Ships from the Age of Sail and Steam

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Advance: Brigantine; Length: 88 ft; Beam: 21 ft 10 in; Depth in Hold: 8 ft 5 in; 144 tons; Comp.: 17; New Kent, Maryland, United States; 1847 Advance was the flagship of the first US arctic expedition and search for HMS Erebus and HMS Terror in 1850.
Adventure: HMS Adventure; Collier; ship-rigged; 336 tons; Crew: 81; Whitby, England; 1771 The HMS Adventure was one of two ships, together with HMS Resolution, taking part in James Cook's second voyage to find 'Terra Australis'.
Atalanta: Brig; Length: 107 ft; Beam: 26.8 ft; Draft: 15.5 ft; 140 kl; Norrkøping, Sweden; 1852 The Brig Atalanta was a typical passenger carrier transporting immigrants from Europe to the New World.
Avondster: Jaght; 250 tons burthen; Crew: 65; England; 1640 The Avondster (Evening Star), originally named Blessing and in service for 12 years with the British East India Company, was captured by the VOC in 1653 and renamed Avondster. She sank on the night of June 23, 1659, when she was loading cargo for India anchored at Black Fort, Galle (Sri Lanka). She slipped her anchor and drifted onto the rocks before anyone noticed (?).
Balclutha: Full-rigged Ship; Length Over All: 301 ft; Length Of Deck: 256.5 ft; Beam: 36.8 ft; Depth: 22.7 ft; 1689 grt; Crew: 26; Height of mainmast: 145 ft; Glasgow, Scotland; 1886 The steel hulled Balclutha started her career on the Europe to San Francisco grain trade, was renamed to Star of Alaska in 1905 while used as a salmon packet ship and renamed again in 1933 to Pacific Queen and used as a "movie-ship". Finally, in 1954, the San Francisco Maritime Museum purchased Pacific Queen and restored the vessel and her name. She was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1985 and is on display at the museum.
Bellaventure: S.S. Bellaventure; Steel-hulled steam screw driven schooner-rigged two-masted vessel; Length: 241 ft; Beam: 36 ft; 1133 gross registered tons; 466 net registered tons; D&W Henderson & Co. Glasgow, Scotland; 1908 Registered in St. John's, Newfoundland, the Bellaventure was engaged in the sealhunt from 1909 to 1915. She was one of the vessels involved in the rescue of sealers from the SS Newfoundland having been left out on the ice in the 1914 Newfoundland sealing disaster. Sold to the Russian Government in 1917 and renamed Alexander Sibririakov, she made the first successful crossing of the Northern Sea Route in a single navigation without wintering. She was sunk during WWII by the German cruiser Admiral Scheer near Belucha Island on the 25th of August 1942.
Belle Poule: La Belle Poule (The Beautiful Hen); Frigate; Length: 140 ft; Beam: 38 ft; 902 bm tons; Comp. 260; Armament: 26x12pdr, 4x6pdr; Bourdeaux, France; 1768 La Belle Poule fought the British 28 gun frigate Arethusa to a stalemate after a five hour battle on June 16th, 1778. Generally considered the first naval combat between French and British forces in the American War of Independence. She was captured by HMS Nonsuch on July 15, 1780. Sold out of British service in 1801.
Belleisle: HMS Belleisle; Third Rate; Comp.: 690; Armament: 74 guns; Rochefort, France; 1776 Named Lion when she was originally launched in Rochefort, she was renamed to HMS Belleisle when captured by the British on the 23th of June 1795 at the Battle of Groix. As a lead ship of the line crossing the French and Spanish line during the battle of Trafalgar in 1805, she was entirely dismasted and after the battle she was towed by the frigate Naiad to Gibraltar to be refitted. She was sold and broken up in Portsmouth in 1814.
Benjamin F. Packard: Down Easter; Length: 244.2 ft; Beam: 43.3 ft; Draft: 26.7ft; 2,076 grt; Bath Maine, United States; 1883 Used originally on the New York to San Francisco trade routes, she changed hands several times and ended up as an amusement park 'pirate ship' attraction in New York. Her aftercabin woodwork and interior furnishings were saved, restored and are currently on display at the Mystic Seaport Museum.
Bluenose: Schooner; 285 displacement tons; Comp.: 25; Lunenburg, Nova Scotia; 1921 Bluenose was a Grand Banks schooner designed specifically to race. She was also a working vessel and spent the bulk of her career in the cod fisheries on the Grand Banks, racing only when fishing season was over. She won numerous races and after her loss the government of Nova Scotia had a replica of the original built; Bluenose II.
