Ships from the Age of Sail and Steam

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Abner Coburn: Down Easter; Length: 223 ft; Beam: 43 ft; Draft: 26 ft; 1878 grt; Bath Maine, United States; 1882 The three-masted Down Easter Abner Coburn was named after the Governor of Maine from 1863 to 1864. She sailed mainly on the trade routes between the U.S. East Coast and the Orient but also sailed between New York and San Francisco, her San Francisco registry clearly visible on her stern in the image shown below. She was burnt for her metal fittings and fastenings in the late 1920's. Courtesy of Bob North Click here for a much larger version.
Adler: Bark; 463 tons; Crew: 17; Bremerhafen, Germany; 1843 The Bark Adler sailed between Bergen (Norway) and Quebec (Canada) with passengers from 1862 to 1867 when she stranded on the St. Lawrence.
Advance: Brigantine; Length: 88 ft; Beam: 21 ft 10 in; Depth in Hold: 8 ft 5 in; 144 tons; Comp.: 17; New Kent, Maryland, United States; 1847 Advance was the flagship of the first US arctic expedition and search for HMS Erebus and HMS Terror in 1850.
Adventure: HMS Adventure; Collier; ship-rigged; 336 tons; Crew: 81; Whitby, England; 1771 The HMS Adventure was one of two ships, together with HMS Resolution, taking part in James Cook's second voyage to find 'Terra Australis'.
Adventure Galley: Three-masted Galley; Length: 124 ft; 285 bm tons; Crew: 150; Armament: 34x12pdr; Castle Yard, Deptford, England; 1695 The Adventure Galley was the ship William Kidd set out on in 1696 to capture French and Spanish prizes as an English privateer. Kidd, who ended up being hung as a pirate, is most known for his capture of the Quedah Merchant, laden with expensive textiles, a very rich prize. The Adventure Galley, which was not kept in good order by its crew and captain, sank near the island of Saint Marie off the northeast coast of Madagascar in 1698.
Agamemnon:: HMS Agamemnon; Third Rate; Length: 160 ft; Beam: 45 ft; 1,348 bm tons; Comp.: 520; Armament: 26x24pdr, 26x12pdr, 12x6pdr; Henry Adams, Buckler's Hard, England; 1781 HMS Agamemnon had an illustrious career in the British Navy and served in the Baltic, English Channel, Mediterranean, North Sea, off Portugal, around South America and the West Indies. Nelson decribed her: 'Without exeption the finest 64 in the service'. She was lost on June 20th, 1809 when she struck a reef while seeking shelter from a storm in the River Plate, a large estuary between Argentina and Uruguay.
Alabama: CSS Alabama; Bark with a single-screw auxiliary direct-acting 600 ihp engine; Length: 67.1 m; Beam: 9.7 m; Depth in hold: 4.3 m; 1,050 tons; Comp.: 148; Armament: 1x110pdr, 1x68pdr, 6x32pdr; Birkenhead, England; 1862 Captain Raphael Semmes of the CSS Alabama was the confederate privateer with the most Union victims to his credit, a total of 71. The CSS Alabama's privateering career came to an end on June 19th, 1864 when she went down valiantly in an engagement spectacle off Cherbourg France, against the USS Kearsage commanded by Captain Winslow.
Albemarle: HMS Albemarle; Second Rate; Armament: 90 guns; Harwich, England; 1680 The third British ship with the name Albemarle was rebuilt in 1704 and renamed Union in 1709.
Alma: Scow Schooner; Length: 59 ft; Beam: 22.6 ft; Depth of hold: 4 ft; 41 grt; Hunters Point, San Francisco Bay; 1891 Apart from her cross-planked bottom, Alma was a typical North-American scow schooner. After being dismasted in 1918 and used for different tasks than she was built for, Alma was bought in 1959 and restored by the State of California. She is part of the collection of the National Maritime Museum and is moored in San Francisco.
Amity: Ship; Length: 106 ft 6in; Beam: 28 ft 6 in; Depth of hold: 14 ft 3 in; 382 tons; New York, United States; 1816 Amity was a New York to Liverpool packet ship for the Black Ball Line from 1818 until 1824, when she was lost on Squam Beach, New Jersey.
Amsterdam: East Indiaman or VOC retour ship; Length: 48 m; 1,110 displacement tons; Comp.: 215, Armament: 8x12pdr, 16x8pdr, 8x4pdr, 10 swivel guns; Amsterdam, Netherlands; 1748 Built by the VOC for the long-distance spice-trade to the East Indies, Amsterdam was one of the largest. A full-scale replica, the Amsterdam II, was built and launched by the city of Amsterdam in 1989.
Antelope: Clipper; Length: 140 ft; Beam: 29 ft; Draft: 19 ft; 587 tons; Boston Massachusetts, United States; 1851 Antelope sailed on San Francisco and the Far East. Abandoned on August 6th 1858, when she struck Discovery Reef near the Paracel Islands in the South China Sea.
Arethusa: Schooner; Length: 38.8 m; Crew: 20; United States; 1907 The North-American fishing schooners of the early 20th century were the fastest and largest of their day, competition was intense. The Arethusa was so fast that she was used as a rum runner (smuggler) during the Prohibition.
Arkansas: CSS Arkansas; Ironclad; Length: 165 ft; Beam: 35 ft; Draft: 11.5 ft; Speed: 8 knots; 800 displacement tons; Comp.: 232; Armament: 10 Guns; Memphis, Tennessee, United States; 1862 Best known for its single-handed relieve of the blockade of Vicksburg by a Union fleet in 1862. She was scuttled when she broke down during a support mission near Baton Rouge, Louisiana.
Ark Royal: 690 tons; Armament: 38 guns; Deptford, England; 1587 The Ark Royal saw action as flagship of the English fleet during the Spanish Armada of July 1588. She was rebuilt in 1608, renamed Anne Royal and finally broken up in 1636, 49 years after coming off the docks.
Atalanta: Brig; Length: 107 ft; Beam: 26.8 ft; Draft: 15.5 ft; 140 kl; Norrkøping, Sweden; 1852 The Brig Atalanta was a typical passenger carrier transporting immigrants from Europe to the New World.
Avondster: Jaght; 250 tons burthen; Crew: 65; England; 1640 The Avondster (Evening Star), originally named Blessing and in service for 12 years with the British East India Company, was captured by the VOC in 1653 and renamed Avondster. She sank on the night of June 23, 1659, when she was loading cargo for India anchored at Black Fort, Galle (Sri Lanka). She slipped her anchor and drifted onto the rocks before anyone noticed (?).
Balclutha: Full-rigged Ship; Length Over All: 301 ft; Length Of Deck: 256.5 ft; Beam: 36.8 ft; Depth: 22.7 ft; 1689 grt; Crew: 26; Height of mainmast: 145 ft; Glasgow, Scotland; 1886 The steel hulled Balclutha started her career on the Europe to San Francisco grain trade, was renamed to Star of Alaska in 1905 while used as a salmon packet ship and renamed again in 1933 to Pacific Queen and used as a "movie-ship". Finally, in 1954, the San Francisco Maritime Museum purchased Pacific Queen and restored the vessel and her name. She was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1985 and is on display at the museum.
Batavia: East Indiaman or VOC retour ship; 600 tons; Comp. 300; Armament: 28 guns; Amsterdam, Netherlands; 1628 Batavia sailed from Texel, north of Amsterdam, in the company of 10 other ships on October 29, 1628. After rounding the 'Kaap de Goede Hoop' the VOC ships would sail 2800 miles east, then turn north/northeast for Batavia on Java. Captain Adriaen Jacobszoon miscalculated Batavia's position and underestimated her progress. She turned north too late and on June 4th 1629, Batavia ran aground and was wrecked on the Abrolhos off the west coast of Australia. A replica of the Batavia was built and launched at Lelystad, Netherlands in 1995.
Bear: SS Bear, USS Bear, SS Bear of Oakland, SS Arctic Bear; Steam screw assisted Barkentine; Length: 198 ft, 4 in; Beam: 29 ft, 9 in; Draft: 18 ft; 703 displacement tons; Comp.: 26; 3x6pdr rapid fire guns (1885); Linthouse, Goven, Scotland; 1874 Built as the sealing vessel SS Bear by Alexander Stephen and Sons Ltd, she operated for a decade in the annual sealing hunt. SS Bear was commissioned as the USS Bear on the 17th of March 1884. She was used in the rescue of Lieutenant A. W. Greeley and six other survivors of the arctic expedition marooned at Cape Sabine and rescued on the 22nd of June 1884. In April of the following year, she was decommissioned and transferred to the US revenue Cutter Service in which she had a long service. Sold to the City of Oakland for use as a museum vessel and renamed Bear of Oakland. After purchasing Bear and equipping her with a diesel engine, Rear Admiral Richard E. Byrd used her as a second vessel for his Antarctic Expedition of 1933-35. Sold in 1962 to Philadelphia as a museum vessel. She lost tow and foundered about 90 miles south of Cape Sable, Nova Scotia on the 19th of March 1963, while on the way to her new berth in Philadelphia.
Bee: HMS Bee; Gaff Topsail Schooner; Length: 79 ft; Beam: 15 ft; Draft: 5 ft; 30.5 displacement tons; Sail Area: 1,275 Square Feet; Nottawasaga, Canada; 1817 HMS Bee was one of the supply schooners, together with HMS Mosquito and HMS Wasp, stationed at the Penetanguishene Naval base from 1817 to 1831. HMS Bee was designed for duty on the Great Lakes and ferried goods and men between Nottawasaga and Penetanguishene with occasional trips to the Northwest in between.
Bellaventure: S.S. Bellaventure; Steel-hulled steam screw driven schooner-rigged two-masted vessel; Length: 241 ft; Beam: 36 ft; 1133 gross registered tons; 466 net registered tons; D&W Henderson & Co. Glasgow, Scotland; 1908 Registered in St. John's, Newfoundland, the Bellaventure was engaged in the sealhunt from 1909 to 1915. She was one of the vessels involved in the rescue of sealers from the SS Newfoundland having been left out on the ice in the 1914 Newfoundland sealing disaster. Sold to the Russian Government in 1917 and renamed Alexander Sibririakov, she made the first successful crossing of the Northern Sea Route in a single navigation without wintering. She was sunk during WWII by the German cruiser Admiral Scheer near Belucha Island on the 25th of August 1942.
Belle: Barque Longue; Length: 15.5 m; Beam: 4.3 m; 47 tons; Comp.: 26; Armament: 6 guns; Rochefort, France; 1684 Robert Cavalier Sieur de La Salle's flagship on his disastrous 1684 expedition to establish a French colony near the mouth of the Mississippi. Neither La Salle, nor his ship Belle would survive the unfortunate and plagued venture.
Belle Poule: La Belle Poule (The Beautiful Hen); Frigate; Length: 140 ft; Beam: 38 ft; 902 bm tons; Comp. 260; Armament: 26x12pdr, 4x6pdr; Bourdeaux, France; 1768 La Belle Poule fought the British 28 gun frigate Arethusa to a stalemate after a five hour battle on June 16th, 1778. Generally considered the first naval combat between French and British forces in the American War of Independence. She was captured by HMS Nonsuch on July 15, 1780. Sold out of British service in 1801.
Belleisle: HMS Belleisle; Third Rate; Comp.: 690; Armament: 74 guns; Rochefort, France; 1776 Named Lion when she was originally launched in Rochefort, she was renamed to HMS Belleisle when captured by the British on the 23th of June 1795 at the Battle of Groix. As a lead ship of the line crossing the French and Spanish line during the battle of Trafalgar in 1805, she was entirely dismasted and after the battle she was towed by the frigate Naiad to Gibraltar to be refitted. She was sold and broken up in Portsmouth in 1814.
