Tall Ships Gold Rush Race Kaiwo Maru
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Sail San Francisco 1999
Japan's Kaiwo Maru and Nippon Maru are sister ships both currently in their second incarnations.
The original Kaiwo Maru (King of the Sea) and Nippon Maru (Ship of Japan) were built in 1930 receiving their name from the Education Minister at the time.
In its 59 years of service the first Kaiwo Marucovered over 1,950,000 kilometers (49 times around the earth), educating over 11,000 trainees. Due to its dilapidated condition, a new ship was built in 1989 using funds from both the government and private donations.
The Kaiwo Maru, which was launched March 7, 1989 at Uraga ship yard of Sumitomo Heavy Industries, Ltd., has a sailing rig that appears the same as the first Kaiwo, but she is superior in performance because of state-of-the-art naval design that was applied during her construction.
| Type of Vessel | Four Masted Bark Sail Training Ship |
| Flag | Japan |
| Owner | Japanese Government |
| Commanding Officer | Captain Hiroshi Yumoto |
| Crew | 69 Crew 108 Cadets 22 Trainees |
| Length Overall | 110.09 m (361 feet) |
| Beam | 13.80m (45 feet) |
| Draft | Loaded: 6.58m (22 feet) |
| Depth | 10.71m (35 feet) |
| Displacement | 2.879GT |
| Max. Mast Height | 55.52m (182 feet) |
| Sails | Square sails: 18 sails -- 1770m (19,267 feet) Fore and Aft Sails: 18 sails -- 970m (10,441 feet) |
| Sail Area | Total: 2,760m (29,708 feet) |
| Main Engine: | Diesel Engine: 1,500 PSX2 (1,103KWX2) |
July 2, 1999: Sailing on the Kaiwo Maru
D.A. Levy
At 0800 hours on Friday, July 2, 1999, two of my brothers and I boarded the Kaiwo Maru at Pier 35 in San Francisco. We had a choice between sailing on the Kaiwo or Ecuador's Guayas. Because I was scheduled to board the Guayas on June 6 for Long Beach, because the Kaiwo was the largest sailing vessel in San Francisco's harbor that day, and because I'm intrigued by Japan's ceremony, art, and attention to detail, I chose her to sail in the Parade of Tall Ships.
With our family seafaring history, and as my brothers are sailors, we were excited. I'm a novice with sailing vessels, so this narrative is without knowledge of accurate terms and is being written with the help of Richard Henry Dana's The Seaman's Friend: A Treatise on Practical Seamanship.
The Kaiwo is run as one would expect the Japanese to run a ship. Above and below deck, she is immaculate, the trainees efficient, the teamwork excellent. Although we had no basis for comparison, never having been on a large sailing vessel, undoubtedly her crew, appearance and sailing capabilities will hold up under the closest scrutiny by the toughest sailor.
The Kaiwo weighed anchor at 0900 and motored out through the Gate to her position about ten miles into the Pacific, along with the Eagle, Gloria, Dewa Ruci, and Guayas. Canada's
Concordia was seen on the horizon, sailing in haste to take her position in the Parade of Tall Ships. Fortune blessed us with a sunny day, moderate winds, and light swells and chop. With this weather condition, theKaiwo's speed under full sail would be about 14 knots.
Crew activity seldom stopped. As the Kaiwo sailed out, crews squared her for show, checked lines, took lunch breaks . . .
While awaiting the Parade of Tall Ships to begin, we were escorted below to the officer's dining mess for a superb Japanese lunch: Miso soup, teriyaki fish (don't know the type); daikon, lightly steamed carrots and more daikon, white rice, tea -- and ginger, which helps ward off seasickness.
Back on deck, we saw that the Eagle, first in formation, was closing in on the Gate, sails full. Crew on the Gloria were unfurling hers. The Gloria passed under the bridge with all her canvas unfurled. Within minutes, boats of all shapes and types, helicopters, and small airplanes surrounded the ships. It was dramatic, fun, and somewhat overwhelming.
The Kaiwo's crew stood on deck, barefoot, white pants rolled to the knee, awaiting the command to climb above and begin loosing sails. As we cleared the heads, the wind dropped somewhat and the crew climbed the rigging to unfurl the lower top gallants, which had been loosened earlier, but reefed because of the strength of the wind. They then set the upper tops, stays'ls, heads'ls and the upper top gallants. The Kaiwo sailed so smoothly that those of us without sealegs didn't even lurch. The Kaiwo is an immaculate ship, managed with ease, with a narrow beam given her length.
By the time the Kaiwo passed under the Golden Gate in full sail, the bridge was lined with spectators, traffic was virtually stopped, and thousands of craft filled the Bay in greeting. Multi-colored carnations were thrown from the bridge, landing on deck. Cheers filled the air. Crew collected the flowers and placed them in between openings on board.
Looking up through the sails of an elegant vessel such as this is almost beyond description. The City has a sublime landscape when viewed from the Bay and it is exciting to see her from the vantage point of a sailing vessel. Immigrants to early California often wrote that they lacked the words to tell of their impressions upon seeing San Francisco for the first time after months at sea, and of hearing the cheers from welcoming crowds of family and friends waiting on shore. Like our ancestors, our senses filled with the beauty of entering the waters of San Francisco Bay on a lovely sunny day, surrounded by pomp and circumstance . . . We paced the upper deck, excited at the vision before us, the camaderie of sailors and their shouts of "konichi wa" to the Kaiwo's crew.
It was extremely easy to imagine what it must have been like for our great-great grandparents when they arrived on these shores with their hopes and dreams.
If you ever get a chance to sail on one of these beautiful vessels, please unhesitatingly shout YES!