Bonhomme Richard: USS Bonhomme Richard; East Indiaman; Length: 152 ft; Beam: 40 ft; Draft: 19 ft; 998 tons; Comp. 380; Armament: 6x18pdr, 28x12pdr, 8x9pdr; France; 1775 Originally named Duc de Duras and built for the French East India Company. She was given on loan to the United States in 1779. Her new career with the US Navy was cut short when, on the 23rd of September 1779, she had her ferocious but victorious engagement with HMS Serapis. Badly damaged and on fire, she sank on the 25th.
Champion of the Seas: Three-masted Clipper; Length: 76.8 m; Beam: 13.9 m; Draft: 8.9 m; 2447 tons; Boston, United States; 1854 Champion was initially designed as a passenger ship and ordered by James Baines of the Black Ball Line for service between Liverpool and Melbourne. On her maiden voyage from Liverpool to Melbourne she recorded a fastest single day run of 465 nautical miles, December 10-11, 1854. She was later used as a merchant vessel for general trade. Champion was abandoned by her crew off Cape Horn on January 3rd 1877 when she was leaking badly. The crew was rescued by the British bark Windsor. Champion's figurehead was a sailor with the left hand extended while holding a hat in the right hand. Her hull was painted black with white inner works and her waterways were painted blue.
Charles W. Morgan: Whaling Ship; Length: 114 ft; 314 tons; Crew: 26; New Bedford, United States; 1841 The Charles W. Morgan had a remarkable 80-year career in whaling and she is the only intact wooden whaler in the USA. Originally ship-rigged with square sails on all masts, she was re-rigged as a bark in 1880 with fore-and-aft sails on the mizzenmast
Congress: USS Congress; 38-gun Frigate; Length: 164 ft; Beam: 40 ft, 6 in; Depth of hold: 13ft; 1,265 displacement tons; Comp: 340; Armament: 28x18pdr and 12x9pdr; Portsmouth New Hampshire, United States; August 15, 1799 Congress was, similar to other US Frigates, up-gunned by 1812 and carried 24x18pdr and 20x32pdr carronades.
Constellation: USS Constellation; 38-gun Frigate; Length: 164 ft; Beam: 40 ft, 6 in; 1,265 displacement tons; Comp: 340; Armament: 28x18pdr and 20x32pdr carronades (1812); Baltimore, United States; September 7, 1797 Known also as the Yankee Race Horse, the USS Constellation was the second frigate completed under the Congressional authorization of 1794. America had decided, it wanted a Navy. more . . .
Constitution: USS Constitution; Frigate; Length: 175 ft; Beam: 43.5 ft; Draft: 22.5 ft; 1,576 displacement tons; Comp: 450; Armament: 32x24pdr, 22x12pdr (later replaced by 22x42pdr carronades); Boston, United States; 1797 One of the U.S. Navy's six original frigates and probably the most famous of all, earning the nickname 'Old Ironside' in the victory against the 38 gun frigate HMS Guerrière on Agust 19th, 1812. In 1897 she was brought to Boston for restoration and preservation and is now a museum ship at Boston harbour.
Coolangatta: Schooner; re-rigged as a Brig; 88 tons; Shoalhaven River, NSW; 1843 Named by the first European settler of the Australian Shoalhaven area, Scotsman Alexander Berry, for his estate, meaning "splendid view" in Gaelic. The Coolangatta ran ashore on the 8th of August 1846 off the Queensland Gold Coast north of the Tweed river (Australia - NSW) while under command of Captain Steele. Two prisoners held onboard were released and crew and "passengers" walked seventy miles to Amity Point, where they were picked up and transported to Sydney. Any subsequent attempts to salvage the Coolangatta failed.
David Dows: Barkentine; Length: 278 ft (260 ft keel); Beam: 37 ft; Draft: 18 ft; 1,481 net registered tons; Toledo, Ohio, United States; 1881 David Dows is most often referred to as a five masted schooner, as she would have appeared after her square rig on the foremast was removed, leaving a fore-and aft rig on all masts. She was dubbed "The Queen of the Lakes" because of her sheer size and appealing shape. After having been reduced to a barge, she was abandoned during a winter storm on November 30th, 1889 and sank to the bottom of Lake Michigan near Whiting Indiana.
Deliverance: Pinnace; Bermuda; 1609 One of the two pinnaces built from the wreckage of the Sea Venture, the other was named Patience. They were built by the survivors of the Sea Venture who had rowed ashore to Bermuda. All but two of the 150 stranded sailed on the 'home built' pinnaces Deliverance and Patience on to their original destination, Jamestown Virginia which they reached on May 10, 1610. The remaining two men became the first permanent settlers on Bermuda, which then became an official English settlement in 1612.
