X MARKS THE SPOT
CRAIG T. KOJIMA / CKOJIMA@STARBULLETIN.COM
The 266-foot-long Falls of Clyde, launched in 1878, is now moored at Pier 7 next to the Hawaii Maritime Center.
|
|
Maritime past survives today in 4-masted Falls of Clyde
Launched in 1878 from Scot shipyards, the iron-hulled, four-masted clipper called Falls of Clyde was originally rigged as a ship, then a bark -- a spanker boom attached at one point to aid in nosing along coastlines -- and refitted with tanks to become a wind-powered oil tanker. Plenty of irony to chew on there.
Thanks to a gang of maritime historians, Falls of Clyde was restored in the 1970s, with new masts and spars milled by the same Russell and Co. shipyard on River Clyde that built her in the 19th century. She's moored at Pier 7, next to the Hawaii Maritime Center.
Falls of Clyde is 266 feet long, with a 40-foot beam, 23-foot draft and displacement of 1,807 tons. She's a medium clipper, not as sleek as the Cutty Sark-style tea clippers, but able to haul more and maneuver smartly. Falls of Clyde is no racer -- she's a working ship, an oceangoing truck, and represents the vast majority of ships that created the maritime industry as we know it today, and she's the world's only surviving four-masted, full-rigged ship. That's why it's important to keep her afloat.
"X Marks the Spot" is a weekly feature documenting historic monuments and sites around Oahu. Send suggestions to
xspot@starbulletin.com