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Preface: Welcome to the start of your voyage through these pages.
This
site is dedicated to my passion for square rigged sailing ships.
Any ship with square sails qualifies, however, my specific interest is
the old Cape
Horner's. These great steel ships represented the peak
of sailing ship design in their battle against Steam. Of course,
the art of sail has continued to progress, with modern yachts achieving
records and results undreamed of in the late 1800's and early 20th century.
However, they do not have to earn their way and work for their living in the
same way that the old Cape Horner had to do. The Cape Horner had to carry a viable
pay load and do it in a time frame that was commercially profitable.
It had to run mean and lean, exploiting the only advantage left to it, the
freely available wind. As a result they were often poorly maintained,
under resourced and manned by a skeleton crew who had to do the work of
supermen in the cold and unforgiving waters off Cape Horn and the roaring
forties.
Click to see a larger
picture and read more about this great ship.
Yet, in spite
of these unbelievable odds, they turned in results that were amazing.
The efficiency with which they did the job proved the skill of their creators
and the abilities of those who sailed them.
My Grandfather was one of these, a shellback
who ran away to see and sailed before the mast for many
years. I have told some of his story here. I
hope you enjoy it. Continue
to:My Grandfather's story
Check this out!
One of my favourite
poems -its
an AA Milne (of Pooh Bear fame -the bear with very little brain!)
and one I have always found immensely amusing...
Here is a review, taken from my 'Rigs' page, that shows the
evolution of the clipper ship into the extreme clipper -the
greyhound of the sea. It will also indicate exactly what a 'full
rigged-ship' constitutes, as opposed to some of the many other rigs that
you may see or hear referred to from time to time:
To learn more about ship rigs and the
evolution of the sailing ship into the big steel barques that form my
own area of specific interest, you are invited to visit my 'Rigs'
pages.