Diana: HMS Diana; Length: 173ft from figurehead to stern; Beam: 39.3 ft; 990 tons burthen; Armament: 28x18pdr, 18x9pdr; Deptford Royal Dockyard, England; 1794 The third vessel in the British Navy to bear the name Diana was a 38-gun fifth rate frigate launched in 1794 at Deptford and sold in 1815 to the Dutch Navy. Much like other ships, her armaments were upgraded several times untill all 9 pounder cannon had been replaced by 32 pounder carronades. Destroyed by fire in 1834. more . . .
Dover Castle: Full-rigged Ship; Length: 185 ft; Beam: 34 ft; Depth of hold: 22 ft; 1003 grt; Sunderland, England; 1858 Dover Castle was re-rigged in 1875 as a bark. Sold to Norwegian interests in 1880 and renamed Kem.
Eliza Swan: Whaling Ship; 306 tons; Crew: 48; Montrose, Scotland; 1801 A very successful whaler, the Eliza Swan was captured and subsequently ransomed by the USS President on July 24th, 1813. The Eliza Swan was fully laden with 146 tuns or about 37,000 gallons of whale blubber from a good catch of 8 whales. She was on her way home. The USS President deceived the Eliza Swan by flying British colors at distance and only raising the American flag when capture had been assured, an often used practice in the privateering business. It's were the expression 'showing your true colors' originates from.
Endeavour: HMS Endeavour; Collier; ship-rigged; 369 tons; Crew: 94; Armament: 10x4pdr, 8xswivel guns; Whitby, England; 1764 The HMS Endeavour was originally named Earl of Pembroke and was the ship used by James Cook on his first voyage to find 'Terra Australis'. There is some controversy over whether or not her mizzenmast was as short as often assumed. HMS Endeavour finished her career in 1790, in French service as La Liberté. HMS Endeavour model
Enterprise: USS Enterprise; Sloop; Length: 14 m; Beam: 5 m; 55 tons; Crew: 50; Armament: 6 cannon, 10 swivel guns; Fort St. Johns (St. Jean sur Richelieu), Canada; 1770 Originally named George III she was captured at Fort St. Johns in 1775 and renamed Enterprise by the American commander Benedict Arnold. She was set on fire and scuttled by her crew during the evacuation of Fort Ticonderoga in the spring of 1776.
Erebus: HMS Erebus; Bomb Vessel; bark-rigged; 372 tons; Crew: 67; Armament: 1x13inch mortar, 1x10inch mortar, 8x24pdr, 2x6pdr; Wales; 1826 Most known for its role on polar expeditions during the 1840's. Erebus was abandoned in June 1848 after being bound in the ice at Victoria Strait in Northern Canada for almost a year. Despite numerous rescue expeditions, only some remains of the crew and a few diaries were ever found.
Esquimaux: 70 Hp Steam Whaler; bark-rigged; Length: 157 ft; Beam: 30 ft; Depth of hold: 19 ft; 465 tons; St. Johns, Newfoundland; 1865 Initially built as a ship-rigged three-masted steam whaler, she was converted to a bark in 1883, as were so many whalers and merchant vessels of her time. Sold in 1900 to Evelyn B. Baldwin for the Baldwin-Ziegler arctic expedition and renamed America.
Falls of Clyde: Iron-hulled four-masted Bark; Length: 85.3 m; Beam: 12.2 m; Draft: 6.4 m; 1809 displacement tons; Port Glasgow, Inverclyde, Scotland; 1878 Named after a waterfall up the River Clyde, the Falls of Clyde was originally a full-rigged ship designed for global trade, later re-rigged as a Bark. Currently the Falls of Clyde is part of the Hawaii Maritime Center in Honolulu Harbor.
Fram: Polar exploration ship rigged as a three-masted topsail Schooner; auxiliary 220hp steam engine; 400 tons; Crew: 12; Larvik, Norway; 1892 She was arguably the strongest (not the prettiest) vessel of her time and advanced further north and south than any other surface vessel had. Fram was specifically built for polar expeditions, the 70cm thick sides consisted of two innermost shells of oak and an outermost shell of greenheart. The hull was further strengthened with sheets of metal fore and aft. Her rudder and propeller could be raised. She was used for three arctic expeditions: 1. Fridjof Nansen 1893-1896 2. Otto Sverdrup 1898-1902 3. Roald Amundssen 1910-1912. She is on display as part of the Fram museum in Oslo, Norway.
Geelvinck: Three masted frigate-yacht; Length: 111 voet 7 duim; Beam: 29 voet 7 duim; Hold: 11 voet 5.5 duim; 380 tons; Crew: 120; VOC-wharf Amsterdam, Netherlands; 1696 Under the command of Willem de Vlamingh, Geelvinck was the lead vessel in a three ship expedition in 1696 (Geelvinck, Wezel and Nijptang). The expedition was tasked with charting the west-coast of Australia, and to look for survivors of t'Ridderschap van Holland, which had dissappeared in 1694, and Vergulde Draeck, lost 40 years earlier.