A few people had been invited to join us and begged off because of work, family, the departure hour, etc. . . they missed the opportunity of a lifetime. We will never forget this day.
Update: Since that sailing and the graciousness of the Kaiwo Maru's captain and crew, we have spent two weeks in Japan. And we have sailed the Mediterranean from Italy along the French Riviera, to Greece and Turkey. We's boarded ships and toured the Caribbean (all islands), kayaked in balmy South Pacific waters, and boarded small vessels everywhere we wander: New Zealand, Australia, San Juan Islands (kayaking), Ireland . . .
Tall Ships: The Fleet for the 21st Century
Thaddeus Koza
This new and revised edition includes photographs and descriptions of over 175 vessels, including the major class 'A' ships along with many class 'B' and 'C' vessels from around the world. These are the tall ships of today and can be seen at major world ports during the years. Organised alphabetically, the book offers an impressive photograph of each vessel, supplemented by photographs of details ranging from figure heads and binnacles to flags and rigging. The text describes each ship featured, its history and notable events under sail, along with its technical specifications. This unique guide is an ideal book for everyone interested in these elegant vessels, their enduring history and traditions.
Tall ship rigging includes: Two-Masted Schooners, Brigantines, Topsail Schooners, Full-Rigged Ship, Barquentine, Three-Masted Schooners, Brig.
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Come aboard The Danmark, one of the world's foremost sailing ships and the pride of Copenhagen, for a remarkable journey across the stormy North Atlantic. Eighty cadets – young men and women – signed on for this four-month training expedition, documented by Emmy Award-winning producer James Lipscomb and his crew. From the drudgery and discipline of life at sea, to the fear of high-sea gales, to the sheer danger of 13-story high masts, you will experience the thrill of a lifetime on this high sea adventure. As seen on ABC. Narrated by Jason Robards.
Sam Jefferson
More than 200 paintings, illustrations, and thrilling descriptions of the adventures and races on the water. First-hand accounts, newspaper reports and log entries.
American Built Clipper Ship
1850-1856 Characteristics, Construction, Details
William L. Crothers
Pacific Marine Review:
The National Magazine Of Shipping, Volume 19
Pacific American Steamship Association
China Tea Clippers
George Frederick Campbell
The history of the China tea clippers is examined, especially their struggle in the 19th century for economic survival in the face of the steamships. It also details advances made in design, hull construction, rigging, sail plans and deck arrangements.
American Clipper Ships:
1833-1858
Adelaide-Lotus
Volume 1 covers all American Clipper Ships built from 1833-1858 whose names begin with the letters A through L, and Volume 2 covers from M through Y. The criteria used to define a Clipper Ship, which is a ship "...of peculiar construction, designed for great speed rather than for capacity." (p.v) The authors consider the Ann McKim launched at Baltimore in 1833 to be the first Clipper, and the era of the Clipper to be over by 1858 with the launching of The Star of Peace at Newburyport. The books are basically listings of all 352 known Clipper Ships arranged alphabetically. Clipper ships, in addition to being exquisite vessels, were beasts of burden. Their loaded holds raced around the world; first goods in a foreign port -- San Francisco being a "foreign port" at that time -- brought in the highest returns.
The Deep Sea Derby of 1852 featured 95 clippers racing from northeastern ports, around the Horn, to San Francisco.
(Dover Maritime)
Frederick C. Matthews
American Merchant Ships 1850–1900 was written and compiled early in the twentieth century, when the halcyon days of merchant sailing were still easily within recall. Meticulously researched, with many verbatim accounts taken from contemporary sources, the text was reviewed wherever possible by the ships' builders, owners, and captains.
Unlike the older and faster clippers, these wind-driven leviathans, most of them built in Maine, were constructed to carry heavy cargoes, yet were amazingly swift, the later-built ships closely approaching records set by their famous predecessors. Here are enthralling accounts of life and death aboard ship as these fabled craft fought fierce winds and turbulent waters, penetrated ice floes, sat out long ocean calms, dodged icebergs, and rounded the treacherous Horn. Here, too, are details to warm the hearts of naval historians and sailing-ship enthusiasts alike: ships' dimensions, tonnage, launching dates, speed and length of voyages, cargoes, commanding officers, and much more.
American Merchant Ships and Sailors
Willis John Abbott
A chronicle of the high courage, the reckless daring, and oftentimes the noble self-sacrifice of those who use the Seven Seas to extend the markets of the world, to bring nations nearer together, to advance science, and to cement the world into one great interdependent whole. Willis John Abbott (1863-1934), American journalist and author of several maritime books, gives a detailed account of the history of merchant shipping in the United States.
The Old Merchant Marine:
A Chronicle of American Ships and Sailors
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The Clipper Ship Era
An Epitome of Famous American and British Clipper Ships, Their Owners, Builders, Commanders, and Crews
1843-1869
Arthur Hamilton Clark
Two Years Before the Mast
Richard Henry Dana, Jr.
Dana's father received a law degree from Harvard and eventually closed his practice in favor of his literary leanings. Dana also attendard Harvard and developed into a fine writer. After his sophomore year he contracted measles, which affected his eyesight and forced him to leave Harvard because he could not read. Not wanting to add to his father's financial difficulties, he joined the crew of a ship called the "Pilgrim" and sailed around the Horn to California's West Coast just prior to the Gold Rush. This is his journal of his two years "before the mast" (ordinary sailors lived in the front of the ship) that became an international sensation.
The Seaman's Friend: A Treatise on Practical Seamanship
(Dover Maritime)
Richard Henry Dana, Jr.
(Not necessary well-regarded given today's competition of illustrated books which better impart a sense of sailing durin gthe 19th century. It is here because of the value of Dana's Two Years Before the Mast.
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