Sail training
Encyclopedia
From its modern interpretations to its antecedents when maritime nation
s 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 and off the water.
The daily operation of a sailing ship
can be tough and is not for everyone. Aircraft
and automobiles have replaced ships and boats as the primary mode of transportation, a fact lamented by educators such as Kurt Hahn
. Many people today are more familiar with the loops
and turns of a roller coaster
than the rhythmic motion
of the sea.
Those who overcome their initial consternation will find that wind can be harnessed through physics
. Engineering
is used to manipulate the sails with various lines
and tackle
while maths
and geography
are used to calculate the current location and potential destinations.
Surrounded on all sides by the marine environment
, whales and dolphins are frequent visitors and the vessel is itself, a lesson in history. Halyard
s and sheets
require teamwork
and discipline
to set and, in the isolation created by the sea, the vessel and the crew must become self-sufficient by necessity.
which had become efficient enough to steam shorter great circle
routes between ports instead of the longer trade wind
routes used by sailing ships.
Ships were built larger to carry bulk cargoes more efficiently, their rigs were simplified to reduce manning costs and speed was no longer a premium. Owners shipped cargoes that were non-perishable so that their date of arrival (which steam ships had started to guarantee) were of less importance. Finally as the Panama Canal
was opened, sailing ships were used in parts of the world where steam ships still found it hard to operate: principally on
Both Chile and Australian ports were difficult to supply with coal for steamships to refuel. Also, both routes to Europe went round Cape Horn
.
The end of the First World War saw a brief return to profitability as all ship types were in scare supply due to wartime losses but that boom became bust as many new steam ships were built to replace the sailing ships that were lost.
for officers in their Merchant Marine in the 1920s and 30’s, several sailing ship owners such as Carl Laeisz and Gustav Erickson determined that there was still a profit to be made from the last of the sailing ships.
Erickson purchased existing ships that required the minimum of capital
investment and repaired them with parts cannibalised from other ships. Identifying the bulk cargo routes that would still offer paying freights, he manned the ships with a smattering of paid experienced officers.
The deckhands were apprentices
from steamship lines and other adventurous youth who had all paid a premium to sail while being trained. These crews were considered trainees and were the first formalization of sail trainers with crew drawn from members of the public who just went for the adventure, as opposed to a career.
With manning costs netted out on Erickson's balance sheet, the ships continued to return a paper profit
. However Erickson was under no illusions as to the long term profitability of his venture, which depended on ignoring the depreciation
on his ships and a shrinking supply of sound hulls
and rigs
. The company would use their profits to diversify into steam after World War II.
While the shipping companies of Erickson and F. Laeisz gradually turned to steam
, the next generation of captains were crawling through up the hawsehole
and taking command of their own vessels, redefining sail training as a purely educational endeavour with trainees as the cargo.
From 1932 through 1958, Irving Johnson
and his wife Electa "Exy" Johnson circumnavigated
the world 7 times with amateur youth crews on board their vessels named Yankee. Over the years, their voyages were featured in books they authored, and in National Geographic
magazines and TV specials like "Irving Johnson, High Seas Adventurer". Their archives are at Mystic Seaport
, Connecticut.
Australian Alan Villiers
purchased the old school ship George Stage from Denmark in 1934. Renaming her the Joseph Conrad
, he sailed her round the world with no paying cargo and a crew of youth who had paid to be there. He also took as many non-paying youth as he could afford to fit in the budget, those he considered at risk on the streets of their inner cities and in need of what was then called "character building". These trips were the genesis of current modern sail training, using manually operated ships and the harsh discipline imposed by the sea to further personal development and taking those disadvantaged by circumstance to benefit from the experience.
By the end of World War II, the numbers of traditionally rigged sailing ships left were dwindling and public interest waned. After the German school ship Niobe had sunk in 1932, killing 69, the loss of the Pamir
in 1957 and the Albatross in 1961 drew further ill will and seemed to signal the end of an era.
under sail, Bernard Morgan and Greville Howard persuaded a number of ship owners to join together in a sort of farewell salute in 1956, organizing a race from Torbay
on the South Coast of England to race informally across the Bay of Biscay
to Lisbon
in Portugal
. Five square rigged school ship
s entered the race, Denmark's Danmark
, Norway's Christian Radich
and Sorlandet, Belgium's Mercator and Portugal's first Sagres (ship). The vessels would meet again the following year and every year since in an annual series that would astonish its original organizers today. Old vessels were saved or repaired and new purpose built sail training vessels were commissioned. With renewed interest in the age of sail, national sail training associations affiliated to Sail Training International
(STI) (formerly "Sail Training Association") were organized and large summer events find upwards of 100 ships racing across the oceans.