Great Britain SS Great Britain; Steam Assisted Liner; Length: 322 ft, not counting the bowsprit; Beam: 50 ft 6 in; 3443 tons burthen, 1016 net registered tons; Crew: 120, 252 passenger capacity when built; Great Western Dock, Bristol, England; 1843 She was an iron hulled, six-masted steam liner for the Great-Western-Steam-Ship-Company and sailed on her maiden voyage in 1845. Sold in 1850 and modified for service to Australia. Laid up in 1876 and currently a museum at her original dock in Bristol.
Great Republic: Four-masted Bark; Length: 335 ft; Beam: 53 ft; Depth of hold: 29 ft; Boston, United States; 1853 In February 1855 she sailed from New York to Liverpool in 13 days. A year later she made the trip from New York to San Francisco in 92 days. Initially bark-rigged, she was re-rigged as a three-masted ship circa 1862. The Great Republic, which had been renamed to Denmark in 1869, was abandoned off Bermuda when she started taking on water during a hurricane in 1872. She was on her way from Rio de Janeiro, Brasil to St. John, New Brunswick.
Great Victoria: Iron Full-rigged screw steam-assisted Ship; 2278 tons; Nantes, France; 1854
Halve Maen: Half Moon VOC Vlieboat; 80 om tons; Comp.: 20; Amsterdam, Netherlands; 1608 Contracted by the Dutch VOC, English explorer Henry Hudson's bark-rigged ship was to find the Northeast passage to the Indies. The Hudson river still bears his name as he explored the river and much of lower New York Bay. Two replica's of the Halve Maen have been built.
Independence: USS Independence; Ship-of-the-line; 2257 bm tons; Comp.: 790; Armament: 90x32pdr; Boston, United States; 1814 The USS Independence was one of three ships-of-the-line ordered by the U.S. Navy, the other two being the USS Franklin and USS Washington. Poorly designed as a three-decker (three and a halve feet of freeboard at lower gun deck) she was reconfigured by removing her spar deck and turning her into a 54 gun frigate in 1836.
Indefatigable: HMS Indefatigable; 64 Gun Third Rate ship-of-the-line; Length: 160 ft; Beam: 44 ft; Depth of hold: 19 ft; 1,384 bm tons; Comp.: 520; Armament: 26x24pdr, 26x12pdr, 2x9pdr, 10x4pdr; Bucklers Hard, Hampshire, England; 1784 Although Indefatigable was built as a Third Rate of 64 guns, she was cut-down (razeed - don't like that word, not entirely sure why?) in 1794 to a frigate, keeping her 26x24pdr as the main armament on her gundeck, 8x12pdr and 4x42pdr carronades on her quarterdeck and 4x12pdr and 2x42pdr carronades on her forecastle. HMS Indefatigable model
Intrepid: USS Intrepid; Ketch or bomb-ketch; Length: 18.3 m; 64 tons; Comp.: 64; Armament: 4 guns; France; 1798 Originally built for Napoleon's Egyptian Campaign, she was sold to Tripoli and subsequently captured by the USS Enterprise and her name changed from Mastico to USS Intrepid. After an extremely successful raid by her crew to destroy the captured USS Philadelphia in 1804 (Tripoli), she was less fortunate on her second action (as a fireship) in September of the same year, when she blew up prematurely, killing the entire crew.
Irving Johnson: Brigantine; Sparred Length: 113 ft; Beam: 21 ft; Draft: 11 ft; 129 displacement tons; Sail Area: 5,032 sq ft ; Crew: 8-18; San Pedro, California, United States; 2002 Really not from the 'Age of Sail' but simply included as beautiful examples of Brigantines, the Irving Johnson and sister ship Exy Johnson are based on Brigantine plans designed but never built in the 1930's. They sail for the 'TopSail Youth program', teaching troubled youth discipline and teamwork by becoming part of the crew of a sailing ship with all its risks and responsibilities.
John Adams: USS John Adams; Frigate; Length: 139 ft; Beam: 32 ft; Draft: 16 ft; 544 displacement tons; Comp: 220; Armament: 6x24pdr, 24x12pdr; Charleston, South Carolina, United States; 1799 Named for U.S. President John Adams, she had a very successful career and saw action in several conflicts, most importantly in the West Indies during the Quasi-War with France (1800) and in the Mediterranean against the Barbary corsairs in both Barbary wars (1803 and 1815). The USS John Adams was decommissioned and sold out of the navy in 1867.
