Tall ship

Group of sailing ships at Hanse Sail 2010

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

History [edit]

The tall ship Kruzenshtern

Traditional rigging may include square rigs and gaff rigs, with separate topmasts and topsails. It is generally more complex than modern rigging, which utilizes newer materials such as aluminum and steel to construct taller, lightweight masts with fewer, more versatile sails. Most smaller, modern vessels use the Bermuda rig. Though it did not become popular elsewhere until the twentieth century, this rig was developed in Bermuda in the seventeenth century, and had historically been used on its small ships, the Bermuda sloops.

The author and master mariner Joseph Conrad, who spent from 1874 to 1894 on the sea in tall ships, and who is most particular about all naval terminology, uses the term "tall ship" in his works, for example in "The Mirror of the Sea" of 1903. If Conrad uses the term, it is fairly certain it was common parlance among his fellow mariners of the last quarter of the 19th century.

While Sail Training International (STI) has extended the definition of tall ship for the purpose of its races to embrace any sailing vessel with more than 30 ft (9.14 m) waterline length and on which at least half the people on board are aged 15 to 25, this definition can include many modern sailing yachts, so for the purposes of this article, tall ship will mainly refer to those vessels rated as class "A".

Sail Training International [edit]

By the 21st century, "Tall ship" is often used generically for large, classic, sailing vessels, but is also a technically defined term by Sail Training International for its purposes and of course, STI helped popularize the term. The exact definitions have changed somewhat over time, and are subject to various technicalities, but by 2011 there were 4 classes (A, B, C, and D). Basically there are only two size classes, A is over 40 m LOA, and B/C/D are 9.14 m to under 40 m LOA. The definitions have to with rigging, class A is square sail rigged ships, class B is "traditionally rigged" ships, class C is "modern rigged" vessels with no "spinnaker like sails", and class D is the same as C but carrying a spinnaker like sail.^[1] The STI definitions can be found here and a ship database here.

Class A [edit]

All square-rigged vessels (barque, barquentine, brig, brigantine or ship rigged) and all other vessel more than 40 metres Length Overall (LOA), regardless of rig. STI classifies its A Class as "all square-rigged vessels and all other vessels over 40 metres (131 ft) length overall (LOA)", in this case STI LOA excludes bowsprit and aft spar. STI defines LOA as "Length overall measured from the fore side of stem post to aft side of stern post, counter or transom".^[2]

See also list of tall ships for other tall ships, or List of large sailing vessels for a list that includes other sailing vessel types.