Crew exchanges allow young people from one country to sail with those from another. Long before the end of the Cold War
, ships from Russia
and Poland
(which in some cases had been built in Germany) joined the International Fleet in 1974. A limited exchange between the East
and West was initiated and they put their respective backgrounds behind them, common sailors joined together by the brotherhood of the sea.
One of the largest of the affiliate organizations of the STI is the American Sail Training Association
(ASTA). Founded in 1973 with a handful of vessels, it has since grown to encompass an international organization with more than 250 tall ships representing 25 different countries.
Most maritime nations have government, private and charitably funded ships preserving the ways of seamen from a time gone by, helping the youth and the “young at heart” find themselves and working somewhere off their coasts on short trips year round.
Square rigged seamanship was in danger of becoming a lost art. As the 1997 restoration of the USS Constitution
neared completion, the United States Navy
called on the crew of HMS Bounty
to train her sailors to sail the vessel as originally intended.
Many boats are historical vessels and replicas which require coordinated manual labor to sail, operating in the original tradition proposed by Alan Villiers and Irving Johnson such as the Picton Castle
while others are purpose built educational platforms carrying out scientific research under sail such as the Robert C. Seamans and the Corwith Cramer
of the Sea Education Association
.
As the crew of the Irving Johnson
and the award winning program at the Los Angeles Maritime Institute like to say "We do not train youth for a life at sea...we use the sea to educate youth for life".
s have been found to be effective platforms for sail training as they combine many elements fundamental to sail training.
A "Tall ship" is not a strictly defined type of vessel. "Tall ship" is commonly used today to define a large, traditionally rigged vessel, whether or not is it technically a ship. For example, the USCGC Eagle
is technically a barque
and not a full rigged ship
. A tall ship is usually defined by the topmast and topsail
s she carries as opposed to the modern high aspect ratio rigs and marconi mains
carried by the sloop
s and yawl
s seen in every harbor today.
For the purpose of classification and race rating, the STI divides Tall ships into the following classes :
The United States Coast Guard
classifies vessels based on their intended use and structure, prescribing requirements for captain
and crew manning, waters the vessel may operate in, number of passengers allowed and minimum safety equipment required.
With the exception of uninspected vessels, all such vessels are inspected annually and issued a Certificate of Inspection (COI) which must be displayed on the vessel and spells out the requirements that vessel must maintain.
Sail training is not intended to be a vacation
. The sea has always been associated with some element of risk
and if one were looking to stay warm and dry, then a cruise ship
would tend to be more appropriate. Sail training is about the excitement and challenge of undertaking a journey the natural maritime elements: challenge and adventure tends to be the primary goal of those interested in sail training.
Space is limited and most accommodation offers little privacy. Dormitory
style living is most common with several people sharing a cabin and personal space limited to the area occupied by the individual bunk. For this reason, it is advised that luggage be limited to only what is necessary and carried in duffel bags or soft sided luggage. It may be necessary to practice hot bunking when at sea.
Few tall ships survive without government subsidy, donors, sponsors or rich clientele.
Maritime nation
A maritime nation is any nation which borders the sea and uses it for any of the following: commerce and transport, war, to define a territorial boundary, or for any maritime activity ....
s would send young naval officer candidates to sea (e.g., see Outward Bound
Outward Bound
Outward Bound is an international, non-profit, independent, outdoor educationorganization with approximately 40 schools around the world and 200,000 participants per year...
), sail training provides an unconventional and effective way of building many useful skills on and off the water.