Juno: HMS Juno; Fifth Rate Frigate; Length: 127 ft; Beam: 34 ft; Depth of hold: 11 ft, 9in; 646 tons burthen; Complement: 210; Armament: 26x12pdr, 6x6pdr; Rotherhithe, England; 1757 HMS Juno of 1757 was one of three frigates in her class, together with HMS Richmond (1757) and HMS Thames (1758). She was built by William Alexander and was burnt at Rhode Island to avoid capture by the French on 5 August 1778.
Kadirga: Galley; Length: 36.9 m; Crew: 144 oarsmen; Kasimpasha, Turkey; 16~17th century. Used mainly for ceremonial purposes, very little else is known for sure about this 48-oared galley a scaloccio, including her origins. She is currently preserved at the Maritime Museum of Istanbul.
Mary Celeste: Brigantine; Length: 103 ft; 282 tons; Crew: 8; Spencer's Island, Nova Scotia; 1860 Originally built as the Amazon, she was re-named Mary Celeste in 1869 and became famous for being found abandoned off Gibraltar by the British bark 'Dei Gratia' on December 4th (or 5th), 1872. The ship and her cargo were mostly in-tact, a true ghost-ship. Speculation plenty about what happened to the captain and crew without us adding to it.
Megaera: HMS Megaera; Iron hulled 350 horse-power steam screw driven Frigate; Length: 270 ft; Beam: 37.6 ft; Depth of hold: 26.25 ft; 1,391 bm tons, 2,025 displacement tons; Armament: 18 guns; London, England; 1849 HMS Megaera was named after one of the three snake-haired furies from classical mythology. HMS Megaera never saw active service as a frigate and like her sistership HMS Simoom, she was converted to a troopship and transport. She was beached and wrecked at St. Pauls Island in the Indian Ocean on the 16th of June 1871.
Newfoundland: S.S. Newfoundland; Wooden steam screw driven Brigantine; Length: 212.5 ft; Beam: 29.5 ft; 918.75 gross registered tons; 567.83 net registered tons; Peter Baldwin Quebec, Canada; 1872 Seized by the U.S. in 1898 while being used as a blockade runner to Cuba during the Spanish-American War. Later registered to St. John's, Newfoundland, she was used for the annual spring seal hunt. In March 1914, captained by Wes Kean, she departed St. John's for the seal hunt and the tragic events she would become most famous for. Thanks to fear of being stuck in the ice and a number of communication and judgment errors, 77 crew members died while being stranded on the ice for 53 hours during a blizzard in what's known as the Newfoundland sealing disaster of 1914. She was sold to Job Brothers & Co. in 1915 and her name was changed to S.S. Samuel Blandford in 1916. The vessel was wrecked when she struck the Keys, near St. Mary's Bay on August 3, 1916. SS Newfoundland model
Niagara: USS Niagara; Brig; Length: 198 ft, 111 ft at the waterline; Beam: 31 ft; Draft: 10 ft, 6 in; 295 displacement tons; Armament: 18x32pdr carronades; 2x12pdr long guns; Comp: 155; 1813 USS Niagara model
Niña: Caravela redonda; 55-94 toneladas; Comp.: 24; Armament: 9cm lombard, 4.5cm falconets; Palos, Spain; 1490 One of Christopher Columbus's three ships used on the first voyage of discovery and exploration that took him to the Caribbean islands in 1492-1493. She initially started off as a caravela latina but was re-rigged with square sails on the mainmast and foremast, thus becoming a caravela redonda. It appears to have been Columbus's favourite of the three, he even bought half-stake in her for his subsequent voyages.
Nonsuch: Ketch; Length: 11 m; 43 bm tons; Comp.: 12-24; Armament: 8 guns; Wivenhoe, Essex, England; 1650 Originally built as a merchant ship, she was purchased by the English navy in 1654 and served as an 8-gun navy ketch until 1667. She was sold to Sir William Warren in 1667 and became the vessel involved in founding the Hudson's Bay Company. A replica is on exhibit at the Manitoba Museum of Man and Nature in Winnipeg, Manitoba Canada.
Omega: Bark; Length: 94.9 m; 2,471 gross tons.; Greenock, Scotland; 1887 Omega, formerly called Drumcliff, changed hands several times, trading in case oil, guano, nitrate, wheat, and general goods. Her claim to fame is that she was the last square-rigger in commercial trade, befitting her name. She sank on June 26, 1958.
