Schooner Te Vega
Encyclopedia
The Te Vega is a two-masted, gaff-rigged
auxiliary schooner
. Originally launched as the Etak, she was designed by New York naval architects
Cox & Stevens in 1929 for American businessman Walter Graeme Ladd and his wife, Catherine (“Kate”) Everit Macy Ladd. Etak ("Kate" spelled backwards) was built at the Friedrich Krupp Germaniawerft
shipyard
in Kiel
, Germany
, and launched in 1930. During World War II
she served the US Navy as Juniata (IX-77). She is among the largest steel
-hulled
schooners afloat.
The ship has changed hands over fifteen times and has undertaken a variety of functions: private yacht, United States Navy
patrol vessel during World War II, charter yacht in the West Indies and French Polynesia
, research vessel
for Stanford University
's Hopkins Marine Station
, and school ship
for seaborne prep school the Flint School
. She is one of the many tall ship
s to have appeared in a feature film, the cinerama
travelogue South Seas Adventure.
Some of the ship's more colorful owners have been Adolph Dick of the Dick sugar and banking family of New York; Hans-Wilhelm Röhl, co-owner of the Rohl-Connolly Co. (builder of the Port of Los Angeles
breakwaters
) and investigated in 1942 for pro-Nazi sympathies; aviation pioneer Thomas F. Hamilton
; Crane Co.
heir Cornelius Crane; renowned Honolulu-based skipper Omer Darr; Stimson Lumber Co. scion Harold Miller; Dutch financier (and kundalini yoga
teacher) Pieter Schoonheim Samara; and Calisto Tanzi
, ex-chairman of the Parmalat
group. In January 2006 she was sold to Italian fashion magnate Diego Della Valle (Tod's
et al.).
She was built with a 200-hp
American Winton marine diesel engine
, which was replaced by a 400-hp English Mirrlees
in the 1950s. From the mid-1990s she has had a 700-hp German MTU
. Launched with a black hull, she has had white and dark blue hulls as well. She has flown the flags of the United States, France, Liberia
, Panama
, The Netherlands, and Italy (current).
, in 1942, renamed Juniata (IX-77), and placed in service on 11 August.
Juniata was assigned to the Western Sea Frontier
and was based at San Francisco, California. She alternated with other ships on patrol for the great circle route to Hawaii, steaming to and from her station some 500 miles west of Eureka, California
. Juniata was placed out of service at Treasure Island, San Francisco, California, on 1 January 1945, returned to the Maritime Commission, and sold to Thomas Hamilton in June 1945.
Gaff rig
Gaff rig is a sailing rig in which the sail is four-cornered, fore-and-aft rigged, controlled at its peak and, usually, its entire head by a spar called the gaff...
auxiliary schooner
Schooner
A schooner is a type of sailing vessel characterized by the use of fore-and-aft sails on two or more masts with the forward mast being no taller than the rear masts....
. Originally launched as the Etak, she was designed by New York naval architects
Naval architecture
Naval architecture is an engineering discipline dealing with the design, construction, maintenance and operation of marine vessels and structures. Naval architecture involves basic and applied research, design, development, design evaluation and calculations during all stages of the life of a...
Cox & Stevens in 1929 for American businessman Walter Graeme Ladd and his wife, Catherine (“Kate”) Everit Macy Ladd. Etak ("Kate" spelled backwards) was built at the Friedrich Krupp Germaniawerft
Friedrich Krupp Germaniawerft
Friedrich Krupp Germaniawerft was a German shipbuilding company, located in the harbour at Kiel, and one of the largest and most important builders of U-boats for the Kaiserliche Marine in World War I and the Kriegsmarine in World War II.-History:The company was founded in 1867 by Lloyd Foster, as...
shipyard
Shipyard
Shipyards and dockyards are places which repair and build ships. These can be yachts, military vessels, cruise liners or other cargo or passenger ships. Dockyards are sometimes more associated with maintenance and basing activities than shipyards, which are sometimes associated more with initial...
in Kiel
Kiel
Kiel is the capital and most populous city in the northern German state of Schleswig-Holstein, with a population of 238,049 .Kiel is approximately north of Hamburg. Due to its geographic location in the north of Germany, the southeast of the Jutland peninsula, and the southwestern shore of the...
, Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
, and launched in 1930. During World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
she served the US Navy as Juniata (IX-77). She is among the largest steel
Steel
Steel is an alloy that consists mostly of iron and has a carbon content between 0.2% and 2.1% by weight, depending on the grade. Carbon is the most common alloying material for iron, but various other alloying elements are used, such as manganese, chromium, vanadium, and tungsten...
-hulled
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...
schooners afloat.
History
The Etak has been renamed several times, her subsequent names being Vega, USS Juniata and Te Vega. She is currently Deva.The ship has changed hands over fifteen times and has undertaken a variety of functions: private yacht, 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...
patrol vessel during World War II, charter yacht in the West Indies and French Polynesia
French Polynesia
French Polynesia is an overseas country of the French Republic . It is made up of several groups of Polynesian islands, the most famous island being Tahiti in the Society Islands group, which is also the most populous island and the seat of the capital of the territory...
, research vessel
Research vessel
A research vessel is a ship designed and equipped to carry out research at sea. Research vessels carry out a number of roles. Some of these roles can be combined into a single vessel, others require a dedicated vessel...
for Stanford University
Stanford University
The Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University or Stanford, is a private research university on an campus located near Palo Alto, California. It is situated in the northwestern Santa Clara Valley on the San Francisco Peninsula, approximately northwest of San...
's Hopkins Marine Station
Hopkins Marine Station
Hopkins Marine Station is the marine laboratory of Stanford University. It is located ninety miles south of the university's main campus, in Pacific Grove, California on the Monterey Peninsula, adjacent to the Monterey Bay Aquarium. It is home to nine research laboratories and a fluctuating...
, and 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....
for seaborne prep school the Flint School
Flint School
The Flint School was a preparatory school founded by educators George and Betty Stoll. Based in Sarasota, Florida, United States, it operated aboard first one, then two, school ships from 1969 to 1981...
. She is one of the many tall ship
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....
s to have appeared in a feature film, the cinerama
Cinerama
Cinerama is the trademarked name for a widescreen process which works by simultaneously projecting images from three synchronized 35 mm projectors onto a huge, deeply-curved screen, subtending 146° of arc. It is also the trademarked name for the corporation which was formed to market it...
travelogue South Seas Adventure.
Some of the ship's more colorful owners have been Adolph Dick of the Dick sugar and banking family of New York; Hans-Wilhelm Röhl, co-owner of the Rohl-Connolly Co. (builder of the Port of Los Angeles
Port of Los Angeles
The Port of Los Angeles, also called Los Angeles Harbor and WORLDPORT L.A, is a port complex that occupies of land and water along of waterfront. The port is located on San Pedro Bay in the San Pedro neighborhood of Los Angeles, approximately south of downtown...
breakwaters
Breakwater (structure)
Breakwaters are structures constructed on coasts as part of coastal defence or to protect an anchorage from the effects of weather and longshore drift.-Purposes of breakwaters:...
) and investigated in 1942 for pro-Nazi sympathies; aviation pioneer Thomas F. Hamilton
Thomas F. Hamilton
Thomas Foster Hamilton was a pioneering aviator and the founder of the Hamilton Standard Company.Since 1930, Hamilton Standard was involved with revolutionizing propulsion technology of propeller-driven aircraft, prior to World War II...
; Crane Co.
Crane Co.
The Crane Company is an American industrial products company based in Stamford, Connecticut. Founded by Richard Teller Crane, the company is best known to the consumer public as a large manufacturer of vending machines. Their famous National brand includes glassfront vending machines and cold...
heir Cornelius Crane; renowned Honolulu-based skipper Omer Darr; Stimson Lumber Co. scion Harold Miller; Dutch financier (and kundalini yoga
Kundalini yoga
Kundalini yoga is a physical, mental and spiritual discipline for developing strength, awareness, character, and consciousness. Practitioners call Kundalini yoga the yoga of awareness because it focuses primarily on practices that expand sensory awareness and intuition in order to raise individual...
teacher) Pieter Schoonheim Samara; and Calisto Tanzi
Calisto Tanzi
Calisto Tanzi is an Italian businessman notorious for embezzling an estimated eight-hundred million euros from Italian company Parmalat, founded by him, resulting in a great loss for the company. Tanzi was the founder of Parmalat and its CEO, at the time. Tanzi founded Parmalat in 1961, after...