The daily operation of a sailing ship
Sailing ship
The term sailing ship is now used to refer to any large wind-powered vessel. In technical terms, a ship was a sailing vessel with a specific rig of at least three masts, square rigged on all of them, making the sailing adjective redundant. In popular usage "ship" became associated with all large...
can be tough and is not for everyone. Aircraft
Aircraft
An aircraft is a vehicle that is able to fly by gaining support from the air, or, in general, the atmosphere of a planet. An aircraft counters the force of gravity by using either static lift or by using the dynamic lift of an airfoil, or in a few cases the downward thrust from jet engines.Although...
and automobiles have replaced ships and boats as the primary mode of transportation, a fact lamented by educators such as Kurt Hahn
Kurt Hahn
Kurt Martin Hahn was a German educator whose philosophies are considered internationally influential.-Biography:...
. Many people today are more familiar with the loops
Loop (roller coaster)
The generic roller coaster vertical loop is the most basic of roller coaster inversions. Specifically, the loop refers to a continuously upward-sloping section of track that eventually results in a complete 360 degree circle. At the top-most piece of the loop, riders are completely inverted.-...
and turns of a roller coaster
Roller coaster
The roller coaster is a popular amusement ride developed for amusement parks and modern theme parks. LaMarcus Adna Thompson patented the first coasters on January 20, 1885...
than the rhythmic motion
Motion sickness
Motion sickness or kinetosis, also known as travel sickness, is a condition in which a disagreement exists between visually perceived movement and the vestibular system's sense of movement...
of the sea.
Those who overcome their initial consternation will find that wind can be harnessed through physics
Physics
Physics is a natural science that involves the study of matter and its motion through spacetime, along with related concepts such as energy and force. More broadly, it is the general analysis of nature, conducted in order to understand how the universe behaves.Physics is one of the oldest academic...
. Engineering
Mechanical advantage
Mechanical advantage is a measure of the force amplification achieved by using a tool, mechanical device or machine system. Ideally, the device preserves the input power and simply trades off forces against movement to obtain a desired amplification in the output force...
is used to manipulate the sails with various lines
Rope
A rope is a length of fibres, twisted or braided together to improve strength for pulling and connecting. It has tensile strength but is too flexible to provide compressive strength...
and tackle
Block and tackle
A block and tackle is a system of two or more pulleys with a rope or cable threaded between them, usually used to lift or pull heavy loads.The pulleys are assembled together to form blocks so that one is fixed and one moves with the load...
while maths
Mathematics
Mathematics is the study of quantity, space, structure, and change. Mathematicians seek out patterns and formulate new conjectures. Mathematicians resolve the truth or falsity of conjectures by mathematical proofs, which are arguments sufficient to convince other mathematicians of their validity...
and geography
Geography
Geography is the science that studies the lands, features, inhabitants, and phenomena of Earth. A literal translation would be "to describe or write about the Earth". The first person to use the word "geography" was Eratosthenes...
are used to calculate the current location and potential destinations.
Surrounded on all sides by the marine environment
Marine biology
Marine biology is the scientific study of organisms in the ocean or other marine or brackish bodies of water. Given that in biology many phyla, families and genera have some species that live in the sea and others that live on land, marine biology classifies species based on the environment rather...
, whales and dolphins are frequent visitors and the vessel is itself, a lesson in history. Halyard
Halyard
In sailing, a halyard or halliard is a line that is used to hoist a sail, a flag or a yard. The term halyard comes from the phrase, 'to haul yards'...
s and sheets
Sheet (sailing)
In sailing, a sheet is a line used to control the movable corner of a sail.- Fore-and-aft rigs:Fore-and-aft rigs comprise the vast majority of sailing vessels in use today, including effectively all dinghies and yachts. The sheet on a fore-and-aft sail controls the angle of the sail to the wind,...
require teamwork
Teamwork
Teamwork is action performed by a team towards a common goal. A team consists of more than one person, each of whom typically has different responsibilities....
and discipline
Discipline
In its original sense, discipline is referred to systematic instruction given to disciples to train them as students in a craft or trade, or to follow a particular code of conduct or "order". Often, the phrase "to discipline" carries a negative connotation. This is because enforcement of order –...
to set and, in the isolation created by the sea, the vessel and the crew must become self-sufficient by necessity.
Background
By 1900 most commercial sailing vessels were struggling to turn a profit in the face of competition from more modern steam shipsSteamboat
A steamboat or steamship, sometimes called a steamer, is a ship in which the primary method of propulsion is steam power, typically driving propellers or paddlewheels...
which had become efficient enough to steam shorter great circle
Great circle
A great circle, also known as a Riemannian circle, of a sphere is the intersection of the sphere and a plane which passes through the center point of the sphere, as opposed to a general circle of a sphere where the plane is not required to pass through the center...
routes between ports instead of the longer trade wind
Trade wind
The trade winds are the prevailing pattern of easterly surface winds found in the tropics, within the lower portion of the Earth's atmosphere, in the lower section of the troposphere near the Earth's equator...
routes used by sailing ships.
