'Viking' and other 4-masted barques and clippers were in operation on the annual trade voyage to Australia until 1939. On the return leg in 1940 some of the Scandiavian vessels ran into German minefields off Denmark. So ended an entire sailing epoch and the last vestige of unmechanised transport. It's all in "The Last Grain Race", by Eric Newby, a brilliant writer and adventurer, who signed on as a deckhand on the "Moshulu" sailing out of Belfast for what turned out to be the last time.
My dad, one of the last windjammer sailors, was the local harbourmaster in our town. I remember Alan Villiers coming to dinner at our house when I was a kid. He gave me a signed copy of "The New Mayflower." My grandkids now have it as a treasured keepsake.
My paternal grandfather crewed on windjammers up and down the Pacific coast in the canned same trade. Alaska Packers operated a fleet of them into the 20th century. They hauled canning supplies up to Alaska and finished goods back to San Francisco for labeling, warehousing and eventual sale to wholesalers. He did this until 1916, when he married my grandmother.
My Father went to sea in sail in 1897,was the last member of our family to serve under sail and was was shipwrecked in 1898 off Harwich in a North Easter.Ship,a Geordie brig was lost but all the crew,including the ship's dog,were rescued by the Harwich lifeboatmen.He claimed that there were three types of hard men aboard a sailing vessel.Those who were born hard,those who grew hard and the others who were made hard;but they were all hard.We shall never the likes of these vessels and their crews again.
My great grandfather went to sea at 13 and spent 30 years mostly on clipper ships. When he came ashore to Fraserburgh he would occasionally join a fishing vessel, usually sending a message home to say where he had disappeared to. It made my great grandmother sick with worry but he couldn't do without his trips out to sea.
Sailors back in the day must have had amazing grip strength and practical strength. I see where the old cartoon image of burley sailors comes from. These guys were basically lifting weights all day.
Seven dislikes, what can you say? unless they are like me and dislike the term "windjammer", this was a degoratory term used by "stinkboat" crews to denegrate the square riggers. Nowadays it has become the norm to use the term, but it caused many a barroom brawl in the day. Sadly the stinkboat won out, but its days maybe numbered as technology takes its toll. BTW, a great compilation, cant get enough sail footage, Thank You.
Wind eaters, a magnificent era! Åland and master Eriksson bought some 45 windjammers, other Åland about the same, continental Finland had some 60 of them. 1922 the fastest one in Grain Race was Milverton, from my home town, Turku. How many is left: Passat, Pommern, Af Chapman, Moshulu, Laennec, (later Oldenburg and Suomen Joutsen), some more, like newer ones Sedov, Sörlandet, Tovaritsh, Eagle etc.
Afaik there are 8 proper windjammers left: Falls of Clyde, Moshulu, Viking, Peking, Passat, Kruzenstern (Padua), Sedov and Pommern. You have more 3 mast vessels from that era (Tovarish, Gorch Fock, Eagle, Chapman, Dar Pomorza etc) but the 3 mast vessels were not proper windjammers.
This an edit mix of many different films. The start was loading the "Parma " four masted Barque,, This vessel made record of 83 days from Port Elizabeth to Falmouth . Originally called the "Arrow " built in Scotland as a case oil carrier.. Barques in a good wind could produce 8- 900Hp /mast ..
4:07 damn I didn't know sea gulls got that big!! I don't think they do cause they found it worth recording! Pretty amazing vid, I've been on board the schooner ernistina which was called the morrasy ernistina she has the largest masts in the world, it was only a week's trip as part of the college crusade but it was amazing, it was only a few days but you can imagine how a ship was literally the home of every sailor and some sailors had no home or family outside the ship, it's a lifestyle not a job, these were men!
Hallo, My Grandfather Kazimierz Dowgiallo was sailing as a cadet probably in 1930. There was an accident, they lost two guys . Maybe somebody knows more? Best regards
Many sailors were lost during the voyages, but i recall one specific accident on the 3 masted barque Killoran were they were caught in eight(8)! HURRICANES! Two sailors were lost but the ship made it to port! One other ship the 3 masted full rigger Grace Harvar we're called "man killer"
Actually the ships were iron - or rather steel - too. The windjammers were (and some are still) large steel vessels, larger than any sailing ships before or after.
No Silicon . Iron men in Iron ships . Windjammers were Iron ship witjhIron masts and some iron chain rigging Only the upper rigging was wood .. and the decking covering !