, ex-chairman of the Parmalat
Parmalat
Parmalat SpA is a multinational Italian dairy and food corporation. Having become the leading global company in the production of ultra high temperature milk, the company collapsed in 2003 with a €14 billion hole in its accounts in what remains Europe's biggest bankruptcy...
group. In January 2006 she was sold to Italian fashion magnate Diego Della Valle (Tod's
Tod's
Tod's Group is an Italian company which produces shoes and other leather goods, and is presided over by businessman Diego Della Valle. It is most famous for its driving shoes....
et al.).
She was built with a 200-hp
Horsepower
Horsepower is the name of several units of measurement of power. The most common definitions equal between 735.5 and 750 watts.Horsepower was originally defined to compare the output of steam engines with the power of draft horses in continuous operation. The unit was widely adopted to measure the...
American Winton marine diesel engine
Diesel engine
A diesel engine is an internal combustion engine that uses the heat of compression to initiate ignition to burn the fuel, which is injected into the combustion chamber...
, which was replaced by a 400-hp English Mirrlees
Mirrlees
Mirrlees may refer to:* Hope Mirrlees* James Mirrlees* MAN B&W Diesel, current owner of the diesel engine manufacturer, Mirrlees, Bickerton & Day...
in the 1950s. From the mid-1990s she has had a 700-hp German MTU
MTU Friedrichshafen
MTU Friedrichshafen GmbH is a manufacturer of commercial internal combustion engines founded by Wilhelm Maybach and his son Karl Maybach in 1909...
. Launched with a black hull, she has had white and dark blue hulls as well. She has flown the flags of the United States, France, Liberia
Liberia
Liberia , officially the Republic of Liberia, is a country in West Africa. It is bordered by Sierra Leone on the west, Guinea on the north and Côte d'Ivoire on the east. Liberia's coastline is composed of mostly mangrove forests while the more sparsely populated inland consists of forests that open...
, Panama
Panama
Panama , officially the Republic of Panama , is the southernmost country of Central America. Situated on the isthmus connecting North and South America, it is bordered by Costa Rica to the northwest, Colombia to the southeast, the Caribbean Sea to the north and the Pacific Ocean to the south. The...
, The Netherlands, and Italy (current).
World War II service
During World War II the schooner was purchased by the US Navy from her then current owner, H. W. Rohl, of Los Angeles, CaliforniaLos Angeles, California
Los Angeles , with a population at the 2010 United States Census of 3,792,621, is the most populous city in California, USA and the second most populous in the United States, after New York City. It has an area of , and is located in Southern California...
, in 1942, renamed Juniata (IX-77), and placed in service on 11 August.
Juniata was assigned to the Western Sea Frontier
Western Sea Frontier
The Western Sea Frontier, headquartered in San Francisco, California, USA, was responsible for the sea defense of the Pacific coast of the United States and Mexico during World War II. The Western Sea Frontier was composed of many forces and commands, including the Eleventh, Twelfth, and Thirteenth...
and was based at San Francisco, California. She alternated with other ships on patrol for the great circle route to Hawaii, steaming to and from her station some 500 miles west of Eureka, California
Eureka, California
Eureka is the principal city and the county seat of Humboldt County, California, United States. Its population was 27,191 at the 2010 census, up from 26,128 at the 2000 census....
. Juniata was placed out of service at Treasure Island, San Francisco, California, on 1 January 1945, returned to the Maritime Commission, and sold to Thomas Hamilton in June 1945.
In the press
- Untitled Winton Engine Company advertisement with photo (The Rudder, May 1930).
- "Diesel Yachts" [Cox & Stevens brochure, 1930].
