S/Y ''Argo'' is a two-masted Marconi rigged

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 ...

. She is owned and operated by Seamester Study Abroad Programs as one of three

sail training From its modern interpretations to its antecedents when maritime nations would send young naval officer candidates to sea (e.g., see Outward Bound), sail training provides an unconventional and effective way of building many useful skills on an ...

vessels the company operates. ''Argo'' is certified and inspected by the British Maritime and Coastguard Agency as a Category “0” vessel, allowing her unrestricted operation in the world's oceans. She is registered in

Road Town Road Town, located on Tortola, is the capital of the British Virgin Islands. It is situated on the horseshoe-shaped Road Harbour in the centre of the island's south coast. The population was about 15,000 in 2018. The name is derived from the na ...

Tortola Tortola () is the largest and most populated island of the British Virgin Islands, a group of islands that form part of the archipelago of the Virgin Islands. It has a surface area of with a total population of 23,908, with 9,400 residents in ...

British Virgin Islands ) , anthem = "God Save the King" , song_type = Territorial song , song = "Oh, Beautiful Virgin Islands" , image_map = File:British Virgin Islands on the globe (Americas centered).svg , map_caption = , mapsize = 290px , image_map2 = Brit ...

History

S/Y ''Argo'' was designed by

Bill Langan Michael William Langan, (Bill Langan), (June 9, 1955 – December 31, 2010) was an American yacht designer who practiced his trade in New York City and Newport, Rhode Island. His designs, both as chief designer at Sparkman & Stephens and later as th ...

as an inspiration of the schooner ''Black Douglas'' (now rechristened ''El Boughaz I''). The motivation and backing for the project came from the success experienced by Seamester's smaller schooner '' Ocean Star''. She was completed in June 2006 in Samut Prakan,

Thailand Thailand ( ), historically known as Siam () and officially the Kingdom of Thailand, is a country in Southeast Asia, located at the centre of the Indochinese Peninsula, spanning , with a population of almost 70 million. The country is bo ...

at Marsun Shipyards. ''Argo'' is a two-masted staysail schooner that measures

overall Overalls, also called bib-and-brace overalls or dungarees, are a type of garment usually used as protective clothing when working. The garments are commonly referred to as a "pair of overalls" by analogy with "pair of trousers". Overalls were ...

and accommodates twenty six students and seven professional crew on ocean voyages. Sailing under the Seamester flag, ''Argo'' circumnavigates on 90-day college semester-based programs and shorter 21-day and 60-day programs during the northern hemisphere summer. ''Argo'' completed her first

circumnavigation Circumnavigation is the complete navigation around an entire island, continent, or astronomical object, astronomical body (e.g. a planet or natural satellite, moon). This article focuses on the circumnavigation of Earth. The first recorded circ ...

back to Thailand in December 2008 and was due to start her second when the

piracy Piracy is an act of robbery or criminal violence by ship or boat-borne attackers upon another ship or a coastal area, typically with the goal of stealing cargo and other valuable goods. Those who conduct acts of piracy are called pirates, v ...

off of the coast of

Somalia Somalia, , Osmanya script: 𐒈𐒝𐒑𐒛𐒐𐒘𐒕𐒖; ar, الصومال, aṣ-Ṣūmāl officially the Federal Republic of SomaliaThe ''Federal Republic of Somalia'' is the country's name per Article 1 of thProvisional Constituti ...

and

Yemen Yemen (; ar, ٱلْيَمَن, al-Yaman), officially the Republic of Yemen,, ) is a country in Western Asia. It is situated on the southern end of the Arabian Peninsula, and borders Saudi Arabia to the Saudi Arabia–Yemen border, north and ...

prevented safe passage through the

Gulf of Aden The Gulf of Aden ( ar, خليج عدن, so, Gacanka Cadmeed 𐒅𐒖𐒐𐒕𐒌 𐒋𐒖𐒆𐒗𐒒) is a deepwater gulf of the Indian Ocean between Yemen to the north, the Arabian Sea to the east, Djibouti to the west, and the Guardafui Channe ...

. ''Argo'' continues to circumnavigate with students aboard, taking the southerly route to

Cape Town Cape Town ( af, Kaapstad; , xh, iKapa) is one of South Africa's three capital cities, serving as the seat of the Parliament of South Africa. It is the legislative capital of the country, the oldest city in the country, and the second largest ...

via

Christmas Island Christmas Island, officially the Territory of Christmas Island, is an Australian external territory comprising the island of the same name. It is located in the Indian Ocean, around south of Java and Sumatra and around north-west of the ...

and

Mauritius Mauritius ( ; french: Maurice, link=no ; mfe, label=Mauritian Creole, Moris ), officially the Republic of Mauritius, is an island nation in the Indian Ocean about off the southeast coast of the African continent, east of Madagascar. It incl ...

Specifications

;Principle equipment *Main engine:

Caterpillar 3126 The Caterpillar 3126 is a turbocharged 7.2L inline 6-cylinder diesel engine manufactured by Caterpillar and first introduced in 1997; it was the first electronic mid-range diesel engine that Caterpillar produced. It is the successor to the Cate ...

, *Generators: 2 × Northern Lights 25 kW *Hydraulic System: TRAC American Bow Thruster *Dive Compressor: Bauer Mariner per min *Air Conditioning: Marine Airr *Water Maker: Sea R.O. per day *Refrigeration: Seafrost BG 1000 *Windlass: 2 × Maxwell VWC 8000 *Tenders: 2 × Avon SR4.0m, and *Communications: Iridium Phone/Data Service, Cellular Phone, SSB, VHF ;Vessel characteristics *Designer:

*Builder: Marsun Shipyards *Length Overall (Sparred): *Length Overall (Unsparred): *Length On Deck: *Beam: *Draft: *Displacement: 148 Tons *Height of Main Mast: *Sail Area: . *Hull Material: Steel

External links

The American Sail Training Association

Seamester Programs

References

{{Reflist Individual sailing vessels Sail training ships Schooners 2006 ships Ships of the British Virgin Islands Ships built in Thailand

History

Specifications

See also

External links

References