tall ship

A tall ship is a large, traditionally- rigged sailing vessel. Popular modern tall ship rigs include topsail schooners, brigantines, brigs and barques. "Tall ship" can also be defined more specifically by an organization, such as for a race or festival.

History

Traditional rigging may include square rigs and gaff rigs, usually with separate topmasts and topsails. It is generally more complex than modern rigging, which utilizes newer materials such as aluminum and steel to construct taller, lightweight masts with fewer, more versatile sails. Most smaller, modern vessels use the Bermuda rig.

Author and master mariner Joseph Conrad (who spent 1874 to 1894 at sea in tall ships and was quite particular about naval terminology) used the term "tall ship" in his works; for example, in ''The Mirror of the Sea'' in 1906.

Henry David Thoreau also references the term "tall ship" in his first work, '' A Week on the Concord and Merrimack Rivers'', quoting "Down out at its mouth, the dark inky main blending with the blue above. Plum Island, its sand ridges scolloping along the horizon like the sea-serpent, and the distant outline broken by many a tall ship, leaning, still, against the sky." He does not cite this quotation, but the work was written in 1849.

While Sail Training International (STI) has extended the definition of ''tall ship'' for the purpose of its races to embrace any sailing vessel with more than waterline length and on which at least half the people on board are aged 15 to 25.

Sail Training International

In the 21st century, "tall ship" is often used generically for large, classic, sailing vessels, but is also a technically defined term by Sail Training International for its purposes and STI helped popularize the term. The exact definitions have changed somewhat over time, and are subject to various technicalities, but by 2011 there were 4 classes (A, B, C, and D). There are only two size classes, A is over 40 m LOA, and B/C/D are 9.14 m to under 40 m LOA. The definitions have to do with rigging: class A is for square sail rigged ships, class B is for "traditionally rigged" ships, class C is for "modern rigged" vessels with no "spinnaker-like sails", and class D is the same as class C but carrying a spinnaker-like sail.

Class A

All square-rigged vessels (barque, barquentine, brig, brigantine or ship rigged) and all other vessels more than 40 metres length overall (LOA), regardless of rig. STI classifies its A Class as "all square-rigged vessels and all other vessels over length overall (LOA)", in this case STI LOA excludes bowsprit and aft spar. STI defines LOA as "Length overall measured from the fore side of stem post
to aft side of stern post, counter or transom".

Class B

Traditionally rigged vessels (i.e. gaff rigged sloops, ketches, yawls and schooners) with an LOA of less than 40 metres and with a waterline length (LWL) of at least 9.14 metres, one good example is '' Spirit of Bermuda''.

Class C

Modern rigged vessels (i.e. Bermudan rigged sloops, ketches, yawls and schooners) with an LOA of less than 40 metres and with a waterline length (LWL) of at least 9.14 metres not carrying spinnaker-like sails.

Class D

Modern rigged vessels (i.e. Bermudan-rigged sloops, ketches, yawls and schooners) with an LOA of less than 40 metres and with a waterline length (LWL) of at least 9.14 metres carrying spinnaker-like sails. There are also a variety of other rules and regulations for the crew, such as ages, and also for a rating rule. There are other sail festivals and races with their own standards, the STI is just one set of standards for their purposes.

Earlier description of classes

An older definition of class "A" by the STI was "all square-rigged vessels over 120′ (36.6 m) length overall (LOA). Fore and aft rigged vessels of 160′ (48.8 m) (LOA) and over". By LOA they meant length excluding bowsprit and aft spar.

Class "B" was "all fore and aft rigged vessels between 100 and 160 feet in length, and all square rigged vessels under 120′ (36.6 m) (LOA)".

See also a list of class "A" ships with lengths including bowsprit.

Lost tall ships

Tall ships are sometimes lost, such as by a storm at sea. Some examples of lost tall ships include:

* '' Asgard II'', an Irish national sail training ship, commissioned in 1982, was lost in 2008 off the French coast. The two-masted brigantine is thought to have collided with a submerged object.
* '' Astrid'' ran aground in 2013 off Ireland, and then broke up in 2014 after being salvaged
* '' Bounty'', a full-rig ship lost off the North Carolina coast as Hurricane Sandy approached in 2012.
* '' Concordia'', a triple-mast barquentine built in 1992 and operated by Canada as a school ship; lost at sea in 2010, in a squall.
* '' Endeavour II'', built in 1968; wrecked in a 1971 gale off New Zealand
* '' Fantome'', a former yacht built in 1927, then operated as a cruise ship. Was lost in Hurricane Mitch in 1998.
* ''Lennie'', built in 1871, ran aground on Digby Neck in 1889.Lennie (+1889)
Wrecksite
* '' Marques'', built in 1917; was lost in a 1984 Tall Ships Race.