Benjamin F. Packard: Down Easter; Length: 244.2 ft; Beam: 43.3 ft; Draft: 26.7ft; 2,076 grt; Bath Maine, United States; 1883 Used originally on the New York to San Francisco trade routes, she changed hands several times and ended up as an amusement park 'pirate ship' attraction in New York. Her aftercabin woodwork and interior furnishings were saved, restored and are currently on display at the Mystic Seaport Museum.
Beverwaart: 760 tons; Crew: 224; VOC Amsterdam Wharf, Netherlands; 1702 Beverwaard sailed from 1702 tot 1723 on several voyages between Texel and Batavia. She was laid up at Batavia in 1723.
Bluenose: Schooner; 285 displacement tons; Comp.: 25; Lunenburg, Nova Scotia; 1921 Bluenose was a Grand Banks schooner designed specifically to race. She was also a working vessel and spent the bulk of her career in the cod fisheries on the Grand Banks, racing only when fishing season was over. She won numerous races and after her loss the government of Nova Scotia had a replica of the original built; Bluenose II.
Bonaventure: S.S. Bonaventure; Steel-hulled steam screw driven sealing vessel; Length: 240.25 ft; Beam: 35.75 ft; 1118 gross registered tons; 461 net registered tons; Napier & Miller LTD. Old Kilpatrick, Strathclyde, Scotland; 1909 Registered in St. John's, Newfoundland, the Bonaventure was engaged in the sealhunt from 1909 to 1915. Sold to the Russian interests in 1916.
Bonhomme Richard: USS Bonhomme Richard; East Indiaman; Length: 152 ft; Beam: 40 ft; Draft: 19 ft; 998 tons; Comp. 380; Armament: 6x18pdr, 28x12pdr, 8x9pdr; France; 1775 Originally named Duc de Duras and built for the French East India Company. She was given on loan to the United States in 1779. Her new career with the US Navy was cut short when, on the 23rd of September 1779, she had her ferocious but victorious engagement with HMS Serapis. Badly damaged and on fire, she sank on the 25th.
Bounty: HMS Bounty ; 220 tons burthen; Comp. 46; Armament: 4x4pdr, 10 swivel guns; Hull, England; 1784 The story of the mutiny on the Bounty has inspired countless retellings, fictional accounts and movies. The mutiny took place off Tahiti on April 28, 1789, when 5 crew members, led by Fletcher Christian, seized the ship in a bloodless mutiny.
Boyd: West Indiaman ship; Length: 110 ft; Beam: 30 ft; Draft: 16 ft; 400 tons; Armament: 2x9pdr long guns, 14x12pdr carronades; Breach Dockyard, Limehouse Hole, River Thames, London, England; 1785 Boyd went down in history when in December 1809, while anchored in Whangaroa Harbour, she was attacked by Maori in revenge for the captain's mistreatment of a chief's son, Te Ara, who had sailed on her from Sydney to Whangaroa. Most of the Boyd's crew and passengers were killed, some ended up as dinner.
Challenge: Clipper; Length: 230.5 ft; 2,006 bm tons; New York, United States; 1851 Built for the California trade, she was the largest merchant ship ever launched. She was 20.5 ft longer than the USS Pennsylvania, which was the largest ship in the U.S. Navy. She was renamed 'Golden City' in 1860 and sailed to the Orient for another 10 years before she grounded near Ushant and sank after having been pulled off the rocks.
Champion of the Seas: Three-masted Clipper; Length: 76.8 m; Beam: 13.9 m; Draft: 8.9 m; 2447 tons; Boston, United States; 1854 Champion was initially designed as a passenger ship and ordered by James Baines of the Black Ball Line for service between Liverpool and Melbourne. On her maiden voyage from Liverpool to Melbourne she recorded a fastest single day run of 465 nautical miles, December 10-11, 1854. She was later used as a merchant vessel for general trade. Champion was abandoned by her crew off Cape Horn on January 3rd 1877 when she was leaking badly. The crew was rescued by the British bark Windsor. Champion's figurehead was a sailor with the left hand extended while holding a hat in the right hand. Her hull was painted black with white inner works and her waterways were painted blue.
Charles W. Morgan: Whaling Ship; Length: 114 ft; 314 tons; Crew: 26; New Bedford, United States; 1841 The Charles W. Morgan had a remarkable 80-year career in whaling and she is the only intact wooden whaler in the USA. Originally ship-rigged with square sails on all masts, she was re-rigged as a bark in 1880 with fore-and-aft sails on the mizzenmast
Charlotte: Schooner; Charlotte was a Confederate schooner captured by Federal forces in 1862 and used until 1867.
Chasseur: Baltimore clipper; 356 tons burthen; Crew: 115; Armament: 16x12pdr; Baltimore, United States; 1812 The most notorious or famous (depending on who's writing history) of the American privateers was probably captain Thomas Boyle, who sent a notice to the King of England, George III, that the entire British isles were under naval blockade by his Baltimore clipper 'Chasseur'. More about Baltimore clippers
Concretia: CGS Concretia; Single screw steam driven lighthouse supply and buoy tender; 24 NHP; Length: 126 ft; Beam: 22 ft; Draft: 10 ft; 320 tons; Montreal Shipbuilders, Quebec; 1917 Concretia's hull, as made so abundantly clear by her name, was made of concrete (or ferrocement) as a WWI experimental lighthouse supply and buoy vessel. She was rebuilt in 1935 as a barge and abandoned in 1952 at Kingston, Ontario. She was salvaged and rebuilt in 1980 as the barkentine Onaygorah and in August 1982 she sailed to the Fiji Islands as a marine biology research vessel.
Congress: USS Congress; 38-gun Frigate; Length: 164 ft; Beam: 40 ft, 6 in; Depth of hold: 13ft; 1,265 displacement tons; Comp: 340; Armament: 28x18pdr and 12x9pdr; Portsmouth New Hampshire, United States; August 15, 1799 Congress was, similar to other US Frigates, up-gunned by 1812 and carried 24x18pdr and 20x32pdr carronades.
Constellation: USS Constellation; 38-gun Frigate; Length: 164 ft; Beam: 40 ft, 6 in; 1,265 displacement tons; Comp: 340; Armament: 28x18pdr and 20x32pdr carronades (1812); Baltimore, United States; September 7, 1797 Known also as the Yankee Race Horse, the USS Constellation was the second frigate completed under the Congressional authorization of 1794. America had decided, it wanted a Navy. more . . .
Constitution: USS Constitution; Frigate; Length: 175 ft; Beam: 43.5 ft; Draft: 22.5 ft; 1,576 displacement tons; Comp: 450; Armament: 32x24pdr, 22x12pdr (later replaced by 22x42pdr carronades); Boston, United States; 1797 One of the U.S. Navy's six original frigates and probably the most famous of all, earning the nickname 'Old Ironside' in the victory against the 38 gun frigate HMS Guerrière on Agust 19th, 1812. In 1897 she was brought to Boston for restoration and preservation and is now a museum ship at Boston harbour.
Coolangatta: Schooner; re-rigged as a Brig; 88 tons; Shoalhaven River, NSW; 1843 Named by the first European settler of the Australian Shoalhaven area, Scotsman Alexander Berry, for his estate, meaning "splendid view" in Gaelic. The Coolangatta ran ashore on the 8th of August 1846 off the Queensland Gold Coast north of the Tweed river (Australia - NSW) while under command of Captain Steele. Two prisoners held onboard were released and crew and "passengers" walked seventy miles to Amity Point, where they were picked up and transported to Sydney. Any subsequent attempts to salvage the Coolangatta failed.
Cutty Sark: Clipper; Length: 212.5 ft; 963 gross tons; Crew: 19-28; Dumbarton, Scotland; 1869 One of the most famous sailing ships ever built, Cutty Sark (Scottish for "short shirt", don't ask ...) was one of the last clippers specifically built for the China tea trade between the 1840s and 1870s. Cutty Sark model
David Dows: Barkentine; Length: 278 ft (260 ft keel); Beam: 37 ft; Draft: 18 ft; 1,481 net registered tons; Toledo, Ohio, United States; 1881 David Dows is most often referred to as a five masted schooner, as she would have appeared after her square rig on the foremast was removed, leaving a fore-and aft rig on all masts. She was dubbed "The Queen of the Lakes" because of her sheer size and appealing shape. After having been reduced to a barge, she was abandoned during a winter storm on November 30th, 1889 and sank to the bottom of Lake Michigan near Whiting Indiana.
Dale: USS Dale; Sloop-of-war; Length: 117 ft; Beam: 32 ft; Draft: 16 ft; 566 tons; Comp: 150; Armament: 2x12pdr and 14x32pdr; Philadelphia, United States; 1839 The Dale was initially stationed in the Pacific, saw action off California and the Mexican West-Coast during the late 1840's, patrolled and captured Confederate runners during the early Civil War and ended up as a store ship at Port Royal, South Carolina.
Deliverance: Pinnace; Bermuda; 1609 One of the two pinnaces built from the wreckage of the Sea Venture, the other was named Patience. They were built by the survivors of the Sea Venture who had rowed ashore to Bermuda. All but two of the 150 stranded sailed on the 'home built' pinnaces Deliverance and Patience on to their original destination, Jamestown Virginia which they reached on May 10, 1610. The remaining two men became the first permanent settlers on Bermuda, which then became an official English settlement in 1612.
Delft: Fourth Rate Man O'War; Length: 170 ft; Beam: 45 ft; Comp: 300; Armament: 56 guns; Delftshaven, Netherlands; 1783 The Delft took part in the Battle of Camperdown (Kamperduin - see image below) on March 1st 1797, when engaged by HMS Montagu and HMS Monmouth she was quickly overwhelmed. The battle was significant in that it signalled the end of the Netherlands as a major naval power. A replica of the Delft is being built at this time in the Netherlands.
Detroit: HMS Detroit; corvette; Length: 132 ft (overall), 92 ft 6 in between perpendiculars; Beam: 26 ft; Depth of hold: 11ft; Draft: 12ft; 305 displacement tons; Comp: 150; Armament: 1x24pdr carronade, 2x24pdr, 1x18pdr pivoting, 6x12pdr, 8x9pdr; Amherstburg, Ontario; 1813 Commissioned by King George III in honor of the capture of Fort Detroit, her career in the Royal Navy was very short as she was almost immediately captured by an American fleet under the flag of Oliver Hazard Perry on September 10, 1813 during The Battle of Lake Erie near Put-In-Bay. The battle gave the US full control over Lake Erie. She grounded and was wrecked in 1841 when an attempt to send her over Niagara Falls as a 'spectacle' failed miserably. 1902 model of HMS Detroit.
Diana: HMS Diana; Length: 173ft from figurehead to stern; Beam: 39.3 ft; 990 tons burthen; Armament: 28x18pdr, 18x9pdr; Deptford Royal Dockyard, England; 1794 The third vessel in the British Navy to bear the name Diana was a 38-gun fifth rate frigate launched in 1794 at Deptford and sold in 1815 to the Dutch Navy. Much like other ships, her armaments were upgraded several times untill all 9 pounder cannon had been replaced by 32 pounder carronades. Destroyed by fire in 1834. more . . .
