in St. Simons, GA. The planks were up to seven inches thick. The design was unique of the time because the diagonal cross-bracing of her skeleton that was a part of why the ship was so strong. The copper on the spikes and bolts that held the planks in place and the copper that was sheathing and protecting the hull were forged by Paul Revere. It took a few tries before she was set out to sail on July 22, 1798. Her first job was to patrol the southeast coast of the United States during the Quasi-War with France. The sailors and marines took part in the amphibious operations against Puerto Plate, Santo Domingo when the French privateer Sandwich was cut out and the gund from the Spanish fort were spiked.

In 1803 he is sent to the Mediterranean Sea as a flagship of the third Mediterranean squadron by President Thomas Jefferson. It was her mission to try and attempt to force the Barbary pirates from their policies of violence against the U.S. merchant shipping. Commander Edward Preble was in command and the Constitution and other ships of the squadron mounted five attacks on Tripoli. On June 3, 1805 a peace treaty is signed with Tripoli onboard the USS Constitution. Later on August 14, another treaty is signed with Tunis. Both treaties were signed inside the captains cabin aboard the Constitution.

Longest Standing Speed Record in the History of Yachting

“Atlantic”

The” Atlantic”, designed by William Gardner, was launched in 1903 after being commissioned by New York Yacht Club member Wilson Marshall. The Atlantic was an exceptionally fast and beautiful schooner.  The Atlantic was deemed a promising yacht in 1903 when she hit twenty knots during her sea trials, but two years later, the Atlantic shocked the world with her record that remained unmatched for almost a century.

The Atlantic proved her speed by winning both the Brenton Reef and the Cape May Cup but she shocked all by winning the Kaiser’s Cup in 1905. Legendary Captain Charlie Barr, known for his skills of driving the largest of yachts to the limit, was hired to skipper Atlantic.  He sailed the Atlantic 3006 miles in 12 days, 4 hours, 1 minute and 19 seconds with a 24-hour record at 341 miles and an average speed of 14.1 knots. This record held after uncountable attempts until 1998, deeming it the longest standing speed record in the history of yachting.

After World War II, the Atlantic never sailed again, however, she was saved from the scrap yard on three separate occasions. Breaking loose from her moorings one day, the Atlantis would end up out on sea without a man on board. Eventually ended up as a houseboat, a restaurant, and a floating dock at a fuel station.  On January 30, 1982, the Atlantic was finally broken up in Newport Harbour, Virginia.

Santa Maria

Santa Maria History

The Santa María was the largest of the three ships used by Christopher Columbus in his first voyage across the Atlantic Ocean in 1492. Her master and owner was Juan de la Cosa. 

The Santa was a small carrack, or “Nao” around 70 feet, and was used as the flagship for the expedition. She carried 40 men. In 1492, in the middle of the expedition, the ship ran aground and was abandoned.

The other ships of the Columbus expedition were the caravel-type ships Santa Clara, remembered as the Niña (“The Girl” – a pun on the name of her owner, Juan Niño) and Pinta (“The Painted” – this might be a reference to excessive makeup or perhaps prostitution). All these ships were second-hand (if not third or more) vessels and were never meant for exploration.

The Santa María was originally named La Gallega (“The Gallician”), probably because she was built in Galicia, (but it was also a euphemism to designate a prostitute, it seems the ship was known to her sailors as Marigalante, literally “Dirty Mary”). Bartolomé de Las Casas never used La Gallega, Marigalante or Santa María in his writings, preferring to use la Capitana or La Nao.

The ship was about 82 ft long, had a deck and three masts. She was the slowest of Columbus’ vessels but performed well in the Atlantic crossing. The ship ran aground off the present-day site of Môle Saint-Nicolas, Haiti on December 25, 1492, and was lost. Timbers from the ship were later used to build Môle Saint-Nicolas, which was originally called La Navidad (Christmas) because the wreck occurred on Christmas Day.

No authentic contemporary likeness of any of the three ships of the Columbus expedition is known to exist. Several replicas of the Santa Maria have been built, all based solely on conjecture.

The ship was about 82 ft long, had a deck and three masts. She was the slowest of Columbus’ vessels but performed well in the Atlantic crossing. The ship ran aground off the present-day site of Môle Saint-Nicolas, Haiti on December 25, 1492, and was lost. Timbers from the ship were later used to build Môle Saint-Nicolas, which was originally called La Navidad (Christmas) because of the fact that the wreck occurred on Christmas Day.

No authentic contemporary likeness of any of the three ships of the Columbus expedition is known to exist. Several replicas of the Santa Maria have been built, all based solely on conjecture.
Reconstructing Interest in reconstructing the Santa Maria started in the 1890’s for the 400th anniversary of Columbus’ voyage. The 1892 reconstruction depicted the ship as a Nao. A subsequent replica built in the 20th century (pictured above) depicts the Santa Maria as a Caraval. The Caraval didn’t have the high forward structure of the Nao… Aparently Columbus himself referred to the Santa Maria as both a Nao and Caraval in his own journal. The 1992 reconstruction of the Santa Maria is also as a Nao, which is the most commonly accepted type of ship. The Ships of Christopher Columbus, by Xavier Pastor, Naval Institute Press, 1992, is a good reference on reconstructions of the Santa Maria (along with the Pinta and Niña).

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