Gallery

File:Alexander von Humboldt ship all sails.jpg, ''Alexander von Humboldt''
File:AmerigoVespucci.JPG, '' Amerigo Vespucci''
File:Belem(02).jpg, '' Belem''
File:Bounty Greenock.jpg, '' Bounty (1960 ship)''
File:CisneBranco07.jpg, '' Cisne Branco''
File:Tall ship Christian Radich under sail.jpg, '' Christian Radich''
File:US Navy 101021-N-7642M-317 USS Constitution returns to her pier after an underway to celebrate her 213th launching day anniversary.jpg, ''USS Constitution''
File:UAM Creoula 20071106.jpg, '' UAM Creoula''
File:Cuauhtemoc 001.jpg, '' ARM Cuauhtémoc (BE01)''
File:Denmark frigate SLV Green.jpg, '' Danmark''
File:Dar Mlodziezy2007.jpg, '' Dar Młodzieży''
File:Dewaruci.jpg, ''Dewaruci''
File:USCG Eagle.jpg, USCGC ''Eagle''
File:040731_061_earl.jpg, ''Earl of Pembroke''
File:Eendracht II.JPG, ''Eendracht''
File:Elissa-ship.jpg, '' Elissa''
File:'Europa' in Belfast Lough - Tall Ships Belfast 2009 - geograph.org.uk - 1446281.jpg, Europa
File:ARC Gloria by Will White.png, '' Gloria''
File:Gorch-Fock-190806-1.jpg, '' Gorch Fock (I)''
File:Gorch-Fock 2 HFX 2007.jpg, ''Gorch Fock (II)''
File:Segelschulschiff Greif Hanse Sail 2008 (dark1).jpg, '' Greif (brigantine)''
File:Juan Sebastián Elcano DN-SC-92-00851.jpg, ''Juan Sebastián Elcano''
File:Tallship in Toronto Harbour.jpeg, '' Kajama''
File:Bristol hf04 tallships in harbour 03.jpg, '' Kaskelot''
File:Kaiwo Maru II in yokohama japan.jpg, '' Kaiwo Maru II''
File:Kaliakra1.jpg, '' Kaliakra''
File:Khersones Kieler Woche 2005.jpg, '' Khersones''
File:Крузенштерн 10.JPG, ''Kruzenshtern''
File:LeeuwinII.jpg, ''Leeuwin II''
File:Libertad_2.jpg, ARA ''Libertad''
Image:Ml-full-sail.jpg, ''Maple Leaf''
File:Mercator op zee.jpg, '' Mercator''
File:TallShipsRace 2003-Turku-fin Mir1.jpg, '' Mir''
File:Tall ships antwerp 2010 Morgenster.jpg, ''Morgenster''
File:Peacemaker.jpg, '' Peacemaker''
File:PictonCastle-AnchoredOffCarriacou-March14-09.jpg, '' Picton Castle''
File:Pogoria 2008-08-30.jpg, ''Pogoria''
File:PrinceWilliamAlongsideInFredrikstad.jpg, ''Rah Naward''
FIle:Roald Amundsen front view.jpg, ''Roald Amundsen''
File:RoyalAlbatross.jpg, '' Royal Albatross''
File:Royal-clipper.jpg, '' Royal Clipper''
File:N.R.P. Sagres, navio-escola. Forças Armadas Marinha Portuguesa.jpg, N.R.P. ''Sagres''
File:Amsterdam Sail 2010 0819 Sedov 01.jpg, '' STS Sedov''
File:Rnov shabab oman under sails.jpg, '' Shabab Oman''
File:Simon Bolivar (ship) 4.jpg, ''Simón Bolívar''
File:Sørlandet in Oslo 7jun2005.jpg, '' Sørlandet''
File:Stad Amsterdam 2009c.jpg, '' Stad Amsterdam''
File:Statsraad Lehmkuhl and Lord Nelson.jpg, '' Statsraad Lehmkuhl''
File:StavrosNiarchosFullSailBrigMatchRace2003.JPG, '' Stavros S Niarchos''
File:INS Sudarshini.jpg, '' INS Sudarshini''
File:HMS-Surprise-overall.jpg, '' HMS Surprise''
File:Tarangini.jpg, '' INS Tarangini''
File:B.A.P. Union..jpg, ''BAP Unión''
File:Young Endeavour at FBE.jpg, ''STS Young Endeavour''

See also

* American Sail Training Association
* Cutty Sark Tall Ships' Race
* Iron-hulled sailing ship
* Jubilee Sailing Trust
* List of large sailing vessels
* Operation Sail
* Sail training
* SAIL Amsterdam
* Tall Ships Challenge
* Tall Ship Chronicles
* Tall Ships Youth Trust
* The Tall Ships' Races
* Windjammer

References

Further reading

* American Sail Training Association; ''Sail Tall Ships!'' (American Sail Training Association; 16th edition, 2005 )
* Thad Koza; ''Tall Ships: A Fleet for the 21st Century'' (Tide-Mark Press; 3rd edition, 2002; )

External links

American Sail Training Association

Another World Adventures

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tall Ship

Lists of sailing ships
Sailing rigs and rigging
Ship types

pl:Żaglowiec