- "Die Schonerjachten ‚Cressida' und ‚Étak', erbaut auf der Fried. Krupp..." (Schiffbau – Schiffahrt und Hafenbau, January 1, 1931).
- "Modern Sailing Dream Becomes Reality Today" (Bennington Evening Banner, June 10, 1955).
- "Cinerama Going to South Pacific" (New York Times, June 12, 1957).
- "Looking for Local Color in the South Seas" (New York Times, June 17, 1959).
- "New Vacation Ideas" (Kiplinger's Personal Finance, June 1960).
- "Antigua Island Invites Tourists" (St. Petersburg, Florida, Evening Independent, December 26, 1961).
- "Annual Report of the Board of Regents of the Smithsonian Institution" [publication 4613, 1965].
- "Te Vega Cruises" (Plant Science Bulletin, No. 112, July 15, 1965).
- "Birds Observed on Various Polynesian Islands aboard the Research Ship Te Vega" (Elepaio, No. 27, 1966).
- "Aspects of the Physiology of Terrestrial Life in Amphibious Fishes" (Journal of Experimental Biology, No. 50, 1969).
- "Nitrogen Uptake by Phytoplankton in the Discontinuity Layer of the Eastern Subtropical Pacific Ocean" (Limnology and Oceanography, September 1970).
- "Studies on the fauna associated with the deep scattering layer (DSL) in the equatorial Indian Ocean, conducted on R/V TE VEGA during October and November 1964" [proceedings of an international symposium on biological sound-scattering in the ocean, 1972].
- "Te Vega: Teaching School on the Sea" (Saint Petersburg Times, August 24, 1972).
- "The Living Ship Still Lives" (Yachting, January 1973).
- "Rolf L. Bolin, Marine Biologist, Stanford Professor, Dies" (New York Times, August 24, 1973).
- "»Quite normal pupils«...nur ganz billig ist für sie die schwimmende Schule nicht" (Kieler Chronik, October 4, 1974).
- "Jovens americanos gostaram de ver brasileiro sempre sorrindo" (A Província do Pará, April 15, 1975).
- "Ecology of Conus on Eastern Indian Ocean Fringing Reefs" (Marine Biology, March 1975).
- "Bermuda Gets an Early Taste of Tall Ship Fever" (Royal Gazette, May 27, 1976).
- Cover photo (The Bermudian, August 1976).
- "Marine Algae of the Te Vega 1965 Expedition in the Western Pacific Ocean" (Atoll Research Bulletin, No. 209, May 1977).
- "Eine komplette höhere Schule kam unter Schonersegeln nach Lübeck" (Lübecker Nachrichten, October 28, 1977).
- "Te Vega in Leningrad" (The Yacht, June 1986).
- "Te Vega in the Mediterranean" (Sea History, Autumn 1986).
- "Making Headway Aboard Te Vega" (SAIL, November 1986).
- "Tweemastschoener TE VEGA onder Nederlandse vlag" (Spiegel der Zeilvaart, issue No. 1, 1988).
- "An East-West Sail For the Environment" (New York Times, June 5, 1989).
- "US-Soviet Environmental Project Develops Into Cultural Success" (Boston Globe, September 10, 1989).
- "Tweemastschoener TE VEGA van klassiek jacht tot schoolschip" (Spiegel der Zeilvaart, issue No. 8, 1990).
- "The International Program of Research on Latimeria in the 1960s" (Environmental Biology of Fishes, April 1993).
- "Benthic Marine Algae from the Maldives, Indian Ocean, Collected During the R/V Te Vega Expedition" (Contributions from the University of Michigan Herbarium, Vol. 19, May 1993).
- "Refitting del Te Vega" (Nautica – Mensile internazionale di navigazione, November 1996).
- "«Te Vega», una nuova stella per il RINA" (Registro Italiano Navale press release, 1998).
- "Omer Courtney Darr" (San Francisco Chronicle obituary, October 26, 1999).
- "Décès d'Omer Darr, pionnier du tourisme de luxe à la voile" (Tahiti-Pacifique, November 1999).
- "Exploring Neptune's gardens: From landlubber to reef biologist" (Atoll Research Bulletin Golden Issue 1951–2001, 2002).
