Most people, I guess, would be impressed by colour pictures of supertankers and mega cruise ships. As for me, I prefer to look at old photographs of four- or five-masted ships. The sight of these leviathans of yore stirs up my imagination.
I begin to wonder what it must have been like to be in command of a ship propelled only with giant sails. No radar to warn of oncoming ships in foggy weather. No satellite images of a storm building up somewhere over the vast ocean. One would have had to rely on one’s experience and guts and on the fortitude of the crew. What challenging times those must have been!
Pamir, no date
Courtesy of the State Library of Queensland
About the ship: Four-masted barque built 1905 by Blohm & Voss, Hamburg. Last commercial sailing ship to round Cape Horn, in 1949. Length: 114.5 m (375 ft) LOA. Beam: 14 m (46 ft). Top speed: 16 knots. [Source: Wikipedia]
Thomas W. Lawson, no date
Courtesy of the State Library of Queensland
About the ship: Seven-masted, steel-hulled schooner built 1902 by Fore River Ship & Engine Building Co., MA, USA. Used primarily to haul coal and oil along the east coast of the United States. Length: 475 ft (145 m). Beam: 50 ft (15 m). Top speed: 16 knots. [Source: Wikipedia]
Anne Comyn, [between 1900 and 1954?]
Photo by Allan C. Green (1878-1954)
Courtesy of State Library Victoria
About the ship: Five-masted barquentine built 1919 by the Rolph Shipbuilding Company in California. In 1920 made maiden voyage from San Francisco to Australia in record time (52 days). [info from various online sources]
Preussen, c. 1934 (from a photo taken in 1902–1910)
Photographer unknown
Courtesy of the Library of Congress, USA
About the ship: Steel-hulled, five-masted ship built 1902 by Joh. C. Tecklenborg Shipyard in Germany. Was the world’s only ship of this class with five masts carrying six square sails on each mast. Length: 482 ft (147 m). Beam: 53.8 ft (16.4 m). Speed: 20.5 knots. [Source: Wikipedia]
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E. R. Sterling, [between 1885 and 1928]
Photo by George Schutze
Courtesy of the State Library of Victoria
About the ship: American six-masted barquentine built 1883 at Harland & Wolff, Belfast, Ireland. Launched as the four-masted British ship Lord Wolseley. Name changed to Columbia (1898–1903), Everett G. Griggs (1903–1910), and then back to E.R. Sterling (1910–1928). Dimensions: 308.2′ x 42.9′ x 25.1′. Tonnage: 2577 tonnes. [Sources: Wikimedia Commons and Texas Tech University Libraries]
Archibald Russell, [c. 1900–c. 1954]
Photo by Allan C. Green (1878–1954)
Courtesy of State Library Victoria
About the ship: Four-masted steel barque built 1905 by Scott Shipbuilding and Engineering Co., Scotland. Sailed the world delivering a variety of cargo to ports in the UK, Germany, Spain, Australia, Brazil and other countries. Length: 291.3 ft (88.8 m). Beam: 42.8 ft (13 m) [Source: Wikipedia]
L’Avenir, [between 1908 and 1946]
Photographer unknown
Courtesy of State Library Victoria
Looking forward from the afterdeck of the L’Avenir, 1934
Photo by Percy Grainger (1882-1961)
Courtesy of the State Library of Victoria
About the ship: Four-masted steel barque built 1908 by R.C. Rickmers, Germany, for use as a training ship. Dimensions: 87.35×13.62×7.55 meters [278’2×44’8×26’5]. Tonnage: 2738 GRT.
Sold in 1937 to Hamburg Amerika Linie (Germany) and renamed Admiral Karpfanger. On 8th February 1938, sailed from Port Germain, Australia, for Hamburg with a cargo of 3500 tonnes of wheat. Never heard of again after radioing her position at 51°S and 172°E and “all well” on 1st March 1938. [Sources: Bruzelius.info and Wikimedia Commons]
~ Barista Uno