Ontario: HMS Ontario; Sixth Rate Snow-rigged Brig-Sloop; Length: 80 ft; Beam: 25 ft; 226 tons burthen; Comp.: 310; Armament: 22 guns; Carleton Island Dockyard, New York; 1778 HMS Ontario was built on Carleton Island, the only territory to change hands to the US in the War of 1812. She had a short career as the largest British vessel on Lake Ontario, when on October 31, 1780, she went down to the bottom of Lake Ontario during a violent storm with the loss of all hands. HMS Ontario model
Panther: HMS Panther; Fourth Rate ship-of-the-line; Length: 47 m; Beam: 13.3 m; Depth of hold: 5.6 m ; 1248 ton burden; Crew: 400; Armament: 24x24pdr , 26x12pdr, 10x6pdr; Chatham, England; 1758 In 1762 HMS Panther and the 28-gun frigate Argo captured the large 'Manila' galleon Santísima Trinidad. She served as a hospital ship after 1791, and was finally broken up in 1813. She was the third British Navy ship carrying the name Panther, her previous namesakes were launched in 1703 and 1746.
Patience: Pinnace; Bermuda; 1609 One of the two pinnaces built from the wreckage of the Sea Venture, the other was named Deliverance. They were built by the survivors of the Sea Venture who had rowed ashore to Bermuda. All but two of the 150 stranded sailed on the 'home built' pinnaces Deliverance and Patience on to their original destination, Jamestown Virginia which they reached on May 10, 1610. The remaining two men became the first permanent settlers on Bermuda, which then became an official English settlement in 1612.
Pickle: HMS Pickle; Topsail Schooner; Length On Deck: 73 ft; Beam: 20 ft 7 in; Depth of Hold: 9 ft 6 in; 127 bm tons; Comp.: 40; Armament: 6x12pdr carronades; Bermuda Originally built as the schooner Sting and purchased as an armed tender by Lord Hugh Seymour in 1801, Sting was renamed Pickle. There is some confusion as to whether this was the same vessel as Lieutenant John Richards Lapenotiere's HMS Pickle, bringing the news of the victory and the death of Nelson at Trafalgar in 1805 back to England.
Porpoise: USS Porpoise; hermaphrodite brig; Length: 88 ft; Depth of hold: 11 ft; Comp.: 80; Armament: 2x9pdr, 8x24pdr carronades; 1835 The Porpoise was part of the United States Exploring Expedition Squadron of 1838. She successfully completed a four year expedition circumnavigating the globe while exploring the Antarctic and South Pacific.
President: USS President; Frigate; Length: 175 ft; Beam: 43 ft 6 in.; Draft: 21 ft 4 in.; Depth of hold: 14 ft 4 in.; 1,576 displacement tons; Comp: 450; Armament: 32x24pdr, 22x12pdr (later replaced by 22x42pdr carronades), 1x19 pdr; New York, United States; 1800 The USS President was one of the "super-frigates" that caused the British some major problems in the war of 1812. On the 15th of January 1815 the USS President was captured by the British, who were impressed enough to build a replica retaining the name. USS President model
Preussen: Ship; Length: 124.25 m; Beam: 16.3 m; 5,081 grt tons; 4,788 nrt tons; 11150 displacement tons; Gestemünde, Germany; 1902 The Preussen was built for the nitrate trade between Germany and Chile and was the largest sailing ship ever built and the only ship to carry square sails on all five masts. She sank in 1910, after a collission in the English Channel with the cross-Channel steamer Brighton.
Quaco Queen: Schooner-rigged single-screw steam ship; Length: 159 ft; Beam: 35 ft; 523 gross tons; St. Martin's, New Brunswick Canada; 1919 She was abandoned at sea, 300 miles east of Bermuda on January 30, 1929.
Queen Anne’s Revenge: Ship (small frigate?); Length: 31.4 m; Beam: 7.5 m; Depth of hold: 4.1 m; 200 tons; Comp.: 125; Armament: 26 guns?; France; 1710? Originally called La Concorde, she was captured in 1717 by the Bahamian pirate Edward Teach a.k.a. Blackbeard who re-named her Queen Anne's Revenge. The Queen Anne's Revenge was lost when she ran (intentionally?) aground on a sandbar near Topsail-Inlet off the North Carolina coast and was possibly re-discovered in 1997. La Concorde model
Resolute: Bark; Length 35.1m; 424 bm tons; Crew: 61; England; 1849 Originally built as the merchant ship Ptarmigan she was purchases by the Royal Navy in 1850. HMS Resolute was one of a number of vessels sent out in 1850 and 1852 to search for the missing arctic exploration ships HMS Erebus and HMS Terror.
Resolution: HMS Resolution; Collier; ship-rigged; 461 tons; Crew: 112; Armament: 12x6pdr, 12xswivel guns; Whitby, England; 1770 The HMS Resolution was one of two ships, the other being HMS Adventure, that took part in James Cook's second voyage to find 'Terra Australis'.
Roanoake: Down Easter; Length: 107 m; Beam: 15 m; Draft: 8.2 m; 3,539 tons; Comp: 50; Bath Maine, United States; 1892 The Roanoake was one of the largest square-rigged wooden sailing ships ever built. Mainly used on the California grain trade, she was relatively fast despite her huge size.