- "An Affair to Remember" (SAIL, August 2003).
- "La scheda: il Te Vega" (Corriere della Sera, January 28, 2004).
- "Tanzi implica a banqueros, políticos y Policía fiscal" (ABC, January 29, 2004).
- "Yachtverlust" (Financial Times Deutschland, April 7, 2005).
- "Della Valle acquista lo yacht di Tanzi" (Corriere della Sera, January 21, 2006).
- "A Diego Della Valle il 'Te Vega' di Tanzi" (Città della Spezia, January 23, 2006).
- "In cantiere a Genova il «Te Vega» e altri 5 scafi d'epoca" (ANSA, February 2, 2006).
- "Большая мировая вода" (Novaya Gazeta monthly color supplement, May 2006).
- "Ban bèk – Barku di bella" (Èxtra Boneiru [Bonaire, Neth. Antilles], August 8, 2006).
- "Capri, aperitivo e tuffo per il Ministro" (Capri Press, August 14, 2007).
- "Top 200 – Die größten Segelyachten" (Boote supplement, Sept./Oct. 2007).
- "Historia de la investigación marina de la Isla del Coco, Costa Rica" (Revista de Biología Tropical, August 2008).
- "Vigilance at Sea" (California Yacht Club's Breeze newsletter, October 2008).
In books
- Report of the Army Pearl Harbor Board (Washington: United States Army, 1945).
- Give Me a Ship to Sail (London: Hodder & Stoughton, 1958).
- Many Lagoons (New York: William Morrow & Co., 1958).
- Inoubliables Lagons (2010 Tahiti editeur Lagoons & Islands)
- Tahiti (New York: Viking Press, 1962).
- Two-Thirds of a Coconut Tree (New York: Little, Brown & Co., 1963).
- Te Vega Expeditions, Cruise Narratives (Pacific Grove: Hopkins Marine Station, 1963).
- Danske ekspeditioner på verdenshavene (Copenhagen: Rhodos, 1967).
- Windjammer Lübeck – Kiel 1972 (Herford: Koehlers Verlagsgesellschaft, 1972).
- Windjammer Parade 1972 (Hamburg: Gerhard-Stalling-Verlag, 1972).
- The Tall Ships: Official OpSail '76 Portfolio (New York: Sabine Press, 1976).
- Les Antilles aujourd'hui (Paris: Éditions JA, 1979).
- Beken of Cowes: A Century of Tall Ships (London: Harrap, 1985).
- Les grands voiliers à Bordeaux (Paris: Burdin, 1990).
- Catalogue of the Benthic Marine Algae of the Indian Ocean (Los Angeles: University of California Press, 1996).
- In the Spirit of Tradition – Old and New Classic Yachts (New York: W.W. Norton, 1997).
- The Superyachts – Vol. 11 (Kingston upon Thames: Boat International Publications, 1998).
- 50 Years of Ocean Discovery (Washington: National Academies Press, 2000).
- Vele d'Epoca nel mondo (Milan: Edizioni Gribaudo, 2002).
- Oceanographic History: The Pacific and Beyond (Seattle: University of Washington Press, 2002).
- Pride of the Sea: Courage, Disaster, and a Fight for Survival (Seacaucus: Citadel Press, 2004).
- Fred Terman at Stanford: Building a Discipline, a University, and Silicon Valley (Stanford: Stanford University Press, 2004).
- Chapman's Great Sailing Ships of the World (New York: Hearst, 2005).
- View From the Top of the Mast ([self-published], 2006).
- Vele allo specchio (Milan: Mondadori, 2006).
- More Curious Than Cautious ([self-published], 2010).
- Te Vega – The Story of a Schooner and Her People ([self-published], 2011).
In paintings
- Thomas Wells: Vega and Zaca.
- Thomas Wells: Schooner Vega on a Trans-Pac.
- Anthony Brandrett: Yachting Off Cowes.
In moving images
- The Tahitian (privately made by Cornelius Crane; 1956).
- South Seas Adventure (New York premier July 15, 1958).
- "Soviet-American Sail" (America's Defense Monitor; original air date June 24, 1990).