''Eye of the Wind'' is a

brigantine A brigantine is a two-masted sailing vessel with a fully square-rigged foremast and at least two sails on the main mast: a square topsail and a gaff sail mainsail (behind the mast). The main mast is the second and taller of the two masts. Older ...

built in 1911 at the C. H. Lühring shipyard in

Brake A brake is a mechanical device that inhibits motion by absorbing energy from a moving system. It is used for slowing or stopping a moving vehicle, wheel, axle, or to prevent its motion, most often accomplished by means of friction. Background ...

, Germany, originally as a topsail

schooner A schooner () is a type of sailing vessel defined by its rig: fore-and-aft rigged on all of two or more masts and, in the case of a two-masted schooner, the foremast generally being shorter than the mainmast. A common variant, the topsail schoon ...

named ''Friedrich''.

History

''Friedrich'' was initially used as a schooner for the South American hide trade. In 1923 she was registered in Sweden, under the name ''Merry'', and was used for transport in the Baltic and North seas and for fishing herring off the coast of Iceland during summer. In 1969, then stripped of her masts and sailing as a motor vessel, she was severely damaged in a fire that almost destroyed her. In 1973 a group of sailing enthusiasts, including Anthony "Tiger" Timbs, who later became her Master, began rebuilding her at

Faversham, England Faversham is a market town in Kent, England, from London and from Canterbury, next to the Swale, a strip of sea separating mainland Kent from the Isle of Sheppey in the Thames Estuary. It is close to the A2 road (Great Britain), A2, which foll ...

. In this restoration she was re-rigged as a brigantine by Master Rigger Wally Buchanan. After the restoration was completed she was given the name ''Eye of the Wind'', inspired by Sir Peter Scott's 1961 book. In October 1976 she set sail for Australia, the first voyage since the restoration, three years and eight months after her purchase by the new owners. In 1978, she set sail from

Plymouth Plymouth () is a port city and unitary authority in South West England. It is located on the south coast of Devon, approximately south-west of Exeter and south-west of London. It is bordered by Cornwall to the west and south-west. Plymouth ...

as the flagship of

Operation Drake Operation Drake (1978–1980) was a round-the-world voyage with the participation of young people from many countries, sailing in the brigantine Eye of the Wind. She left Plymouth in October 1978 and returned to London two years later, in December ...

, a 2-year sailing expedition, which brought her back to London in December 1980. While under the care of Tiger Timbs the ship was commissioned for several film roles. During the filming of '' Tai-Pan'', the film producers fitted her with a set of tan sails in order to be able to play two different ships. The tan sails were retained after filming.Crews records of sailing the ship
/ref> In 2001, she was taken over by a new owner and registered in Gilleleje, Denmark. Her interior underwent substantial renovations. Also, the new owners decided to call her rig a brig. This was only a change of naming, the rig remained the same since the filming of ''Tai Pan''. Again in 2009 she found a new owner with the Forum Media Group, Germany.

Published Books

*''Eye of the Wind'', by E. A. Mitchener (1984 Published by the author 1984, ) *''Eye of the Wind - Einem Traum auf der Spur'' (German), by Harald Focke and Ulf Kaack, 2014, Forum Media *''The Ship That Changed A Thousand Lives - over a century of history and stories'', published by Ina Koys, 2019 , Amazon only

Filmography

''Eye of the Wind'' has been used for several film and television roles. *'' The Blue Lagoon'' (1980) where the ship appears as the ''Northumberland''. *'' White Squall'' (1996) as the ''

Albatross Albatrosses, of the biological family Diomedeidae, are large seabirds related to the procellariids, storm petrels, and diving petrels in the order Procellariiformes (the tubenoses). They range widely in the Southern Ocean and the North Pacifi ...

''. *'' Tai-Pan'' (1986) as the ''Morning Cloud'' and the ''White Witch''. *'' Nate & Hayes'' (1983) as the ''Leonora''. *'' Lost at Sea: The Search for Longitude'' (1998), an episode of the U.S. television series ''

NOVA A nova (plural novae or novas) is a transient astronomical event that causes the sudden appearance of a bright, apparently "new" star (hence the name "nova", which is Latin for "new") that slowly fades over weeks or months. Causes of the dramati ...

''.

References

External links

''Eye of the Wind'', by E. A. Mitchener''Eye of the Wind'' FamilyPresent OwnersVideo, on youtube, of the ship being sailed.
{{Oldest surviving ships (pre-1919) Schooners Ships built in Germany 1911 ships