Dover Castle: Full-rigged Ship; Length: 185 ft; Beam: 34 ft; Depth of hold: 22 ft; 1003 grt; Sunderland, England; 1858 Dover Castle was re-rigged in 1875 as a bark. Sold to Norwegian interests in 1880 and renamed Kem.
Dragon: HMS Dragon; Third Rate; Length: 117 ft (keel); 1,068 tons; Armament: 24x24pdr, 26x9pdr, 8x6pdr; Woolwich Dockyard, England; 1736 In July 1741, HMS Dragon, together with HMS Feversham and HMS Folkestone, spotted what they believed erroneously to be Spanish ships. They engaged at night but the battle ended with minimal losses on each side. That morning a lot of apologies were exchanged since daylight showed the 'Spanish' ships to be French and it was one of those rare times both countries were not openly at war with each other.
Dromedaris: Jaght; 560 tons burthen; Amsterdam Yard, Netherlands; 1646 The Dromedaris (Camelus dromedarius or dromedary camel) was Jan van Riebeeck's transport in a small Dutch VOC fleet (Dromedaris, Reijger, Goede Hoop) leaving Texel in December 1651 bound for Batavia but stopping (06/04/1652 - 25/05/1652) to establish a half-way post at Table Bay, South Africa (Cape Town, Cape of Good Hope) for the purpose of re-supplying and repairing VOC ships enroute or returning from the East-Indies.
Duyfken: Jaght; Length: 25 m; Beam: 6 m; 110 displacement tons; Crew: 20; Armament: 10 guns; Netherlands; 1595 On November 18, 1605, Duyfken sailed from Banda in Indonesia to search and explore new trade opportunities, particularly 'the great land of Nova Guinea and other East- and Southlands'. She charted 300 kilometers of the Australian Cape York Peninsula, which captain Willem Janszoon mistook for part of New Guinea. Finding little of immediate interest, they returned to Banda in June 1606, two months before San Pedro transited Torres Strait. Duyfken Replica
Egmont: HMS Egmont; Third Rate ship-of-the-line; Length: 176 ft; Beam: 48 ft; Draft : 17 ft; 1760 tons; Comp: 590; Armament: 74 guns; Northfleet Dockyard, England; 1810 The fifth ship of the Royal Navy named Egmont served as flagship of Rear-Admiral Charles Vinnicombe Penrose in 1814. Later she was reduced to act as a receiving ship in Rio de Janeiro and finally was sold out of the British Navy in 1875.
Elizabeth Bonaventure: Galleon; 448 wine tons burthen; Length: 24 m (keel); Beam: 11 m; Depth of hold: 5 m; Comp.: 250; Armament: 4x32pdr (demi-cannon), 2x24pdr (cannon-perier), 6x18pdr (culverin), 8x9pdr (demi-culverin), 6x6pdr (saker), 2x4pdr (minion), 4 port pieces, 6 fowlers, 12 bases, 2 falcons; Chatham, England; 1576 She took part in the Spanish Armada engagement, while under command of the nobleman-privateer, the Earl of Cumberland.
Eliza Swan: Whaling Ship; 306 tons; Crew: 48; Montrose, Scotland; 1801 A very successful whaler, the Eliza Swan was captured and subsequently ransomed by the USS President on July 24th, 1813. The Eliza Swan was fully laden with 146 tuns or about 37,000 gallons of whale blubber from a good catch of 8 whales. She was on her way home. The USS President deceived the Eliza Swan by flying British colors at distance and only raising the American flag when capture had been assured, an often used practice in the privateering business. It's were the expression 'showing your true colors' originates from.
Ellen Austin: Schooner; Length:210 ft; 1,812 tons; Damariscotta, Maine USA; 1854 She was a London to New York packet ship surrounded in mystery for finding and subsequently loosing a ghost-ship in the Bermuda-triangle in 1881.
Endeavour: HMS Endeavour; Collier; ship-rigged; 369 tons; Crew: 94; Armament: 10x4pdr, 8xswivel guns; Whitby, England; 1764 The HMS Endeavour was originally named Earl of Pembroke and was the ship used by James Cook on his first voyage to find 'Terra Australis'. There is some controversy over whether or not her mizzenmast was as short as often assumed. HMS Endeavour finished her career in 1790, in French service as La Liberté. HMS Endeavour model
Enterprise: USS Enterprise; Sloop; Length: 14 m; Beam: 5 m; 55 tons; Crew: 50; Armament: 6 cannon, 10 swivel guns; Fort St. Johns (St. Jean sur Richelieu), Canada; 1770 Originally named George III she was captured at Fort St. Johns in 1775 and renamed Enterprise by the American commander Benedict Arnold. She was set on fire and scuttled by her crew during the evacuation of Fort Ticonderoga in the spring of 1776.
Erebus: HMS Erebus; Bomb Vessel; bark-rigged; 372 tons; Crew: 67; Armament: 1x13inch mortar, 1x10inch mortar, 8x24pdr, 2x6pdr; Wales; 1826 Most known for its role on polar expeditions during the 1840's. Erebus was abandoned in June 1848 after being bound in the ice at Victoria Strait in Northern Canada for almost a year. Despite numerous rescue expeditions, only some remains of the crew and a few diaries were ever found.
Esquimaux: 70 Hp Steam Whaler; bark-rigged; Length: 157 ft; Beam: 30 ft; Depth of hold: 19 ft; 465 tons; St. Johns, Newfoundland; 1865 Initially built as a ship-rigged three-masted steam whaler, she was converted to a bark in 1883, as were so many whalers and merchant vessels of her time. Sold in 1900 to Evelyn B. Baldwin for the Baldwin-Ziegler arctic expedition and renamed America.
Falls of Clyde: Iron-hulled four-masted Bark; Length: 85.3 m; Beam: 12.2 m; Draft: 6.4 m; 1809 displacement tons; Port Glasgow, Inverclyde, Scotland; 1878 Named after a waterfall up the River Clyde, the Falls of Clyde was originally a full-rigged ship designed for global trade, later re-rigged as a Bark. Currently the Falls of Clyde is part of the Hawaii Maritime Center in Honolulu Harbor.
F. Townsend: Schooner; 165 gross tons; Port Grenville, Nova Scotia Canada; 1882 The F. Townsend was beached and subsequently burned at Wards Brook, Port Grenville, Bay of Fundy on August 7, 1884.
Fame: HMS Fame; Third Rate; Length: 165 ft; 1,565 tons; Crew: 600; Armament: 74 guns; Deptford Dockyard, England; 1759 One of many ships carrying the name Fame. The Fame of 1759 saw action in several battles with the French, in the Battle of Grenada in 1779 and the battle in 1782 in which the Ville de Paris was taken. Fame was renamed to Guilford and fitted as a prison hulk in 1800.
Fannie A. Gorham: Three-masted Schooner; Length (LOA): 196 ft; Belfast, Maine, United States; 1881 She was a purpose built coastal cargo schooner, carrying cargo from New England to southern ports such as Jacksonville, Florida. In 1886 she rescued passengers from the sinking four-masted steamship Oregon, after Oregon collided with a another three-masted schooner off Fire Island, New York.
Feversham: HMS Feversham; Fifth Rate; Length: 124 ft; Beam: 36 ft; 1,068 tons; Comp.: 250; Armament: 40 guns; Blackwall on the Thames, England; 1741 HMS feversham took part in a battle off Toulon with the combined French and Spanish fleet on the 17th of February 1744. After a short and indecisive battle the French and Spanish fleets escaped (fled). HMS Feversham was sold out of the navy on the 13th of April 1749.
Florizel: S.S. Florizel; Steel-hulled luxury steam liner; Length: 305.5 ft; Beam: 43.1 ft; 3,081 gross registered tons; 1,980 net registered tons; Charles Connell & Co. Ltd Glasgow, Scotland; 1909 Registered in St. John's, Newfoundland, the Florizel was commissioned as a luxury liner for the Bowring Brothers' Red Cross Line and also engaged in the annual spring sealhunt. Florizel broke all kinds of sealing records while captained by the elder Abram Kean and was captained by Joseph Kean during the Newfoundland sealing disaster rescue effort in the spring of 1914. In October of the same year, she carried the first 500 volunteers, A.K.A the Blue Puttees, of the Royal Newfoundland Regiment (RNR) to the fields of Europe during WWI. She was wrecked after grounding on the rocks at Cappahayden, Newfoundland on the 23rd of February 1918 with the loss of 93 passengers and crew. The whole ordeal has been captured by Cassie Brown in hardcover, 'A winter's tale: The wreck of the Florizel'. Courtesy of Admiralty House Museum & Archives
Flying Cloud: Clipper; Length: 235 ft; 1,782 om tons; Baltimore, United States; 1851 Possibly the fastest clipper ever built, she sailed from New York to San Francisco in 89 days. She was also the largest merchant ship afloat until the launch of the Challenge shortly before her first voyage. In June 1874 she ran aground on Beacon Island and after she returned to St. Johns, she was burned for her metal fittings and fastenings a year later.
Flying Fish: Clipper; Length: 207 ft; Beam: 22 ft; 1,505 om tons; East Boston, United States; 1851 Sister ship to the Flying Cloud, she sailed from New York to San Francisco in 92 days, a few days longer than her bigger sister.
Fram: Polar exploration ship rigged as a three-masted topsail Schooner; auxiliary 220hp steam engine; 400 tons; Crew: 12; Larvik, Norway; 1892 She was arguably the strongest (not the prettiest) vessel of her time and advanced further north and south than any other surface vessel had. Fram was specifically built for polar expeditions, the 70cm thick sides consisted of two innermost shells of oak and an outermost shell of greenheart. The hull was further strengthened with sheets of metal fore and aft. Her rudder and propeller could be raised. She was used for three arctic expeditions: 1. Fridjof Nansen 1893-1896 2. Otto Sverdrup 1898-1902 3. Roald Amundssen 1910-1912. She is on display as part of the Fram museum in Oslo, Norway.
France: Bark; Length: 110 m; 3,784 gross tons.; Crew: 46; Glasgow, Scotland; 1890 The first of the five-masted barks and the largest of her time. She was built for the nitrate trade between Chile and Europe. On may 13, 1901 she was abandoned by her crew while caught in a storm.
Geelvinck: Three masted frigate-yacht; Length: 111 voet 7 duim; Beam: 29 voet 7 duim; Hold: 11 voet 5.5 duim; 380 tons; Crew: 120; VOC-wharf Amsterdam, Netherlands; 1696 Under the command of Willem de Vlamingh, Geelvinck was the lead vessel in a three ship expedition in 1696 (Geelvinck, Wezel and Nijptang). The expedition was tasked with charting the west-coast of Australia, and to look for survivors of t'Ridderschap van Holland, which had dissappeared in 1694, and Vergulde Draeck, lost 40 years earlier.
Geldermalsen: East Indiaman or VOC retour ship; Length: 45.7m; 1110 displacement tons; Comp.: 112; Armament: 31 guns; Zeeland, Netherlands; 1746 Named for the estate of VOC director Jan Van Borsele, Geldermalsen sailed to Batavia in 1746. In December 1751, she sailed fully loaded to return to the Netherlands under the command of Captain Jan Morel when she struck Admiral Stellingwerf Reef (south-east of Singapore) and sank while taking most of the crew down with her.
Gloeyenden Oven: Jaght; length: 106 ft; Beam: 24 ft; Hold: 9 ft; Crew: 57; Armament: 14 guns; Zeeland, Netherlands; 1638 The Gloeyenden Oven (or Glowing Oven) was a typical three masted Jaght (or Jacht) as employed on the trade routes or used as a warship in the many raging conflicts of he time such as the Anglo-Dutch wars.
