''Carthaginian'' was a three-masted

barque A barque, barc, or bark is a type of sailing vessel with three or more masts having the fore- and mainmasts rigged square and only the mizzen (the aftmost mast) rigged fore and aft. Sometimes, the mizzen is only partly fore-and-aft rigged, b ...

outfitted as a

whaler A whaler or whaling ship is a specialized vessel, designed or adapted for whaling: the catching or processing of whales. Terminology The term ''whaler'' is mostly historic. A handful of nations continue with industrial whaling, and one, Japa ...

that served both as a movie prop and a museum ship in

Hawaii Hawaii ( ; haw, Hawaii or ) is a state in the Western United States, located in the Pacific Ocean about from the U.S. mainland. It is the only U.S. state outside North America, the only state that is an archipelago, and the only state ...

. Laid down and launched in Denmark in 1921 as the three-masted schooner ''Wandia'', she was converted in 1964–1965 into a typical

square-rigged Square rig is a generic type of sail and rigging arrangement in which the primary driving sails are carried on horizontal spars which are perpendicular, or square, to the keel of the vessel and to the masts. These spars are called ''yards'' and ...

19th-century whaler for the filming of the 1966 movie ''Hawaii''. Afterward, she was moored in the harbor of the former

whaling Whaling is the process of hunting of whales for their usable products such as meat and blubber, which can be turned into a type of oil that became increasingly important in the Industrial Revolution. It was practiced as an organized industr ...

port-of-call of Lāhainā on the

an island of Maui, explaining the whaling industry in the Hawaiian islands. ''Carthaginian'' was lost in 1972 when she ran aground just outside the harbor on its way to

drydock A dry dock (sometimes drydock or dry-dock) is a narrow basin or vessel that can be flooded to allow a load to be floated in, then drained to allow that load to come to rest on a dry platform. Dry docks are used for the construction, maintenance, ...

maintenance on Oahu and was replaced as a whaling museum by ''

Carthaginian II ''Carthaginian II'' was a steel-hulled brig outfitted as a whaler, which served as a symbol of that industry in the harbor of the former whaling town Lāhainā on the Hawaiian island of Maui. Built in 1920 and brought to Maui in 1973, the square ...

'' in 1980.

History

''Carthaginian'' was built in 1921 in Denmark as the three-masted schooner ''Wandia'' and sailed for its owner, Captain Petersen, for 30 years in the

Baltic Sea The Baltic Sea is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that is enclosed by Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Russia, Sweden and the North and Central European Plain. The sea stretches from 53°N to 66°N latitude and from ...

hauling cargo. After a few years as a commercial fishing vessel based in

Iceland Iceland ( is, Ísland; ) is a Nordic island country in the North Atlantic Ocean and in the Arctic Ocean. Iceland is the most sparsely populated country in Europe. Iceland's capital and largest city is Reykjavík, which (along with its s ...

it was purchased and taken to Central America as a general cargo ship. ''Wandia'' was scheduled to take part in the inaugural

Operation Sail Operation Sail refers to a series of sailing events held to celebrate special occasions and features sailing vessels from around the world. Each event is coordinated by Operation Sail, Inc., a non-profit organization established in 1961 by U.S. Pres ...

procession in New York Harbor in July 1964, sailing under a Panamanian flag. ''Wandia'' was unsuccessful hauling cargo in Central America, and it was purchased by R. Tucker Thompson in November 1964 after an inspection in Acapulco. It was delivered to San Diego later that year. After advertising its availability, Thompson sold the ship to the

Mirisch Company The Mirisch Company was an American film production company owned by Walter Mirisch and his brothers, Marvin and Harold Mirisch. The company also had sister firms known at various times as Mirisch Production Company, Mirisch Pictures Inc., Miris ...

, a Hollywood production company, which was filming ''Hawaii''. Thompson held an option to be the first to repurchase the ship after filming was completed. Under Mirisch it was outfitted in the Southern California port of San Pedro as a

, square-rigged on its main and fore masts and

fore and aft rig A fore-and-aft rig is a sailing vessel rigged mainly with sails set along the line of the keel, rather than perpendicular to it as on a square rigged vessel. Description Fore-and-aft rigged sails include staysails, Bermuda rigged sails, ga ...

ged on its mizzen, to resemble a 19th-century

for scenes in the 1966 film ''Hawaii''. The cost of the refit was US$150,000. The refit was performed under the supervision of noted vintage sailing ship experts

Alan Villiers Alan John Villiers, DSC (23 September 1903 – 3 March 1982) was a writer, adventurer, photographer and mariner. Born in Melbourne, Australia, Villiers first went to sea at age 15 and sailed on board traditionally rigged vessels, including ...

(who served as captain), Ken Reynard (mate), Karl Kortum, and Bill Bartz, who then sailed the ship to Hawaii. Upon its arrival, it was renamed ''Carthaginian'' for the ship of that name in the 1959 novel ''Hawaii'' by James A. Michener, on which the 1966 film was based. After filming was complete in November 1965 Thompson re-purchased ''Carthaginian'' and sailed it back to California, calling in Lahaina along the way. Larry Windley, director of the non-profit "Lahaina Restoration Foundation" (LRF), convinced its members to purchase the ship as a tourist attraction harking back to Lahaina's time as a whaling port. When the ''Carthaginian'' next made land in Hilo on the Big Island of Hawaii, LRF representatives met the ship and made Thompson an offer to purchase it. Following the brief return voyage to California, where stops included

Sausalito Sausalito (Spanish for "small willow grove") is a city in Marin County, California, United States, located southeast of Marin City, south-southeast of San Rafael, and about north of San Francisco from the Golden Gate Bridge. Sausalito's ...

, Thompson made plans to sail ''Carthaginian'' to Tahiti over five months, advertising for 20 working crew who would each pay US$1500 for the privilege. The ship sailed from San Diego on August 4, 1966, and returned to Lahaina in January 1967, where it was converted into a whaling ship museum and tourist attraction with Thompson serving as Captain and Curator. Thompson left in 1968, and LRF declared it would be maintained as a working vessel, making an annual trip to dry dock on Oahu under a volunteer crew. ''Carthaginian'' was featured in the opening scenes of the sequel to ''Hawaii'', ''The Hawaiians'' (1970), captained by Whip Hoxworth, played by Charlton Heston. ''Carthaginian'' was destroyed after it ran aground on the Lahaina Reef on Easter Sunday 1972 (April 2, 1972) while sailing to dry dock at Oahu, and another ex-Baltic Sea cargo schooner, later renamed ''

'', was acquired to replace it in 1973. The wreck was broken up in place; after being stripped of its masts, rigging, exhibits, and figurehead, pieces of the hulk were hauled away on a barge and taken to a dump in

Olowalu Olowalu is a community on the west side of the island of Maui in the state of Hawaii. It is located about south of Lahaina on the Honoapiilani Highway. It is a census-designated place (CDP), with a population at the 2020 census of 100. It sust ...

Notes

References

External links

* * * * {{1972 shipwrecks Maui Whaling museums 1921 ships Sailing ships of Denmark Shipwrecks of Hawaii Lahaina, Hawaii