Class A Tall Ships
Current Name	Current Nationality	Original Delivery	Mast	Rig	Length excluding bowsprit [m]	Beam [m]
ALEX II	Germany	2011	3	Barque	60	10.8	X
Alpha	Russia	1948	2	Barquentine		8.9
Amerigo Vespucci	Italy	1931	3	Full rigged ship	82.4	15.8
Belem	France	1896	3	Barque	51	8.8
Capitain Miranda	Uruguay	1930	3	Staysail Schooner	50.3	7.9	X
Christian Radich	Norway	1937	3	Full rigged ship	62.5	9.7
Cisne Branco	Brazil	1999	3	Full rigged ship	60.5	10.7
Constitution	United States	1797	3	Full rigged ship	62
Creole	United Kingdom	1927	3	Schooner	42.7	8.9
Creoula	Portugal	1937	4	Schooner	62.2
Cuauhtemoc	Mexico	1982	3	Barque	67.2	12.0
Danmark	Denmark	1932	3	Full rigged ship	59.8	10.1
Dar Młodzieży	Poland	1982	3	Full rigged ship	94.8	14.0
Dewaruci	Indonesia	1953	3	Barquentine	49.7	9.4
Druzhba	Ukraine	1987	3	Full rigged ship	94.2	14
Eagle	United States	1936	3	Barque	80.7	11.9
Eendracht	Netherlands	1989	3	Gaff Schooner	55.3	12.2
Elissa	United States	1877	3	Barque	45.4	8.5
Esmeralda (BE-43)	Chile	1953	4	Barquentine	94.13	13.1
Eugene Eugenides	Greece	1959	3	Topgallant Schooner		9.2
Europa	Netherlands	1911	3	Barque	44.5	7.3
Gazela	United States	1901	3	Barquentine	42.7	7.9
Georg Stage (II)	Denmark	1935	3	Full rigged ship	42	8.5
Gloria	Colombia	1968	3	Barque	67	10.7
Golden Quest	Tuvalu	1945	3	Barque	48	7.5
Gorch Fock (I)	Germany	1933	3	Barque	73.7	11.9
Gorch Fock (II)	Germany	1958	3	Barque	81.2	11.9
Greif	Germany	1950	2	Brigantine		7.4
Großherzogin Elizabeth	Germany	1908	3	Gaff Schooner	53	8.2
Guayas	Ecuador	1977	3	Barque	56.10	10.4
Iskra (II)	Poland	1982	3	Barquentine	40	7.9
Jadran	Montenegro	1933	3	Topsail Schooner		8.9
James Craig	Australia	1874	3	Barque	54.8	9.5
Jessica	Australia	1983	3	Topsail Schooner		6.7
Juan Sebastián Elcano	Spain	1927	4	Topsail Schooner	94.13	13.1
Kaiwo Maru II	Japan	1989	4	Barque	89.0	13.8
Kaliakra	Bulgaria	1984	3	Barquentine	43.2	7.9
Khersones	Ukraine	1989	3	Full rigged ship	94.8	14.0
Kruzenshtern	Russia	1926	4	Barque	95	14.0
Leeuwin II	Australia	1986	3	Barquentine	41.2	9.0
Libertad	Argentina	1960	3	Full rigged ship	91.7	13.7
Lord Nelson	United Kingdom	1985	3	Barque	40.2	8.5
Mercator	Belgium	1932	3	Barquentine	68	11.9
Meridian	Lithuania	1948	3	Barquentine		8.9	X
Mir	Russia	1987	3	Full rigged ship	94.8	14.0
Mircea	Romania	1938	3	Barque	73.7	12.5
Morgenster	Netherlands	1919	2	Brig	38.0	6.0
U.S. Brig Niagara	United States	1988	2	Brig	37.5	9.8
Nippon Maru II	Japan	1984	4	Barque	89.0	13.8
Oosterschelde	Netherlands	1918	3	Topsail Schooner	40.12	7.5
Palinuro	Italy	1934	3	Barquentine	58.7	10.1
Pallada	Russia	1989	3	Full rigged ship	94.2	14.0
Peacemaker	United States	1989	3	Barquentine	38	10.4
Picton Castle	Canada	1928	3	Barque	45.2	7.3
Pogoria	Poland	1980	3	Barquentine	40.9	7.9
Rah Naward	Pakistan	2001	2	Brig	40.6	9.9
Roald Amundsen	Germany	1952	2	Brig	40.8
Sagres III	Portugal	1937	3	Barque	81.3	11.9
Sedov	Russia	1921	4	Barque	108.7	14.6
Shabab Oman	Oman	1971	3	Barquentine	43.9	8.5
Simón Bolívar	Venezuela	1979	3	Barque	70.0	10.4
Sørlandet	Norway	1927	3	Full rigged ship	56.7	9.6
Spirit of New Zealand	New Zealand	1986	3	Barquentine	33.2	9.0
Stad Amsterdam	Netherlands	2000	3	Full rigged ship	62.4	10.5
Statsraad Lehmkuhl	Norway	1914	3	Barque	84.6	12.6
Stavros S Niarchos	United Kingdom	2000	2	Brig	40.6	9.9
Surprise (ex Rose)	United States	1970	3	Full rigged ship	34.9	9.8
Tarangini	India	1997	3	Barque	54.0	8.5
Thor Heyerdahl	Germany	1930	3	Topsail Schooner	42.5	6.5
Unicorn	United Kingdom	1948	2	Brig		7.3
Young America	United States	1975	2	Brigantine		7.2
Young Endeavour	Australia	1986	2	Brigantine	35	7.8
La Grace	Czech Republic	2010	2	Brig	32.8	6.06

Historical
Name	Last Nationality	Original Delivery	Mast	Rig	End
Alexander von Humboldt	Germany	1906	3	Barque	Sold
Bounty	United States	1960	3	Full rigged ship	Sunk 2012
Concordia	Canada	1992	3	Barquentine	Sunk 2010
Dunay	USSR	1928	3	Full rigged ship	Burned 1963
Prince William	United Kingdom	2001	2	Brig	Sold

Class B [edit]

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

Class C [edit]

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

Class D [edit]

Modern rigged vessels (i.e. Bermudan rigged sloops, ketches, yawls and schooners) with an LOA of less than 40 metres and with a waterline length (LWL) of at least 9.14 metres carrying spinnaker-like sails. There are also a variety of other rules and regulations for the crew, such as ages, and also for a rating rule. Here is list of tall ships as of 2011, really just a snapshot, since, while many ships are regulars, many have also come and gone over the course of the tall ship races. There are other sail festivals and races with their own standards, the STI is just one set of standards for their purposes.

Earlier description of classes [edit]

An older definition of class "A" by the STI was "all square-rigged vessels over 120' (36.6m) length overall (LOA). Fore and aft rigged vessels of 160' (48.8m) (LOA) and over". By LOA they meant length excluding bowsprit and aft spar.^[3]

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

See also a list of class "A" ships with lengths including bowsprit.^[4]

Lost tall ships [edit]

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

Bounty full-rig ship lost off the North Carolina coast as Hurricane Sandy approached in 2012.
Concordia was a triple mast Barquentine built in 1992, operated by Canada as a school ship. Lost at sea in 2010 in a squall.
Asgard II, an Irish national sail training ship, commissioned in 1982, was lost in 2008 off the French coast. The 2-masted brigantine is thought to have collided with a submerged object.
Fantome a former yacht built in 1927, then operating as a cruise ship was lost in Hurricane Mitch in 1998.^[5]
Marques, built in 1917, it was lost in a 1984 Tall Ships Race.