Gloire: La Gloire; Three-masted ironclad steam battleship; Length: 77.9 m; Beam: 17 m; Draft: 8.5 m; 5,630 displacement tons; Comp.: 550; Armament: 36x6.4" muzzle-loading rifled guns; Arsenal de Toulon, France; 1860 La Gloire had her armaments upgraded to 6x9.6" and 2x7.8" muzzle-loading rifled guns in 1869. She was broken up in 1883.
Golden City: SS Golden City; Steamer; Length: 360 ft; Beam: 45 ft; Draft: 14 ft, 17 ft loaded; 3,373 tons, 4,400 tons carpenter's measurement; New York, United States; August 10, 1863 Heralded by the Scientific American of July 2nd 1864 as first-class and full-powered in regards to her steam engine. She was part of a new fleet built for the Pacific Mail Steamship Company, including the almost identical SS Constitution. The Scientific American goes on to state: "It is gratifying to us, as a people, that our engine and shipbuilders are capable of producing machines and models wich defy competition." She serviced the San Francisco to Panama packet from 1863 until 1870 and could carry a little over 2,000 passengers. On February 22nd, 1870 she was on her way to New York via Panama, when she ran aground at Point Lazaro, Lower California. Although the vessel was lost, most of the 400 passengers survived.
Golden Hind: Galleon; 150 tons burthen; Comp.: 85; Armament: 18 guns; Plymouth, England; 1576 The ship so famous for its captain, Sir Francis Drake and the first English circumnavigation of the globe ending on September 26, 1580 in Plymouth after a voyage of 2 years, 10 months and 18 days.
Grace Dieu: Cog; Length: 66.4 m; Beam: 15.2 m; 2,750 displacement tons; Comp.: 300; Armament: 3 guns; England; 1418 Built during Henry V's reign, she was a very large ship indeed, comparable in size to warships dating 400 years later. She was clinker-built with a large mainsail on the mainmast and a lateen sail on a smaller mizzen. She had an extremely large and high forecastle. She caught fire and was destroyed in 1439.
Grande Hermine: La Grande Hermine; Ship; Length: 78.8 ft; Beam: 25 ft; Depth of hold: 12 ft; 120 tons; France; 1534 La Grande Hermine was Jacques Cartier's largest of three ships used on his second voyage to further explore the lands (St. Lawrence, Quebec) he discovered on his first voyage in 1534. The other two vessels where the 40 ton La Petite Hermine and the 40 ton pinnace L'Emerillon. La Grande Hermine was also involved in Cartier's failed quest to establish a French colony in Canada in 1541.
Great Britain SS Great Britain; Steam Assisted Liner; Length: 322 ft, not counting the bowsprit; Beam: 50 ft 6 in; 3443 tons burthen, 1016 net registered tons; Crew: 120, 252 passenger capacity when built; Great Western Dock, Bristol, England; 1843 She was an iron hulled, six-masted steam liner for the Great-Western-Steam-Ship-Company and sailed on her maiden voyage in 1845. Sold in 1850 and modified for service to Australia. Laid up in 1876 and currently a museum at her original dock in Bristol.
Great Eastern: SS Great Eastern; Steam Liner; Length: 211 m; Beam: 25 m; 18,915 tons; Crew: 418; Millwall Docks, London, England; 1858 When she was launched in 1858, she was the largest ship ever built. Her hull was of iron construction and she was propelled by 2 paddle wheels driven by four steam engines and one engine for her screw. She also had 6 masts for carrying sail, all 18,148 square feet of it. Her maximum speed was 13 knots.
Great Republic: Four-masted Bark; Length: 335 ft; Beam: 53 ft; Depth of hold: 29 ft; Boston, United States; 1853 In February 1855 she sailed from New York to Liverpool in 13 days. A year later she made the trip from New York to San Francisco in 92 days. Initially bark-rigged, she was re-rigged as a three-masted ship circa 1862. The Great Republic, which had been renamed to Denmark in 1869, was abandoned off Bermuda when she started taking on water during a hurricane in 1872. She was on her way from Rio de Janeiro, Brasil to St. John, New Brunswick.
Great Victoria: Iron Full-rigged screw steam-assisted Ship; 2278 tons; Nantes, France; 1854
Halve Maen: Half Moon VOC Vlieboat; 80 om tons; Comp.: 20; Amsterdam, Netherlands; 1608 Contracted by the Dutch VOC, English explorer Henry Hudson's bark-rigged ship was to find the Northeast passage to the Indies. The Hudson river still bears his name as he explored the river and much of lower New York Bay. Two replica's of the Halve Maen have been built.
Hector: Three-masted Bootschip (Dutch) or Boatship (English); Length (LOA): 110 ft, Length on deck: 85 ft; Beam: 22 ft; 200 tons burthen; Netherlands; ~1750 Hector was a three-masted bootschip (boatship), a natural 18th century evolution from the 17th century Fluyt. Built around 1750, Hector took Scottish emigrants to Boston and Nova Scotia in the 1770's, her 1773 voyage to Pictou, Nova Scotia probably the best known.
Hercules: Jaght; length: 140 voet; beam: 33 voet; Draft: 14.5 voet; Armament: 30 iron guns; Zaandam, Netherlands; 1655 The Hercules cost 25,150 Dutch guilders to built in 1655. She was a relatively large and heavily armed VOC jaght built for the East India trade. She was wrecked in 1661 at Galle (Sri Lanka).
Hioma: Bark; Suursadam, Estonia; 1848 Her claim to fame is that in February 1854, on her way to Peru, she became the first recorded Estonian ship to cross the equator and sail around Cape Horn, the southern most tip of South America.
Hollandia: East Indiaman or VOC retour ship; Length: 49.2m; 750 om tons; Comp.: 300; Armament: 8x12pdr, 16x8pdr, 8x4pdr, 10 swivel guns; Amsterdam, Netherlands; 1742 The second 150-voet class retour ship (after Eendracht in the same year ) built by the VOC for the long-distance spice-trade to Batavia in the East Indies. Hollandia was lost on her maiden voyage when she struck Gunners Rock in the Scilly Isles during rough weather. None of the crew survived the ordeal.
Huron: Lightship; Length: 97 ft; Beam: 24 ft; 310 displacement tons (fresh water); New York, United States; 1920 The Huron was stationed at various shoals on Lake Michigan until 1935 when she was transferred to Corsica Shoals on Lake Huron. She has been designated as a National Historic Landmark, fully restored and is open to the public.
Independence: USS Independence; Ship-of-the-line; 2257 bm tons; Comp.: 790; Armament: 90x32pdr; Boston, United States; 1814 The USS Independence was one of three ships-of-the-line ordered by the U.S. Navy, the other two being the USS Franklin and USS Washington. Poorly designed as a three-decker (three and a halve feet of freeboard at lower gun deck) she was reconfigured by removing her spar deck and turning her into a 54 gun frigate in 1836.
Indefatigable: HMS Indefatigable; 64 Gun Third Rate ship-of-the-line; Length: 160 ft; Beam: 44 ft; Depth of hold: 19 ft; 1,384 bm tons; Comp.: 520; Armament: 26x24pdr, 26x12pdr, 2x9pdr, 10x4pdr; Bucklers Hard, Hampshire, England; 1784 Although Indefatigable was built as a Third Rate of 64 guns, she was cut-down (razeed - don't like that word, not entirely sure why?) in 1794 to a frigate, keeping her 26x24pdr as the main armament on her gundeck, 8x12pdr and 4x42pdr carronades on her quarterdeck and 4x12pdr and 2x42pdr carronades on her forecastle. HMS Indefatigable model
Intrepid: USS Intrepid; Ketch or bomb-ketch; Length: 18.3 m; 64 tons; Comp.: 64; Armament: 4 guns; France; 1798 Originally built for Napoleon's Egyptian Campaign, she was sold to Tripoli and subsequently captured by the USS Enterprise and her name changed from Mastico to USS Intrepid. After an extremely successful raid by her crew to destroy the captured USS Philadelphia in 1804 (Tripoli), she was less fortunate on her second action (as a fireship) in September of the same year, when she blew up prematurely, killing the entire crew.
Irving Johnson: Brigantine; Sparred Length: 113 ft; Beam: 21 ft; Draft: 11 ft; 129 displacement tons; Sail Area: 5,032 sq ft ; Crew: 8-18; San Pedro, California, United States; 2002 Really not from the 'Age of Sail' but simply included as beautiful examples of Brigantines, the Irving Johnson and sister ship Exy Johnson are based on Brigantine plans designed but never built in the 1930's. They sail for the 'TopSail Youth program', teaching troubled youth discipline and teamwork by becoming part of the crew of a sailing ship with all its risks and responsibilities.
Jersey: HMS Jersey; Fourth Rate ship-of-the-line; Length: 44 m; 1,068 bm tons; Crew: 400; Armament: 24x24pdr, 26x9pdr, 10x6pdr; Plymouth, England; 1736 The HMS Jersey saw action in the 'War of Jenkins Ear' (1739) and the 'French and Indian War' (1759) but ended up as a prison ship during the American Revolution. Horrible conditions awaited any American prisoner on New York prison ships. It is estimated that between four- and eleven-thousand prisoners died on those ships.
Jesus of Lübeck: Roundship; 700 tons; Comp.: 300; Armament: 26 guns; Germany; 1544 Built for the Hanseatic League trade, she was a large and impressive vessel with high stern- and forecastles. Bought by Henry VIII in 1544, she was used on several English expeditions. As part of John Hawkins' expedition fleet, she was sunk near Mexico, together with Angel and Swallow, in a surprise attack by Spanish warships in 1568.
John Adams: USS John Adams; Frigate; Length: 139 ft; Beam: 32 ft; Draft: 16 ft; 544 displacement tons; Comp: 220; Armament: 6x24pdr, 24x12pdr; Charleston, South Carolina, United States; 1799 Named for U.S. President John Adams, she had a very successful career and saw action in several conflicts, most importantly in the West Indies during the Quasi-War with France (1800) and in the Mediterranean against the Barbary corsairs in both Barbary wars (1803 and 1815). The USS John Adams was decommissioned and sold out of the navy in 1867.
Juno: HMS Juno; Fifth Rate Frigate; Length: 127 ft; Beam: 34 ft; Depth of hold: 11 ft, 9in; 646 tons burthen; Complement: 210; Armament: 26x12pdr, 6x6pdr; Rotherhithe, England; 1757 HMS Juno of 1757 was one of three frigates in her class, together with HMS Richmond (1757) and HMS Thames (1758). She was built by William Alexander and was burnt at Rhode Island to avoid capture by the French on 5 August 1778.
Justitia: HMS Justitia; Fourth Rate ship-of-the-line; Length: 160 ft; Beam: 42 ft; 1,249 bm tons; Armament: 54 guns; before 1804. Launched as a British East Indiaman 'Admiral Rainer', she was bought in to the British Navy as 'Hindostan' in 1804. She was converted to a storeship in 1811 and her armament was reduced to 20 guns. She was renamed to Dolphin in 1819 and used to transport convicts. As she became a prison ship in 1830, she was appropriately renamed 'Justitia'. She was sold out of service in 1855.
Kadirga: Galley; Length: 36.9 m; Crew: 144 oarsmen; Kasimpasha, Turkey; 16~17th century. Used mainly for ceremonial purposes, very little else is known for sure about this 48-oared galley a scaloccio, including her origins. She is currently preserved at the Maritime Museum of Istanbul.