Ships were built larger to carry bulk cargoes more efficiently, their rigs were simplified to reduce manning costs and speed was no longer a premium. Owners shipped cargoes that were non-perishable so that their date of arrival (which steam ships had started to guarantee) were of less importance. Finally as the Panama Canal
Panama Canal
The Panama Canal is a ship canal in Panama that joins the Atlantic Ocean and the Pacific Ocean and is a key conduit for international maritime trade. Built from 1904 to 1914, the canal has seen annual traffic rise from about 1,000 ships early on to 14,702 vessels measuring a total of 309.6...
was opened, sailing ships were used in parts of the world where steam ships still found it hard to operate: principally on
- the ChileChileChile ,officially the Republic of Chile , is a country in South America occupying a long, narrow coastal strip between the Andes mountains to the east and the Pacific Ocean to the west. It borders Peru to the north, Bolivia to the northeast, Argentina to the east, and the Drake Passage in the far...
an nitrate trade (for fertilizers and explosive production in Europe), and on - the Australian grain tradeGrain tradeThe grain trade refers the local and international trade in cereals and other food grains such as wheat, maize, and rice.-History:The grain trade is probably nearly as old as grain growing, going back the Neolithic Revolution . Wherever there is a scarcity of land The grain trade refers the local...
.
Both Chile and Australian ports were difficult to supply with coal for steamships to refuel. Also, both routes to Europe went round Cape Horn
Cape Horn
Cape Horn is the southernmost headland of the Tierra del Fuego archipelago of southern Chile, and is located on the small Hornos Island...
.
The end of the First World War saw a brief return to profitability as all ship types were in scare supply due to wartime losses but that boom became bust as many new steam ships were built to replace the sailing ships that were lost.
Genesis in the 1930's
While many countries of the world operated sailing ships as training vesselsSchool ship
A training ship is a ship used to train students as sailors. The term is especially used for ships employed by navies to train future officers. Essentially there are two types: those used for training at sea and old hulks used to house classrooms....
for officers in their Merchant Marine in the 1920s and 30’s, several sailing ship owners such as Carl Laeisz and Gustav Erickson determined that there was still a profit to be made from the last of the sailing ships.
Erickson purchased existing ships that required the minimum of capital
Capital (economics)
In economics, capital, capital goods, or real capital refers to already-produced durable goods used in production of goods or services. The capital goods are not significantly consumed, though they may depreciate in the production process...
investment and repaired them with parts cannibalised from other ships. Identifying the bulk cargo routes that would still offer paying freights, he manned the ships with a smattering of paid experienced officers.
The deckhands were apprentices
Apprenticeship
Apprenticeship is a system of training a new generation of practitioners of a skill. Apprentices or protégés build their careers from apprenticeships...
from steamship lines and other adventurous youth who had all paid a premium to sail while being trained. These crews were considered trainees and were the first formalization of sail trainers with crew drawn from members of the public who just went for the adventure, as opposed to a career.
With manning costs netted out on Erickson's balance sheet, the ships continued to return a paper profit
Profit (accounting)
In accounting, profit can be considered to be the difference between the purchase price and the costs of bringing to market whatever it is that is accounted as an enterprise in terms of the component costs of delivered goods and/or services and any operating or other expenses.-Definition:There are...
. However Erickson was under no illusions as to the long term profitability of his venture, which depended on ignoring the depreciation
Depreciation
Depreciation refers to two very different but related concepts:# the decrease in value of assets , and# the allocation of the cost of assets to periods in which the assets are used ....
on his ships and a shrinking supply of sound hulls
Hull (watercraft)
A hull is the watertight body of a ship or boat. Above the hull is the superstructure and/or deckhouse, where present. The line where the hull meets the water surface is called the waterline.The structure of the hull varies depending on the vessel type...
and rigs
Rigging
Rigging is the apparatus through which the force of the wind is used to propel sailboats and sailing ships forward. This includes masts, yards, sails, and cordage.-Terms and classifications:...