Rochester: Down Easter; Length: 131 ft 2 in; Beam: 30 ft 10 in; Depth of hold: 15 ft 5 in; 563 tons; Maine, United States; 1837 Rochester was launched as a full-rigged ship but she may have been re-rigged as a bark after having been sold and renamed Bremerhaven in 1850. She brought German emigrants to the New World in the 1850's and 1860's. Sold to Norwegian interests in 1870, she travelled from London to New York in 1877 on her last known voyage.
Rolla: HMS Rolla; Brig-Sloop; 231 bm tons; Armament: 10 guns; Plymouth, England; 1829 This two masted vessel was the second Royal Navy sloop-of-war to carry the name Rolla and operated mostly off the coast of Africa and ended her career as a tender to HMS Victory. Out of service in 1868.
Santísima Trinidad: Galleon; Length: 51 m; 2,000 tons; Comp.: 400-800; Armament: 54 guns; Manila, Philippines; 1750 Santísima Trinidad was the largest 'Manila galleon' built for trade between the Philippines and Mexico. She was captured and taken as a prize in October 1762 by the 60-gun HMS Panther and the 28-gun frigate Argo.
Sea Venture: Full-rigged Ship; 240 tons burthen; Comp.:150; Armament: 8 sakers, 8 minions; East Anglia; 1603 The ship made so famous as the subject of William Shakespeare's Tempest. The Sea Venture left for Jamestown, Virginia on June 2, 1609 only to be caught in a hurricane which separated her from the other seven ships of the supply convoy. When she finally sighted land she got stuck on a reef about a kilometre from Bermuda. All 150 stranded on Bermuda and salvaged enough to built 2 pinnaces, the Deliverance and Patience with which they completed the voyage to Jamestown on May 10, 1610. Two men stayed behind on Bermuda and became the first settlers on the island.
Simoom: HMS Simoom; Iron hulled 350 horse-power steam screw driven Frigate; Length: 246 ft between perpendiculars; Beam: 41 ft; Depth of hold : 27.5 ft; 1,980 bm tons, 2,920 displacement tons; Crew: 174; Armament: 16x32 pdr, 2x68 pdr; London, England; 1849 HMS Simoom was named after a hot, dry and sand-laden desert wind and the largest of the 'new' British iron-hulled steam frigates. In September 1852 HMS Simoom delivered the masts and rigging for HMS Windsor Castle at Milford. She was converted to a troopship in 1852 and served at the Crimea from 1854 to 1855, at Pei Ho fort in China in 1859 and at Ashantee from 1873 to 1874. She was sold to Norwegian interests in 1887. HMS Simoom model Courtesy of Bruce Hosie Larger version of the launch announcement.
Sindia: Steel-hulled four-masted Bark; Length: 329 ft; Beam: 45.2 ft; Draft : 26.7 ft; 3068 gross tons; Comp: 33; Belfast, Ireland; 1887 The bark Sindia was purchased in 1900 by the Standard Oil Company (John D. Rockefeller) fom the original owner, T.J. Brocklebank shipping (Liverpool). While returning to New York fully laden with silks and satins from Cobin, Japan, she was wrecked during a storm on December 15th, 1901 on a beach near Ocean City. Later claims that the crew had been drunk were somewhat refuted.
Somers: USS Somers; Brig; Length: 31.4 m; 259 bm tons; Crew:120; Armament: 10x32pdr; New York, United States; 1842 Named after Richard Somers, the unfortunate commander of the ketch Intrepid which blew up at Tripoli (1804), the USS Somers was initially used as a training ship and later she blockaded Vera Cruz during the Mexican-American War. She capsized and sank in a squall while chasing a blockade-runner on December 8, 1846.
Sylvanus C. Blanchard: Full-rigged Ship; Length: 220 ft; Beam: 41 ft; 1904 grt; Yarmouth, Maine, United States; 1871 Named after Sylvanus C. Blanchard, son of the prominent captain and shipbuilder Sylvanus Blanchard. Mainly active on the South African and San Francisco trade routes. She was abandoned at sea on June 6, 1882.
Terra Nova: Steam assisted Bark; 140 bhp single screw compound steam engine; Length: 187 ft; Beam: 31.4 ft; Draft: 19 ft; 764 grt; Comp: 65; Dundee, Scotland; 1884 Originally built for the Dundee whaling and sealing fleet, she worked the annual spring seal hunt for a decade before being converted for polar expeditionary and scientific duty. She acted as a relief ship for the Jackson-Harmsworth Arctic Expedition of 1894-1897 and as Captain Robert Scott's vessel on his doomed Antarctic polar expedition of 1910. Terra Nova was sunk by ice off the southwestern tip of Greenland on the 13th of September 1943.