Kronan: First Rate ship-of-the-line; 2,140 displacement tons; Crew: 500; Armament: 126 guns; Stockholm, Sweden; 1672 Sweden's first three-decked warship, she became the Swedish Navy's flagship in 1675. She befell a similar fate as the Wasa, when her crew failed to close her lower gunports in time when turning to engage a combined Danish and Dutch fleet in 1676 during the battle of Öland. She never took in sail, heeled sharply to port, took on water and sank shortly thereafter.
Lady Prevost: Schooner; Length: 68 ft between perpendiculars; Beam: 18 ft 6in; Depth of hold: 8 ft; Draft: 9 ft 6 in; 230 displacement tons; Comp: 86; Armament: 10x12pdr carronades, 1x9pdr pivoting, 2x6pdr; Amherstburg, Ontario; 1812 Captured by an American fleet under the flag of Oliver Hazard Perry on September 10, 1813 during The Battle of Lake Erie near Put-In-Bay. The battle gave the US full control over Lake Erie. She was commissioned into US service as USS Lady Prevost and sold in 1815.
Leila: Snow; 192 tons burthen; Yarmouth, Maine; 1834. Leila was build for the owners Teasdell and primarily used as an immigrant ship taking new immigrants from Rotterdam to New York until at least 1854.
Lewis R. French: Schooner; Length: 101 ft (65 ft OD); Beam: 19 ft; Draft: 7.5 ft; Christmas Cove, Maine United States; 1871 Lewis R. French was a typical Maine schooner and for over 130 years carried a variety of cargo for a number of different owners. She was named for the father of the French brothers who built her and still sails today, albeit not carrying cargo but vacationing passengers. She is also a National Historic Landmark as she is the oldest commercial schooner in the United States. Courtesy of Garth Wells - Schooner Lewis R French
Lightning: Clipper; Length: 235 ft; Beam: 44 ft; Draft: 26 ft; 2084 tons; Donald McKay shipyard, East Boston, United States; 1854 Built for the Black Ball Line (James Baines & Co.), Liverpool, she sailed on the Liverpool to Melbourne trade. On the 31st October 1869, moored at Geelong on a calm and otherwise uneventful night, she caucht fire and was completely destroyed.
Limmen: Jaght; 120 gross tons; Crew: 56; Netherlands; 1637 The jaghts Limmen and Zeemeeuw and the galjoot Bracq were the three ships Abel Janszoon Tasman (1603-1659) took on his second VOC sponsored voyage to explore and circumnavigate Australia and find out whether Tasmania (Van Diemen's Land) was separate from Australia and finally, also look for the wreck of the Batavia. He succeeded in determining that the Southland was a vast landmass. However, with the death of Governor-General Anthonie Van Diemen in 1645, Dutch exploration of Australia came to an end, to be picked up much later by the English with the voyages of James Cook in the 1790's.
Little Belt: Sixth Rate corvette; Length: 35.4 m; 460 tons; Crew: 121; Armament: 18x32pdr, 2x9pdr; Copenhagen, Denmark; 1801 Seized at Copenhagen by the British during the Napoleonic Wars, the HMS Little Belt became the focal point of an incident between the U.S. and Britain in 1811 when the USS President engaged and all but dismasted HMS Little Belt, 45 miles from the mouth of Chesapeake Bay. The USS President's agression was in response to HMS Guerrière impressing an American seaman.
Loire: La Loire; Fluyt; Length (keel): 110 pieds (117.26 ft); Beam: 28 pieds, 8 pouces (30.6ft); Brest, France; 1684 In 1720 La Loire sailed with 238 settlers from Lorient, France for the Louisiana Colony, christening her the "Mayflower of Louisiana". She brought some of the first skilled and educated French Hainaut colonists to Louisiana. Later she was used as a supply ship between New Orleans and the mouth of the Mississippi River.
Madre de Dios: Carrack; Length: 50.3m; 1,600 tons burthen; Portugal; 1574 One of the large ships involved in the lucrative trade with India, the Madre de Dios sailed in 1581 from Lisbon, Portugal to Goa, India. When she came back on August 3, 1592, loaded with goods, she was spotted off Flores by a fleet of English privateers including the Dainty, Roebuck, Foresight and Dragon. The Madre de Dios was taken as a huge ($250,000) prize after 2 hours of fierce fighting
Maria Rickmers: Five-masted Bark with a 750hp auxiliary steam engine; Length: 114 m; Beam: 14.6 m; Draft: 7.72 m; 3,822 grt (3,344 nrt); Speed: 15 knots (sail), 8 knots (steam); Crew: 44; Glasgow, Scotland; 1891 This large five-masted bark went mysteriously missing seven months after she was built. While returning to Bremerhaven from her maiden voyage to Saigon she disappeared in the Indian Ocean after having been seen passing through the Sunda Straits.
Marlborough: HMS Marlborough; Third Rate ship-of-the-line; 1640 tons; Armament: 74 guns; 1767 The second ship of the Royal Navy named Marlborough fought in the American Revolutionary War, sustained heavy damage in the Battle of the Glorious First of June (1794) and wrecked in 1800 near Belleisle.
Mary: Yacht; Length: 15.8m (keel); 100 tons; Crew: 28; Armament: 7 guns; Netherlands; 1661 The yacht Mary was presented to Charles II of England by the Dutch VOC in 1661, starting the tradition of 'yachting'.
Mary Celeste: Brigantine; Length: 103 ft; 282 tons; Crew: 8; Spencer's Island, Nova Scotia; 1860 Originally built as the Amazon, she was re-named Mary Celeste in 1869 and became famous for being found abandoned off Gibraltar by the British bark 'Dei Gratia' on December 4th (or 5th), 1872. The ship and her cargo were mostly in-tact, a true ghost-ship. Speculation plenty about what happened to the captain and crew without us adding to it.
Mary Rose: Carrack; Length: 32 m (keel); Beam: 4.6 m; 600 tons burthen; Comp.: 415; Armament: 78 Guns; Portsmouth Dockyard, England; 1510 Henry VIII's flagship was one of the first purpose-built warships with cannons firing through gun ports. She was rebuilt in 1536, increasing her size to 700 tons burthen and her armament to 91 guns, including culverins, demi-culverins, sakers and falcons. She saw regular action against the French and in 1545, while manoeuvering off Portsmouth during one such encounter, the Mary Rose sharply heeled, rapidly took on water and sank.
Mayflower: Galleon; Length: 90 ft; Beam: 26 ft; Depth of hold: 11 ft; 180 tons burden; Crew.: 25; Leigh, England; 1605 Mayflower is the ship famed for bringing the Pilgrims to Plymouth Rock in 1620.
Megaera: HMS Megaera; Iron hulled 350 horse-power steam screw driven Frigate; Length: 270 ft; Beam: 37.6 ft; Depth of hold: 26.25 ft; 1,391 bm tons, 2,025 displacement tons; Armament: 18 guns; London, England; 1849 HMS Megaera was named after one of the three snake-haired furies from classical mythology. HMS Megaera never saw active service as a frigate and like her sistership HMS Simoom, she was converted to a troopship and transport. She was beached and wrecked at St. Pauls Island in the Indian Ocean on the 16th of June 1871.
Mercurius: Galjoot; 170 tons lasten; VOC Amsterdam wharf, Netherlands; 1700 Part of the 1707 Dutch fleet establishing a fort at Pasuruan (Pasoeroean) in 1707.
Meresteyn: East Indiaman or VOC retour ship; Length: 44.2 m; 160 tons lasten; Comp.: 200; Amsterdam, Netherlands; 1693 Meresteyn sailed from Texel to Batavia in 1701. Illness and a shortage of provisions on this ill-fated trip made the captain set anchor off Jutten Island, short of its usual stop at Cape Town, and Meresteyn was thrown on the rocks and sank. Her wreckage was re-discovered in 1971 and the 'loot' was put up for auction in 1975.
Montagu: HMS Montagu; Third Rate; Length: 169 ft along the gundeck; Beam: 47.15 ft; Depth of hold: 20 ft; 1631 tons burthen; Armament: 28x32pdr, 28x18pdr, 18x9pdr; Chatham Dockyard, England; 1779 The second vessel in the British Navy to bear the name Montagu. She took part in the Battle of Cape St. Vincent (1780), the Battle of the Glorious First of June (1794) and the Battle of Camperdown (1797). Montagu was broken up in 1818.
Nelson: HMS Nelson; First Rate; Length: 205 ft along the gundeck; Beam: 53.5 ft; Depth of hold: 24 ft.; 2601 tons; Armament: 120 guns; Woolwich Dockyard, England; 1814
Newfoundland: S.S. Newfoundland; Wooden steam screw driven Brigantine; Length: 212.5 ft; Beam: 29.5 ft; 918.75 gross registered tons; 567.83 net registered tons; Peter Baldwin Quebec, Canada; 1872 Seized by the U.S. in 1898 while being used as a blockade runner to Cuba during the Spanish-American War. Later registered to St. John's, Newfoundland, she was used for the annual spring seal hunt. In March 1914, captained by Wes Kean, she departed St. John's for the seal hunt and the tragic events she would become most famous for. Thanks to fear of being stuck in the ice and a number of communication and judgment errors, 77 crew members died while being stranded on the ice for 53 hours during a blizzard in what's known as the Newfoundland sealing disaster of 1914. She was sold to Job Brothers & Co. in 1915 and her name was changed to S.S. Samuel Blandford in 1916. The vessel was wrecked when she struck the Keys, near St. Mary's Bay on August 3, 1916. SS Newfoundland model
Niagara: USS Niagara; Brig; Length: 198 ft, 111 ft at the waterline; Beam: 31 ft; Draft: 10 ft, 6 in; 295 displacement tons; Armament: 18x32pdr carronades; 2x12pdr long guns; Comp: 155; 1813 USS Niagara model
Niña: Caravela redonda; 55-94 toneladas; Comp.: 24; Armament: 9cm lombard, 4.5cm falconets; Palos, Spain; 1490 One of Christopher Columbus's three ships used on the first voyage of discovery and exploration that took him to the Caribbean islands in 1492-1493. She initially started off as a caravela latina but was re-rigged with square sails on the mainmast and foremast, thus becoming a caravela redonda. It appears to have been Columbus's favourite of the three, he even bought half-stake in her for his subsequent voyages.
Nonsuch: Ketch; Length: 11 m; 43 bm tons; Comp.: 12-24; Armament: 8 guns; Wivenhoe, Essex, England; 1650 Originally built as a merchant ship, she was purchased by the English navy in 1654 and served as an 8-gun navy ketch until 1667. She was sold to Sir William Warren in 1667 and became the vessel involved in founding the Hudson's Bay Company. A replica is on exhibit at the Manitoba Museum of Man and Nature in Winnipeg, Manitoba Canada.
Nonsuch: Schooner; Length: 86 ft; Beam: 21 ft; Depth of hold: 9 ft; Comp.: 61; Armament: 14 guns; Baltimore, Maryland, United States; 1812 The Schooner Nonsuch started her career as a privateer in the War of 1812 and was bought by the U.S. Navy in December 1812. She was used in several active roles by the U.S. Navy until December 1825. The Nonsuch was sold and broken up in 1826.
Omega: Bark; Length: 94.9 m; 2,471 gross tons.; Greenock, Scotland; 1887 Omega, formerly called Drumcliff, changed hands several times, trading in case oil, guano, nitrate, wheat, and general goods. Her claim to fame is that she was the last square-rigger in commercial trade, befitting her name. She sank on June 26, 1958.