. The company would use their profits to diversify into steam after World War II.
While the shipping companies of Erickson and F. Laeisz gradually turned to steam
Steam engine
A steam engine is a heat engine that performs mechanical work using steam as its working fluid.Steam engines are external combustion engines, where the working fluid is separate from the combustion products. Non-combustion heat sources such as solar power, nuclear power or geothermal energy may be...
, the next generation of captains were crawling through up the hawsehole
Hawsehole
Hawsehole is a nautical term for a small hole in the hull of a ship through which hawsers may be passed. Also known as a cat hole. In the British Navy, an officer who had served as a seaman before being promoted was said to have "come in through the hawsehole."...
and taking command of their own vessels, redefining sail training as a purely educational endeavour with trainees as the cargo.
From 1932 through 1958, Irving Johnson
Irving Johnson
Irving McClure Johnson was an American author, lecturer, adventurer, and sail training pioneer....
and his wife Electa "Exy" Johnson circumnavigated
Circumnavigation
Circumnavigation – literally, "navigation of a circumference" – refers to travelling all the way around an island, a continent, or the entire planet Earth.- Global circumnavigation :...
the world 7 times with amateur youth crews on board their vessels named Yankee. Over the years, their voyages were featured in books they authored, and in National Geographic
National Geographic Society
The National Geographic Society , headquartered in Washington, D.C. in the United States, is one of the largest non-profit scientific and educational institutions in the world. Its interests include geography, archaeology and natural science, the promotion of environmental and historical...
magazines and TV specials like "Irving Johnson, High Seas Adventurer". Their archives are at Mystic Seaport
Mystic Seaport
Mystic Seaport, the Museum of America and the Sea, in Mystic, Connecticut, is notable both for its collection of sailing ships and boats, and for the re-creation of crafts and fabric of an entire 19th century seafaring village...
, Connecticut.
Australian Alan Villiers
Alan Villiers
Captain Alan John Villiers was an author, adventurer, photographer and Master Mariner.Born in Melbourne, Australia, he first went to sea at age 15 and sailed all the world's oceans on board traditionally rigged vessels, including the full rigged ship Joseph Conrad...
purchased the old school ship George Stage from Denmark in 1934. Renaming her the Joseph Conrad
Joseph Conrad (ship)
Joseph Conrad is an iron-hulled sailing ship, originally launched as the Georg Stage in 1882 and used to train sailors in Denmark. After sailing around the world as a private yacht in 1934 it served as a training in the United States, and is now a museum ship at Mystic Seaport in...
, he sailed her round the world with no paying cargo and a crew of youth who had paid to be there. He also took as many non-paying youth as he could afford to fit in the budget, those he considered at risk on the streets of their inner cities and in need of what was then called "character building". These trips were the genesis of current modern sail training, using manually operated ships and the harsh discipline imposed by the sea to further personal development and taking those disadvantaged by circumstance to benefit from the experience.
By the end of World War II, the numbers of traditionally rigged sailing ships left were dwindling and public interest waned. After the German school ship Niobe had sunk in 1932, killing 69, the loss of the Pamir
Pamir (ship)
Pamir was one of the famous Flying P-Liner sailing ships of the German shipping company F. Laeisz. She was the last commercial sailing ship to round Cape Horn, in 1949...
in 1957 and the Albatross in 1961 drew further ill will and seemed to signal the end of an era.
Modern sail training
In what was conceived to be last great gathering of square-riggersSquare rig
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 their tips, beyond the last stay, are called the yardarms...
under sail, Bernard Morgan and Greville Howard persuaded a number of ship owners to join together in a sort of farewell salute in 1956, organizing a race from Torbay
Torbay
Torbay is an east-facing bay and natural harbour, at the western most end of Lyme Bay in the south-west of England, situated roughly midway between the cities of Exeter and Plymouth. Part of the ceremonial county of Devon, Torbay was made a unitary authority on 1 April 1998...
on the South Coast of England to race informally across the Bay of Biscay
Bay of Biscay
The Bay of Biscay is a gulf of the northeast Atlantic Ocean located south of the Celtic Sea. It lies along the western coast of France from Brest south to the Spanish border, and the northern coast of Spain west to Cape Ortegal, and is named in English after the province of Biscay, in the Spanish...
to Lisbon
Lisbon
Lisbon is the capital city and largest city of Portugal with a population of 545,245 within its administrative limits on a land area of . The urban area of Lisbon extends beyond the administrative city limits with a population of 3 million on an area of , making it the 9th most populous urban...
in Portugal
Portugal
Portugal , officially the Portuguese Republic is a country situated in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Portugal is the westernmost country of Europe, and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the West and South and by Spain to the North and East. The Atlantic archipelagos of the...