Thermopylae: Clipper; Length: 64.6 m; Beam: 11 m; Draft: 6.4 m; 991 grt (948 nrt); crew 36; Aberdeen, Scotland; 1868 The tea clipper Thermopylae was named for the site of the Greek victory over the Persians in 480 BC. She was the largest of the tea clippers and best known for her 63 day record run from London to Melbourne and her rivalry with the Cutty Sark. She was rigged carrying royal sails, single topgallant and double top-sails.
United States: USS United States; Frigate; 2,200 tons; Comp: 364; Armament: 32x24pdr, 22x42pdr, 1x19 pdr; Philadelphia, United States; 1797 The USS United States the first of the large 44-gun frigates commissioned by the U.S. Congress to combat French privateers and the Barbary Powers. During the war of 1812 with England she engaged the 38-gun HMS Macedonian on the 25th of October 1812, turning her into a dismasted hulk and taking her as a prize. Decommissioned in 1849, she was commissioned as the Confederate receiving ship CSS United States and scuttled as blockage in the Elizabeth river. She was raised in 1865 and broken up at Norfolk the following year.
United States: SS United States; Three-masted barkentine-rigged wooden hull side-paddle wheel steamer; Length: 244.6 ft ; Beam: 40 ft; Depth of hold: 30.8 ft; 1,857 tons; New York, United States; 1847 The United States was the first US steamship specifically designed and purpose built as a trans-atlantic steam vessel. She was sold to German Interests in 1849 and renamed Hansa. She was rebuilt in 1853 and carried immigrants from Europe to he New World until 1857. Sold into British ownership in 1858 and renamed Indian Empire for the Galway-Halifax-New york passage in which she was used for only one year. Her hulked remains sank on the 4th of May 1866, while moored at the Victoria Dock in London.
Vanguard: HMS Vanguard; Third Rate; Length: 51.2 m; 1,664 tons; Comp: 530; Armament: 28x32pdr, 30x24pdr, 16x9pdr; Deptford Dockyard, England; 1787 The HMS Vanguard was Nelson's flagship after returning to duty after his right arm was amputated in 1797. The HMS Vanguard saw action at the Battle of the Nile, between a prepared attacking British fleet and an unprepared and anchored French fleet, one of the most decisive naval victories of that time. She was not present at any other Napoleonic battles and was turned into a prison ship in 1812, a powder hulk in 1814 and finally broken up in 1821.
Ville de Paris: First Rate ; Length:58m; 2,347 tons; Armament: 104 guns; Rochefort, France; 1764 Originally rated as a 90-gun warship, she was enlarged to either a 104-gun or a 120-gun ship-of-the-line, conflicting data exists. On april 12, 1782 a French and an English fleet engaged just south of the Isless de Saintes in the Caribbean. A furious battle raged for over 10 hours, when the Ville de Paris surrenderd having spent all her ammunition. She was lost in a hurricane when she was being taken back to England in September 1782.
Wabash: USS Wabash; Three-masted steam screw driven frigate; Length: 301 ft 6 in; Beam: 51 ft 4 in; Draft: 23 ft; 4,808 tons; Philadelphia Navy Yard, United States; 1855 Among the USS Wabash's accomplishments is her taking part in the capture of Hatteras Inlet, North Carolina and Port Royal, South Carolina in 1861, the same year she captured a number of Confederate brigantines and schooners, and her participation in the assaults on Fort Fisher, North Carolina in 1864/65.
Whydah: Galleon; Length:30m; 300 bm tons; Armament: 18 guns; 1716 Originally a slave trader, she was captured by the Bahamian pirate Samuel Bellamy who made her his flagship. She was lost during a storm in April 1717.
William Badger: Whaling Ship; Length: 106 ft; Beam: 26 ft ; Depth of hold: 13 ft; 334 tons; Crew: 25; Armament: 1x32pdr. Originally intended as a whaler she was purchased by the Union Navy in 1861 and served as a stationary Union supply ship until sold in 1865.
Windsor Castle: HMS Windsor Castle; Screw (steam) driven three-masted First Rate; Length from fore part of figurehead to aft part of taffrail: 278 ft 6 in; Beam: 60 ft ; Depth in hold: 24 ft 8 in ; 3771 bm tons; Armament: 131 guns; Royal Dockyard, Pembroke, England; 1852 Originally built for sail only, she was cut in half and lengthened by 23 feet before launch to accommodate for a screw propeller and the steam boilers driving her. She was renamed on the first of October 1852 to HMS Duke of Wellington, and served as flagship in the Baltic during the Russian War. She was taken out of service and broken up in 1909.

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