Ontario: HMS Ontario; Sixth Rate Snow-rigged Brig-Sloop; Length: 80 ft; Beam: 25 ft; 226 tons burthen; Comp.: 310; Armament: 22 guns; Carleton Island Dockyard, New York; 1778 HMS Ontario was built on Carleton Island, the only territory to change hands to the US in the War of 1812. She had a short career as the largest British vessel on Lake Ontario, when on October 31, 1780, she went down to the bottom of Lake Ontario during a violent storm with the loss of all hands. HMS Ontario model
Orient: L'Orient; First Rate; Length: 197 pied; Beam: 50 pied; Draft: 25 pied; Armament: 120 guns; Toulon, France; 1791 Launched in 1791 as 'Dauphin Royal' she was renamed Sans-Culotte during the French Revolution since her name was an obvious affront to any self respecting French revolutionary. She was again renamed in 1795 to her most well known name: L'Orient. L'Orient was the flagship of the French armada under command of Vice Admiral François Paul Brueys d'Aiguïlliers bound for Egypt in 1798. On August first of that year, Rear Admiral Horatio Nelson caught up with the armada in the Nile delta and the Battle of the Nile ensued. L'Orient valiantly fought off the 74-gun Bellerophon but ended up ablaze with Brueys and Captain Louis de Casablanca both mortally wounded. HMS Swiftsure and HMS Alexander finished her off and L'Orient blew apart when her magazine exploded.
Orpheus: HMS Orpheus; Screw-driven corvette; Length: 69m; Beam: 12 m; Crew: 259; Chatham Dockyard, England; 1861 Wrecked on a sandbar near Paratutai Island in 1863 while delivering troops and supplies to Auckland, killing 189 of its crew.
Panther: HMS Panther; Fourth Rate ship-of-the-line; Length: 47 m; Beam: 13.3 m; Depth of hold: 5.6 m ; 1248 ton burden; Crew: 400; Armament: 24x24pdr , 26x12pdr, 10x6pdr; Chatham, England; 1758 In 1762 HMS Panther and the 28-gun frigate Argo captured the large 'Manila' galleon Santísima Trinidad. She served as a hospital ship after 1791, and was finally broken up in 1813. She was the third British Navy ship carrying the name Panther, her previous namesakes were launched in 1703 and 1746.
Patience: Pinnace; Bermuda; 1609 One of the two pinnaces built from the wreckage of the Sea Venture, the other was named Deliverance. They were built by the survivors of the Sea Venture who had rowed ashore to Bermuda. All but two of the 150 stranded sailed on the 'home built' pinnaces Deliverance and Patience on to their original destination, Jamestown Virginia which they reached on May 10, 1610. The remaining two men became the first permanent settlers on Bermuda, which then became an official English settlement in 1612.
Pennsylvania: USS Pennsylvania; Ship-of-the-line; Length: 210 ft; 3241 ton burden; Comp.: 810; Armament: 74-120 guns (136 gunports on four gun decks); Philadelphia, United States; 1821 Heavily delayed for a variety of reasons, the USS Pennsylvania was commissioned into the U.S. Navy at the end of 1837. She was burned on the 20th of April 1861, to keep her from being captured by Confederate forces threatening the Norfolk Navy Yard.
Pickle: HMS Pickle; Topsail Schooner; Length On Deck: 73 ft; Beam: 20 ft 7 in; Depth of Hold: 9 ft 6 in; 127 bm tons; Comp.: 40; Armament: 6x12pdr carronades; Bermuda Originally built as the schooner Sting and purchased as an armed tender by Lord Hugh Seymour in 1801, Sting was renamed Pickle. There is some confusion as to whether this was the same vessel as Lieutenant John Richards Lapenotiere's HMS Pickle, bringing the news of the victory and the death of Nelson at Trafalgar in 1805 back to England.
Pinta: Caravela redonda; Length: 20 m; Beam: 7 m; 55-70 toneladas; Comp.: 26; Armament: 9cm lombard, 4.5cm falconets; Palos, Spain; 1490 One of Christopher Columbus's three ships used on the first voyage of discovery and exploration that took him to the Caribbean islands in 1492-1493. Pinta was the fastest of Columbus' three ships, said to frequently having made 12 knots on her cross atlantic voyage and having had to wait for the Niña and Santa Maria to catch up.
Porpoise: USS Porpoise; hermaphrodite brig; Length: 88 ft; Depth of hold: 11 ft; Comp.: 80; Armament: 2x9pdr, 8x24pdr carronades; 1835 The Porpoise was part of the United States Exploring Expedition Squadron of 1838. She successfully completed a four year expedition circumnavigating the globe while exploring the Antarctic and South Pacific.
Prince Royal: Length: 35 m; Beam: 13.1 m; 1,200 ton burden; Crew: 500; Armament: 55 guns; England; 1610 Built during the reign of King James I under the auspices of Henry, Prince of Wales, the Prince Royal was the largest English ship of its day. She was lavishly decorated and the pride of the English fleet. Henry's initials 'H.P.' appeared on the side with decorations of his Prince of Wales's feathers and she carried St George, England's patron saint, as her figurehead. Henry never saw the completed ship since he died before the ship came off the docks. Prince Royal may have been inspired by the earlier Tre Kroner.
President: USS President; Frigate; Length: 175 ft; Beam: 43 ft 6 in.; Draft: 21 ft 4 in.; Depth of hold: 14 ft 4 in.; 1,576 displacement tons; Comp: 450; Armament: 32x24pdr, 22x12pdr (later replaced by 22x42pdr carronades), 1x19 pdr; New York, United States; 1800 The USS President was one of the "super-frigates" that caused the British some major problems in the war of 1812. On the 15th of January 1815 the USS President was captured by the British, who were impressed enough to build a replica retaining the name. USS President model
Preussen: Ship; Length: 124.25 m; Beam: 16.3 m; 5,081 grt tons; 4,788 nrt tons; 11150 displacement tons; Gestemünde, Germany; 1902 The Preussen was built for the nitrate trade between Germany and Chile and was the largest sailing ship ever built and the only ship to carry square sails on all five masts. She sank in 1910, after a collission in the English Channel with the cross-Channel steamer Brighton.
Quaco Queen: Schooner-rigged single-screw steam ship; Length: 159 ft; Beam: 35 ft; 523 gross tons; St. Martin's, New Brunswick Canada; 1919 She was abandoned at sea, 300 miles east of Bermuda on January 30, 1929.
Queen Anne’s Revenge: Ship (small frigate?); Length: 31.4 m; Beam: 7.5 m; Depth of hold: 4.1 m; 200 tons; Comp.: 125; Armament: 26 guns?; France; 1710? Originally called La Concorde, she was captured in 1717 by the Bahamian pirate Edward Teach a.k.a. Blackbeard who re-named her Queen Anne's Revenge. The Queen Anne's Revenge was lost when she ran (intentionally?) aground on a sandbar near Topsail-Inlet off the North Carolina coast and was possibly re-discovered in 1997. La Concorde model
Queen Charlotte: HMS Queen Charlotte; First Rate; 2,279 bm tons; Comp.: 850; Armament: 30x32pdr, 28x24pdr, 42x12pdr; Chatham Dockyard, England; 1790 Involved in the 'Battle of the Glorious First of June 1794' when 32 English ships of the line were charged to intercept a French grain fleet from North America. A French battle fleet sailed from Brest to provide protection for the French convoy. Queen Charlotte engaged two French vessels; Montagne and Jacobin. The Queen Charlotte lost her fore topmast and Montagne barely escaped with 300 of her crew dead or wounded. While considered an English vistory as six French ships were captured, the French grain convoy got to Brest completely unscathed. As the flagship of the English Mediterranean fleet, Queen Charlotte sank off Livorno when she caught fire on the 17th of March, 1800. She took 690 of her crew down with her.
Rainbow: Clipper; Length: 159 ft; Beam: 32 ft; Draft: 18 ft; 757 bm tons; Smith & Dimon shipyard, New York, United States; 1845 The Rainbow traded between New York and the Far-East for a couple of years when on March 17th, 1848 she left New York bound for China but was never seen or heard of again.
Reale: Galley; Length: 40 m; 170 displacement tons; Comp.: 700; Armament: 1x36pdr, 2x9pdr, 8x4.5pdr; 1570 Reale was Don Juan of Austria's flagship at the Battle of Lepanto in 1571, a decisive battle between a large mixed Christian- and an even larger Turkish naval force.
Red Jacket: Clipper; Length: 76.6 m ; Beam: 13.4 m ; Draft: 9.4 m; 2305 grt; crew 98; Rockland, ME, United States; 1853 This fast and beautiful clipper was named for Sagoyewatha, a Seneca chief known for wearing a red British Army jacket. Finished her career, somewhat unremarkably, when she was turned into a hulk in the Cape Verde Islands in 1886.
Resolute: Bark; Length 35.1m; 424 bm tons; Crew: 61; England; 1849 Originally built as the merchant ship Ptarmigan she was purchases by the Royal Navy in 1850. HMS Resolute was one of a number of vessels sent out in 1850 and 1852 to search for the missing arctic exploration ships HMS Erebus and HMS Terror.
Resolution: HMS Resolution; Collier; ship-rigged; 461 tons; Crew: 112; Armament: 12x6pdr, 12xswivel guns; Whitby, England; 1770 The HMS Resolution was one of two ships, the other being HMS Adventure, that took part in James Cook's second voyage to find 'Terra Australis'.
Roanoake: Down Easter; Length: 107 m; Beam: 15 m; Draft: 8.2 m; 3,539 tons; Comp: 50; Bath Maine, United States; 1892 The Roanoake was one of the largest square-rigged wooden sailing ships ever built. Mainly used on the California grain trade, she was relatively fast despite her huge size.
Rochester: Down Easter; Length: 131 ft 2 in; Beam: 30 ft 10 in; Depth of hold: 15 ft 5 in; 563 tons; Maine, United States; 1837 Rochester was launched as a full-rigged ship but she may have been re-rigged as a bark after having been sold and renamed Bremerhaven in 1850. She brought German emigrants to the New World in the 1850's and 1860's. Sold to Norwegian interests in 1870, she travelled from London to New York in 1877 on her last known voyage.
Roebuck: HMS Roebuck; Fifth Rate; Length: 96 ft; Beam: 25 ft; 292 bm tons; Comp: 50; Armament: 24 guns; England; 1690 The 7th English ship to carry the name Roebuck was initially launched as an 8 gun fireship. After having been refit as a Fifth Rate, she was given to Captain William Dampier to command for surveying 'Terra Australis' and the east coast of New Guinea. She was lost on the 21st of February 1701 off Ascension Island when she sprang a leak which could not be fixed either through incompetence or her poor hull condition, possibly a combination of both.
Rolla: HMS Rolla; Brig-Sloop; 231 bm tons; Armament: 10 guns; Plymouth, England; 1829 This two masted vessel was the second Royal Navy sloop-of-war to carry the name Rolla and operated mostly off the coast of Africa and ended her career as a tender to HMS Victory. Out of service in 1868.
Rose: HMS Rose; Sixth Rate Length: 179ft; Beam: 32ft; Draft: 13ft; 500 displacement tons; Hull, England; 1757 The HMS Rose was purpose built for the Seven Years War. In the 1770's she saw action on a number of occasions in the American War of Independence. A replica of the Rose was built in Lunenburg, Nova Scotia in the 1970's which later would play the part of the HMS Surprise in the movie "Master and Commander". Renamed Surprise, the ship now berths at the Maritime Museum of San Diego and is open for tours daily. Courtesy of Bill Kayser - "HMS" Rose Foundation
Royal Louis: Ship-of-the-line; Armament: 116 guns; Brest, France; 1759 Build during the reign of Louis XV, the Royal Louis was a prime example of the ever growing power and size of sailing warships during the 18th century. She was broken up in 1772.