. Five square rigged school ship
School ship
A training ship is a ship used to train students as sailors. The term is especially used for ships employed by navies to train future officers. Essentially there are two types: those used for training at sea and old hulks used to house classrooms....
s entered the race, Denmark's Danmark
Danmark (ship)
The Danmark is a full rigged ship owned by the Danish Maritime Authority and based at the Maritime Training and Education Centre in Frederikshavn, Denmark.-Description:...
, Norway's Christian Radich
Christian Radich (ship)
Christian Radich is a Norwegian full rigged ship, named after a Norwegian shipowner. The vessel was built at Framnæs shipyard in Sandefjord, Norway, and was delivered on 17 June 1937...
and Sorlandet, Belgium's Mercator and Portugal's first Sagres (ship). The vessels would meet again the following year and every year since in an annual series that would astonish its original organizers today. Old vessels were saved or repaired and new purpose built sail training vessels were commissioned. With renewed interest in the age of sail, national sail training associations affiliated to Sail Training International
Sail Training International
Sail Training International is an international organisation composed of the national sail training organisations of 29 countries around the world...
(STI) (formerly "Sail Training Association") were organized and large summer events find upwards of 100 ships racing across the oceans.
Crew exchanges allow young people from one country to sail with those from another. Long before the end of the Cold War
Cold War
The Cold War was the continuing state from roughly 1946 to 1991 of political conflict, military tension, proxy wars, and economic competition between the Communist World—primarily the Soviet Union and its satellite states and allies—and the powers of the Western world, primarily the United States...
, ships from Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
and Poland
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
(which in some cases had been built in Germany) joined the International Fleet in 1974. A limited exchange between the East
Eastern bloc
The term Eastern Bloc or Communist Bloc refers to the former communist states of Eastern and Central Europe, generally the Soviet Union and the countries of the Warsaw Pact...
and West was initiated and they put their respective backgrounds behind them, common sailors joined together by the brotherhood of the sea.
One of the largest of the affiliate organizations of the STI is the American Sail Training Association
American Sail Training Association
Founded on April 3, 1973, by Barclay Harding Warburton III, the American Sail Training Association is currently the largest sail training association in the world and a founding member of Sail Training International....
(ASTA). Founded in 1973 with a handful of vessels, it has since grown to encompass an international organization with more than 250 tall ships representing 25 different countries.
Most maritime nations have government, private and charitably funded ships preserving the ways of seamen from a time gone by, helping the youth and the “young at heart” find themselves and working somewhere off their coasts on short trips year round.
Square rigged seamanship was in danger of becoming a lost art. As the 1997 restoration of the USS Constitution
USS Constitution
USS Constitution is a wooden-hulled, three-masted heavy frigate of the United States Navy. Named by President George Washington after the Constitution of the United States of America, she is the world's oldest floating commissioned naval vessel...
neared completion, the United States Navy
United States Navy
The United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy is the largest in the world; its battle fleet tonnage is greater than that of the next 13 largest navies combined. The U.S...
called on the crew of HMS Bounty
HMS Bounty
HMS Bounty , famous as the scene of the Mutiny on the Bounty on 28 April 1789, was originally a three-masted cargo ship, the Bethia, purchased by the British Admiralty, then modified and commissioned as His Majesty's Armed Vessel the...
to train her sailors to sail the vessel as originally intended.
Many boats are historical vessels and replicas which require coordinated manual labor to sail, operating in the original tradition proposed by Alan Villiers and Irving Johnson such as the Picton Castle
Picton Castle (ship)
The Picton Castle is a is a fully certified and registered tall ship whose mission is deep-ocean sail training and long distance education. The Picton Castle is perhaps best known for her World Circumnavigations, though she has visited the Great Lakes twice, sailed numerous times on tours on the...
while others are purpose built educational platforms carrying out scientific research under sail such as the Robert C. Seamans and the Corwith Cramer
Corwith Cramer (ship)
The Corwith Cramer is a tall ship owned by the Sea Education Association sailing school, named after SEA's founding director. Her home port is Woods Hole, Massachusetts, USA. She was designed by Wooden and Marean specifically for SEA and was constructed by ASTACE in 1987 in Bilbao, Spain...
of the Sea Education Association
Sea Education Association
The Sea Education Association is a private, nonprofit educational organization which offers a hands-on experience to college and high school students in sailing at sea. Founded in 1971 by Corwith Cramer, Jr. SEA operates two sailing ships traveling throughout both the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans...
.
As the crew of the Irving Johnson
Irving Johnson (Tall ship)
The twin brigantines Irving Johnson and Exy Johnson are the flagships of the Los Angeles Maritime Institute's TopSail Youth Program, a non-profit organization created as a character building organization to help at risk youth prepare for life through the discipline and teamwork required to safely...
and the award winning program at the Los Angeles Maritime Institute like to say "We do not train youth for a life at sea...we use the sea to educate youth for life".
Vessel classifications
Tall shipTall 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....
s have been found to be effective platforms for sail training as they combine many elements fundamental to sail training.
A "Tall ship" is not a strictly defined type of vessel. "Tall ship" is commonly used today to define a large, traditionally rigged vessel, whether or not is it technically a ship. For example, the USCGC Eagle
USCGC Eagle (WIX-327)
The is a barque used as a training cutter for future officers of the United States Coast Guard. She is one of only two active commissioned sailing vessels in American military service, the other being the USS Constitution....
is technically a barque
Barque
A barque, barc, or bark is a type of sailing vessel with three or more masts.- History of the term :The word barque appears to have come from the Greek word baris, a term for an Egyptian boat. This entered Latin as barca, which gave rise to the Italian barca, Spanish barco, and the French barge and...
and not a full rigged ship
Full rigged ship
A full rigged ship or fully rigged ship is a sailing vessel with three or more masts, all of them square rigged. A full rigged ship is said to have a ship rig....
. A tall ship is usually defined by the topmast and topsail
Topsail
A topsail is a sail set above another sail; on square-rigged vessels further sails may be set above topsails.- Square rig :On a square rigged vessel, a topsail is a square sail rigged above the course sail and below the topgallant sail where carried...
s she carries as opposed to the modern high aspect ratio rigs and marconi mains
Bermuda rig
The term Bermuda rig refers to a configuration of mast and rigging for a type of sailboat and is also known as a Marconi rig; this is the typical configuration for most modern sailboats...
carried by the sloop
Sloop
A sloop is a sail boat with a fore-and-aft rig and a single mast farther forward than the mast of a cutter....
s and yawl
Yawl
A yawl is a two-masted sailing craft similar to a sloop or cutter but with an additional mast located well aft of the main mast, often right on the transom, specifically aft of the rudder post. A yawl (from Dutch Jol) is a two-masted sailing craft similar to a sloop or cutter but with an...
s seen in every harbor today.
For the purpose of classification and race rating, the STI divides Tall ships into the following classes :
- Class A: All vessels over 160 feet in length overall, regardless of rig, and square rigSquare rigSquare 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 their tips, beyond the last stay, are called the yardarms...
ged vessels over 120 feet in length. - Class A; Division II: All square rigged vessels less than 120 feet in length.
- Class B: Fore-and-aftFore-and-aft rigA fore-and-aft rig is a sailing rig consisting mainly of sails that are set along the line of the keel rather than perpendicular to it. Such sails are described as fore-and-aft rigged....
rigged vessels between 100 feet and 160 feet in length - Class C: All other fore-and-aft rigged vessels at least 30 feet long at the waterlineWaterlineThe term "waterline" generally refers to the line where the hull of a ship meets the water surface. It is also the name of a special marking, also known as the national Load Line or Plimsoll Line, to be positioned amidships, that indicates the draft of the ship and the legal limit to which a ship...
.