Royal William: Three-masted wooden-hulled 300 iHP sidewheel Steamer; Length: 176ft; Beam: 28ft; Draft: 14ft; 1370 grt; Comp.:166 (36 crew); Black & Campbell, Quebec; 1831 One of the first steamers to cross the Atlantic, Royal William was built as a packet between Quebec and the Maritime Provinces. She was sold to Spain in 1834, renamed as Isabella Segunda and became the first steamer in Spanish service. Hulked in 1840.
Santa Maria: Nao; Length: 21m; 108-239 toneladas; Crew: 40; Armament: 9cm lombard, 4.5cm falconets; Galicia, Spain; 1492 Christopher Columbus's flagship used on his first voyage of discovery and exploration that took him to the Caribbean islands in 1492-1493. Her sail arrangement - square main, square main topsail, square foresail, square spritsail under the bowsprit and lateen mizzen, is recorded in Columbus's log. Very little else about the ship itself is known other than she ran aground on a coral reef east of Haiti and was lost on Christmas Eve, 1492.
Santísima Trinidad: Galleon; Length: 51 m; 2,000 tons; Comp.: 400-800; Armament: 54 guns; Manila, Philippines; 1750 Santísima Trinidad was the largest 'Manila galleon' built for trade between the Philippines and Mexico. She was captured and taken as a prize in October 1762 by the 60-gun HMS Panther and the 28-gun frigate Argo.
San Lorenzo: Galleas; 600 tons; Comp.: 600-650; Armament: 50 guns; Naples, Italy; 1580 Built in Naples for the Spanish, the San Lorenzo was a hybrid galley/galleon called a galleas. They were some of the most powerful warships of their time.
San Pedro: Nao; 100 tons; Comp.: 47; Armament: 6x3pdr; Peru; ~1590 The San Pedro was one of three ships in Pedro Fernández de Quirós' seventeen-month expedition to find 'Terra Australis'. The other two ships were the San Pedro y San Pablo and Los Tres Reyes. The commander of the San Pedro, Luis Baéz de Torres sailed through the strait separating New Guinea from Australia's Cape York Peninsula in 1606, two months after Duyfken had. This strait would be known as Torres Strait after 1775, five years after James Cook passed through the same strait in HMS Endeavour in his quest to find 'Terra Australis'.
Sea Venture: Full-rigged Ship; 240 tons burthen; Comp.:150; Armament: 8 sakers, 8 minions; East Anglia; 1603 The ship made so famous as the subject of William Shakespeare's Tempest. The Sea Venture left for Jamestown, Virginia on June 2, 1609 only to be caught in a hurricane which separated her from the other seven ships of the supply convoy. When she finally sighted land she got stuck on a reef about a kilometre from Bermuda. All 150 stranded on Bermuda and salvaged enough to built 2 pinnaces, the Deliverance and Patience with which they completed the voyage to Jamestown on May 10, 1610. Two men stayed behind on Bermuda and became the first settlers on the island.
Serapis: HMS Serapis; Fifth Rate; Length: 124 ft; Beam: 36 ft; 1,068 tons; Comp.: 250; Armament: 20x18pdr, 20x9pdr, 4x6pdr; Greenland South Dockyard, Rotherhithe, England; 1779 HMS Serapis took part in the Battle of Flamborough Head in the North Sea on the 23rd of September 1779. While she lost her fight with USS Bonhomme Richard, she was in much better shape then her opponent, wich sank on the 25th. Serapis was sailed to the United Provinces (Netherlands) under command of American captain John Paul Jones. Declared a French prize, she was renamed Roche and was lost in July 1781 off the coast of Madagascar when, according to all accounts, a sailor dropped a lantern into a barrel of brandy and she subsequently caught fire and exploded.
Simoom: HMS Simoom; Iron hulled 350 horse-power steam screw driven Frigate; Length: 246 ft between perpendiculars; Beam: 41 ft; Depth of hold : 27.5 ft; 1,980 bm tons, 2,920 displacement tons; Crew: 174; Armament: 16x32 pdr, 2x68 pdr; London, England; 1849 HMS Simoom was named after a hot, dry and sand-laden desert wind and the largest of the 'new' British iron-hulled steam frigates. In September 1852 HMS Simoom delivered the masts and rigging for HMS Windsor Castle at Milford. She was converted to a troopship in 1852 and served at the Crimea from 1854 to 1855, at Pei Ho fort in China in 1859 and at Ashantee from 1873 to 1874. She was sold to Norwegian interests in 1887. HMS Simoom model Courtesy of Bruce Hosie Larger version of the launch announcement.
Sindia: Steel-hulled four-masted Bark; Length: 329 ft; Beam: 45.2 ft; Draft : 26.7 ft; 3068 gross tons; Comp: 33; Belfast, Ireland; 1887 The bark Sindia was purchased in 1900 by the Standard Oil Company (John D. Rockefeller) fom the original owner, T.J. Brocklebank shipping (Liverpool). While returning to New York fully laden with silks and satins from Cobin, Japan, she was wrecked during a storm on December 15th, 1901 on a beach near Ocean City. Later claims that the crew had been drunk were somewhat refuted.
Soleil Royal: First Rate ship-of-the-line; Armament: 104 guns; Brest, France; 1669 Le Soleil Royal was named in honor of the sun king, Louis XIV, and was one of the most powerful warships of her day. She was destroyed by British fireships after she ran aground at the Battle of La Hoque in may, 1692.
Somers: USS Somers; Brig; Length: 31.4 m; 259 bm tons; Crew:120; Armament: 10x32pdr; New York, United States; 1842 Named after Richard Somers, the unfortunate commander of the ketch Intrepid which blew up at Tripoli (1804), the USS Somers was initially used as a training ship and later she blockaded Vera Cruz during the Mexican-American War. She capsized and sank in a squall while chasing a blockade-runner on December 8, 1846.
Sovereign of the Seas: HMS Sovereign of the Seas; First Rate; Length: 38.7 m (keel); Beam: 14.2 m; 1,141 tons; Armament: 106 guns; 20 cannon drakes, 4 demi-cannon drakes and 4 demi-cannon on the lower gun deck; 24 culverin drakes, 6 culverins and 4 demi-cannon on the middle gun deck; 38 demi-culverin drakes, 4 demi-culverins and 2 culverin drakes on the upper gun deck; Woolwich Dockyard, England; 1637 The Royal Navy's most lavish ornamented and expensive ship of the day. Slow and cumbersome, she nevertheless saw action during all three Anglo-Dutch wars. In 1703 she was destroyed by a candle mishap at Chatham.
Spider T: 200 HP Gardner diesel engine Humber Sloop; Length Overall: 18.78 m, 61.60 ft; Beam: 4.758 m, 15.60 ft; Draft: 1.403 m, 4.60 ft; 70.40 Gross Cargo Tonnage; Warrens Shipyard, New Holland, Lincolnshire; England; 1926 This iron hulled Humber sloop worked as a cargo vessel until 1972. She has been fully restored and is available for pleasure, business or corporate events. Courtesy of Mal Nicholson
Susan Constant: Bark; Length: 17 m; Beam: 7 m; Draft: 3 m; 120 tons; Complement:85; Armament: 4 minions, 4 falcons; London, England; 1605 The Susan Constant was purchased in 1606 by the Virginia Company. Captained by Christopher Newport the Susan Constant took 71 colonists to Jamestown Island to become the first English colony in North America. The Susan Constant was accompanied on her voyage by the Godspeed carrying 52 settlers and the Discovery with 21 passengers.
Swiftsure: HMS Swiftsure; Third Rate; Length: 51 m; Beam: 14 m; 1,612 tons; Armament: 28x32pdr, 28x18pdr, 18x9pdr, 2x32pdr carronades, 6x18pdr carronades; Deptford Dockyard, England; 1787 The 74-gun third-rate Swiftsure took part in the Battle of the Nile and aided in the destruction of the French flagship L'Orient. She was captured by the French ships Indivisible and Dix-Août in the Mediterranean on the 24th of June, 1801. During the Battle of Trafalgar in 1805 she was recaptured by the British and renamed HMS Irresistible.
Sylvanus C. Blanchard: Full-rigged Ship; Length: 220 ft; Beam: 41 ft; 1904 grt; Yarmouth, Maine, United States; 1871 Named after Sylvanus C. Blanchard, son of the prominent captain and shipbuilder Sylvanus Blanchard. Mainly active on the South African and San Francisco trade routes. She was abandoned at sea on June 6, 1882.
Tecumseth: HMS Tecumseth; Topsail Schooner; Length: 124 ft; Beam: 24 ft; Draft: 8 ft; 150 displacement tons; Sail Area: 4,700 Square ft; Chippewa, Canada; 1814. Stationed at the Penetanguishene Naval base in 1817, HMS Tecumseth and her sister ship HMS Newashwas were used to transport troops and supplies in the aftermath of the War of 1812.
Terra Nova: Steam assisted Bark; 140 bhp single screw compound steam engine; Length: 187 ft; Beam: 31.4 ft; Draft: 19 ft; 764 grt; Comp: 65; Dundee, Scotland; 1884 Originally built for the Dundee whaling and sealing fleet, she worked the annual spring seal hunt for a decade before being converted for polar expeditionary and scientific duty. She acted as a relief ship for the Jackson-Harmsworth Arctic Expedition of 1894-1897 and as Captain Robert Scott's vessel on his doomed Antarctic polar expedition of 1910. Terra Nova was sunk by ice off the southwestern tip of Greenland on the 13th of September 1943.
Thermopylae: Clipper; Length: 64.6 m; Beam: 11 m; Draft: 6.4 m; 991 grt (948 nrt); crew 36; Aberdeen, Scotland; 1868 The tea clipper Thermopylae was named for the site of the Greek victory over the Persians in 480 BC. She was the largest of the tea clippers and best known for her 63 day record run from London to Melbourne and her rivalry with the Cutty Sark. She was rigged carrying royal sails, single topgallant and double top-sails.
Tormilind: Four-masted Barkentine; Length: 45.71 m; Beam: 10.3 m; 495.46 grt; crew 10; Hara, Estonia; 1922 Built for the Käsmu Laevaomanikud shipping company, she is said to have been the most beautiful Estonian sailing ship ever built. She was lost in 1944.
Tre Kroner: Man O'War; Length: 117 ft; Beam: 44 ft; Comp: 450; Armament: 64 guns; Flensborg, Denmark; 1601 Built for Danish King Christian IV, she was a splendid and lavishly decorated vessel. In her day she would have been one of the largest warships afloat. Christian IV travelled to England in 1606 aboard the Tre Kroner to visit his brother-in-law, King James I of England. She may have been one of the inspirations for the building of the Prince Royal of 1610. Placed out of naval service in 1624
Triall: Crew: 45; Armament: 5 guns?; England; 1620 The Triall was in service for the British East India Company, when on her voyage with goods for the king of Siam she was wrecked on the Trial Rocks off Australia in 1622. The Captain and crew survived and they sailed in the Triall's skiff and longboat to Batavia.
Union:: Bark; Length: 36.2 m; Beam: 8.7 m; Depth of hold: 4.6 m; 408 ton; Bremen, Germany, 1854 Union was used as an emigrant vessel to the New World. Sold to Engelbert Walte in 1863 and she sailed under the command of Johann Conrad Heinrich Eckenberg from 1863 to 1864. In 1865 she was sold to Norwegian interests. After 1872, no records remain and what ultimately happened to the vessel is not known
United States: USS United States; Frigate; 2,200 tons; Comp: 364; Armament: 32x24pdr, 22x42pdr, 1x19 pdr; Philadelphia, United States; 1797 The USS United States the first of the large 44-gun frigates commissioned by the U.S. Congress to combat French privateers and the Barbary Powers. During the war of 1812 with England she engaged the 38-gun HMS Macedonian on the 25th of October 1812, turning her into a dismasted hulk and taking her as a prize. Decommissioned in 1849, she was commissioned as the Confederate receiving ship CSS United States and scuttled as blockage in the Elizabeth river. She was raised in 1865 and broken up at Norfolk the following year.
United States: SS United States; Three-masted barkentine-rigged wooden hull side-paddle wheel steamer; Length: 244.6 ft ; Beam: 40 ft; Depth of hold: 30.8 ft; 1,857 tons; New York, United States; 1847 The United States was the first US steamship specifically designed and purpose built as a trans-atlantic steam vessel. She was sold to German Interests in 1849 and renamed Hansa. She was rebuilt in 1853 and carried immigrants from Europe to he New World until 1857. Sold into British ownership in 1858 and renamed Indian Empire for the Galway-Halifax-New york passage in which she was used for only one year. Her hulked remains sank on the 4th of May 1866, while moored at the Victoria Dock in London.
Universe: Clipper Packet; Length: 186 ft 6 in; Beam: 38 ft 7 in; Depth of hold: 28 ft 8 in; 1,298 tons; New York, United States; 1850 Universe was built as a packet between New York and Liverpool for Williams & Guion's Black Star Line. Sold to British interests in 1875.
Vanguard: HMS Vanguard; Third Rate; Length: 51.2 m; 1,664 tons; Comp: 530; Armament: 28x32pdr, 30x24pdr, 16x9pdr; Deptford Dockyard, England; 1787 The HMS Vanguard was Nelson's flagship after returning to duty after his right arm was amputated in 1797. The HMS Vanguard saw action at the Battle of the Nile, between a prepared attacking British fleet and an unprepared and anchored French fleet, one of the most decisive naval victories of that time. She was not present at any other Napoleonic battles and was turned into a prison ship in 1812, a powder hulk in 1814 and finally broken up in 1821.
Valiant: HMS Valiant; Third Rate; Armament: 74 guns; Chatham, England; 1759 The first of three third-rates to carry the name Valiant, a second was launched in 1807 and a third in 1825.
Vergulde Draeck: East Indiaman or VOC retour ship; Length: 38.2m; Beam: 9.5m; 260 tons; Comp.: 193; Armament: 24 guns; Zaandam, Netherlands; 1653 Built by the VOC for the long-distance spice-trade to Batavia in the East Indies, Vergulde Draeck (Gilded Dragon) was lost on her second voyage out when she ran aground on a reef 120 km north of Perth, Australia on April 28, 1656.
Victory: HMS Victory; First Rate; Length: 57 m (1765), 69 m (1802); Beam: 15.7 m (1802); 2,142 tons (1765), 3,500 tons (1802); Comp: 821; Armament: 2x68pdr, 28x42pdr, 28x24pdr, 28x12pdr, 16x6pdr 8xswivel guns (1765); 30x32 pdr on the lower gun deck, 28 x 24 pounder on the middle gun deck, 30x12 pdr long guns on the upper gun deck, 12x12 pdr on the quarter deck, 2x12pdr and 2x68 pdr carronade on the forecastle (1802); Chatham Dockyard, England; 1765 The HMS Victory of 1765 was the 7th ship with this name and the third first-rate ship so called. After being rebuilt (1800-1802), it became the flagship of Lord Nelson's Mediterranean Fleet which made her so famous in the Battle of Trafalgar in 1805. She was put into reserve in 1812 in Portsmouth.
Vigilant: Baltimore Clipper; 300 tons burthen; Crew: 110; Armament: 8x12pdr; Baltimore, United States; 1794 Having been built in the 1790's, VIGILANT possibly was a former American slave trader and privateer called Nonsuch sold in 1824 to Danish interests. However, many other versions exist. We do know that she survived for more than 130 years until she went down during a hurricane in September 1928 in Christiansted Harbor, St. Croix in the U.S. Virgin Islands.
Ville de Paris: First Rate ; Length:58m; 2,347 tons; Armament: 104 guns; Rochefort, France; 1764 Originally rated as a 90-gun warship, she was enlarged to either a 104-gun or a 120-gun ship-of-the-line, conflicting data exists. On april 12, 1782 a French and an English fleet engaged just south of the Isless de Saintes in the Caribbean. A furious battle raged for over 10 hours, when the Ville de Paris surrenderd having spent all her ammunition. She was lost in a hurricane when she was being taken back to England in September 1782.
Wabash: USS Wabash; Three-masted steam screw driven frigate; Length: 301 ft 6 in; Beam: 51 ft 4 in; Draft: 23 ft; 4,808 tons; Philadelphia Navy Yard, United States; 1855 Among the USS Wabash's accomplishments is her taking part in the capture of Hatteras Inlet, North Carolina and Port Royal, South Carolina in 1861, the same year she captured a number of Confederate brigantines and schooners, and her participation in the assaults on Fort Fisher, North Carolina in 1864/65.
Warrior: HMS Warrior; Three-masted iron-hulled steam Battleship; Length:128 m; Beam: 18 m; Draft: 8 m; 9,210 tons; Speed: 13 knots (sail), 15 knots (steam); Compl: 705; Armament: 26x68 pdrs (muzzle-loading ), 10x110 pdr (breech-loading); England; 1860 Built in responds to the French iron-hulled warship La Gloire, HMS Warrior, a revolution in Naval shipbuilding, was the largest and fastest armoured warship of her day. Innovations came at such a high pace however, that she became obsolete within a decade and in 1883 she was already withdrawn from active sea service. She has been restored and is on display at Portsmouth dockyards, England.
Wasa: Ship-of-the-line; 1,300 displacement tons; Crew: 145; Armament: 2x62pdr, 3x35pdr, 48x24pdr, 1x16pdr, 8x3pdr, 2x1pdr; Stockholm, Sweden; 1628 The ship so famous for its sinking within minutes from the start of her maiden voyage. Salvaged in 1960, now on display in a museum.
Washington: USS Washington; ship-of-the-line; Length: 190.9 ft; Beam: 54.7 ft; Draft: 19.8 ft; 2,250 displacement tons; Comp: 750; Armament: 74 guns; Maine, United States; 1814 Built at the Portsmouth Navy Yard in Maine, The USS Washington operated mainly in the Mediterranean as a deterrent to the Barbary corsairs. From 1820 to 1843 she was placed in ordinary until finally broken up in 1843.
Wasp: USS Wasp; Sloop-of-war; Length: 32.2 m; Beam: 9.2 m; Draft: 4.3 m; 450 bm tons; Comp: 140; Armament: 2x12pdr, 16x32pdr; Washington Navy Yard, United States; 1806 The second US Navy vessel named Wasp, she saw action at the beginning of the War of 1812. She was captured by the British and renamed HMS Peacock in October 1812. She was lost at sea off South Carolina in 1814.
Western Union: Schooner; Length: 130 ft; Key West, Florida, United States; 1939 The Western Union was built as a cable ship for, as its name indicates, the Western Union Telegraph Co. and operated as such from 1939 to 1974. She is still in service today albeit not in its former role but as a tour ship for the 'Historic Tours of America'.
Whydah: Galleon; Length:30m; 300 bm tons; Armament: 18 guns; 1716 Originally a slave trader, she was captured by the Bahamian pirate Samuel Bellamy who made her his flagship. She was lost during a storm in April 1717.
William Badger: Whaling Ship; Length: 106 ft; Beam: 26 ft ; Depth of hold: 13 ft; 334 tons; Crew: 25; Armament: 1x32pdr. Originally intended as a whaler she was purchased by the Union Navy in 1861 and served as a stationary Union supply ship until sold in 1865.
Willemstad en Boetselaar: Spiegelschip; 978 ton; Amsterdam, 1794 On its first voyage the Willemstad en Boetselaar was captured by the English near the Cape in August 1795.
Windsor Castle: HMS Windsor Castle; Screw (steam) driven three-masted First Rate; Length from fore part of figurehead to aft part of taffrail: 278 ft 6 in; Beam: 60 ft ; Depth in hold: 24 ft 8 in ; 3771 bm tons; Armament: 131 guns; Royal Dockyard, Pembroke, England; 1852 Originally built for sail only, she was cut in half and lengthened by 23 feet before launch to accommodate for a screw propeller and the steam boilers driving her. She was renamed on the first of October 1852 to HMS Duke of Wellington, and served as flagship in the Baltic during the Russian War. She was taken out of service and broken up in 1909.
Winwick: Barque; 266 ton; Crew: 11; Lynn; 1835 Winwick sailed under the command of Captain Ware between London, Cadiz and Montevideo between 1835 and 1840. The barque and her cargo of 180 tuns of oil and three passengers were wrecked on the 12th of December 1841 at Lyall Bay, Wellington New Zealand wich Captain Ware may have mistaken for Port Nicholson. One life was lost. The oil, stores, furniture and tackle were sold off by public auction on December 30th 1841.
Yeoman: Bark; 904 gross tons; Saint John, New Brunswick Canada; 1845 Transferred out of Canadian registry to Greenock, Scotland.
Young America: Clipper; Length: 243 ft; 1,961 om tons; crew 75; New York, United States; 1853 Built for the trade between New York and San Francisco she averaged 118 day return passages, setting records twice for 86 and 82 days. She also set a record of 99 days between San Francisco and Liverpool. On February 17 1886, after two transatlantic voyages under new ownership, she left Delaware and disappeared.
Zee Haen: Fluyt; 100 tons; 1640 Zee Haen was one of two ships, the other being the 60 ton Heemskerck, taking part in Abel Tasman's exploration and discovery of Tasmania and New Zealand's South Island, and his charting of the northwest Australian coastline. The Dutch East-India company (VOC) ships left Batavia on the 14th of August 1642. After an eventful and productive voyage, Zee Haen returned to Batavia 6 months later.
Zeven Provincien: Ship-of-the-line; Comp.: 450; Armament: 80 guns; Delftshaven, Netherlands; 1664 Legendary Admiral Michiel Adriaanszoon de Ruyter's flagship in the Four Days' Battle, which was fought entirely at sea between England and the Netherlands. The Prince Royal, an important symbol of the Stuart Monarchy, grounded and surrendered on the third day to the Dutch and was subsequenly burned.
Zuytdorp: East Indiaman or VOC retour ship; 700 tons; Comp.: 286; Zeeland, Netherlands; 1710 The Zuytdorp left Zeeland on the first of August 1711 for Batavia and wrecked on cliffs just south of Shark Bay on the Western Australian coast somewhere between May and July 1712.
Zwaan: (Swan) Fluyt; 200 tons; Zeeland, Netherlands; 1633 The Swan left Texel for Batavia on December 10, 1633, reprovisioned at S. Vincente and arrived at Batavia on June 10, 1634 after a typical 6-7 month voyage. She stayed in the Indies and was wrecked near the Pescadores on February 16, 1637.

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