The United States Coast Guard
United States Coast Guard
The United States Coast Guard is a branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven U.S. uniformed services. The Coast Guard is a maritime, military, multi-mission service unique among the military branches for having a maritime law enforcement mission and a federal regulatory agency...
classifies vessels based on their intended use and structure, prescribing requirements for captain
Captain (nautical)
A sea captain is a licensed mariner in ultimate command of the vessel. The captain is responsible for its safe and efficient operation, including cargo operations, navigation, crew management and ensuring that the vessel complies with local and international laws, as well as company and flag...
and crew manning, waters the vessel may operate in, number of passengers allowed and minimum safety equipment required.
With the exception of uninspected vessels, all such vessels are inspected annually and issued a Certificate of Inspection (COI) which must be displayed on the vessel and spells out the requirements that vessel must maintain.
- Sailing School Vessel (SSV): Inspected under Title 46, Subchapter R of the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR). An SSV is a vessel of less than 500 gross tons carrying six or more sailing school students or instructors, primarily propelled by sail, and operated by a nonprofit educational organization exclusively for the purpose of sailing education.
- Passenger Vessel: Certified according to the size and number of passengers (not engaged in educational activities or in the operation of the vessel) carried under Title 46 of the CFR.
- Subchapter C: Uninspected vessels which operate with no more than six passengers.
- Subchapter T: Small passenger vessels of under 100 gross tons that carry more than six passengers and are required to pass regular USCG inspection of the ship and all onboard equipment.
- Subchapter K: Small passenger vessels of under 100 gross tons that carry more than 150 passengers and are required to pass regular USCG inspection of the ship and all onboard equipment.
- Subchapter H: Passenger vessels of more than 100 gross tons that carry passengers for hire and are required to pass regular USCG inspection of the ship and all onboard equipment.
- Attraction Vessel: Certification is required whenever a vessel is open to public boarding or conducts dockside programs. The vessel may be permanently moored to a pier, or it may be certified under one or more of the above subchapters, but the Attraction Vessel COI certifies its safety for dockside and visitation only.
- Oceanographic Research Vessel (ORV): Certified under Subchapter U of Title 46 of the CFR. An ORV is a vessel employed exclusively in either oceanographic (saltwater) or limnologic (freshwater) instruction and/or research, and is not necessarily equipped for passengers or other non-professionals.
Pros and cons of sail training
Tourism
Tourism is travel for recreational, leisure or business purposes. The World Tourism Organization defines tourists as people "traveling to and staying in places outside their usual environment for not more than one consecutive year for leisure, business and other purposes".Tourism has become a...
. The sea has always been associated with some element of risk
Risk
Risk is the potential that a chosen action or activity will lead to a loss . The notion implies that a choice having an influence on the outcome exists . Potential losses themselves may also be called "risks"...
and if one were looking to stay warm and dry, then a cruise ship
Cruise ship
A cruise ship or cruise liner is a passenger ship used for pleasure voyages, where the voyage itself and the ship's amenities are part of the experience, as well as the different destinations along the way...
would tend to be more appropriate. Sail training is about the excitement and challenge of undertaking a journey the natural maritime elements: challenge and adventure tends to be the primary goal of those interested in sail training.
Space is limited and most accommodation offers little privacy. Dormitory
Dormitory
A dormitory, often shortened to dorm, in the United States is a residence hall consisting of sleeping quarters or entire buildings primarily providing sleeping and residential quarters for large numbers of people, often boarding school, college or university students...
style living is most common with several people sharing a cabin and personal space limited to the area occupied by the individual bunk. For this reason, it is advised that luggage be limited to only what is necessary and carried in duffel bags or soft sided luggage. It may be necessary to practice hot bunking when at sea.
Few tall ships survive without government subsidy, donors, sponsors or rich clientele.
See also
- Outdoor educationOutdoor educationOutdoor education usually refers to organized learning that takes place in the outdoors. Outdoor education programs sometimes involve residential or journey-based experiences in which students participate in a variety of adventurous challenges in the form of outdoor activities such as hiking,...
- SailingSailingSailing is the propulsion of a vehicle and the control of its movement with large foils called sails. By changing the rigging, rudder, and sometimes the keel or centre board, a sailor manages the force of the wind on the sails in order to move the boat relative to its surrounding medium and...
- Sail training organizations
- Tall shipTall shipA 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....
s - Training ship
External links
- At Sea Sail Training for a Voyage with an International Crew in Europe!
- CLASS AFLOAT West Island College International – S.V. Concordia, S.Y. Fryderyk Chopin