---

Cuauhtemoc brings
back the past

As the last of the world's commercial "windjammers," or sailing ships, the German grain ship Passat made her final passage between Buenos Aires and Lisbon in 1957.

The end of that voyage brought to a close the great age of sail that in preceding centuries had spread mankind's horizons to every landfall on earth.

From that point on, steam and diesel power, rather than the wind, would exclusively provide the energy to move the world's ships of commerce around the globe.

Still, as a reminder of those past centuries when windjammers crowded ports from Hamburg to Honolulu, many nations, including the U.S., continue to maintain "tall ship" training vessels and occasionally they pay a visit to Hawaii.

Such is the case of Mexico's Naval Training Ship Cuauhtemoc that recently sailed here from Acapulco and has been moored alongside Aloha Tower Market Place's Pier 9 this week.

Unlike stationary museum exhibits like Honolulu's Falls of Clyde, "school ships" such as Cuauhtemoc have become the only large square-rigged ships in commission today that continue to actively connect us to the nautical heritage of the past.

Cuauhtemoc is named after Mexico's last Aztec emperor, who had been imprisoned and executed by order of the Spanish conquistador Hernando Cortes in 1525. A likeness of the emperor is featured as a bronze figurehead at the ship's stem.

As the last of four training vessels built in the Bilbao, Spain, naval shipyard, Cuauhtemoc was delivered to the Mexican Navy on July 29, 1982. The earlier ships built by that shipyard were Colombia's Gloria, Ecuador's Guayas and Venezuela's Simon Bolivar.

The ship's steel hull and imposing bowsprit make her just short of 300 feet long, overall. But more impressive than her length are the three towering masts and the five broad yards on both the fore and main masts that define her as a bark rig.

As most sailors know in this day of fore-and-aft sails, the names of the square sails that are flown from those yards -- royals, topgallants and topsails -- are now only heard called out in pirate movies.

With some 3,000 square feet of sail and a 1,125 horsepower diesel engine, she has all the power she needs to navigate the seven seas.

In fact, since her launching 23 years ago, Cuauhtemoc has sailed hundreds of thousands of miles and trained numerous generations of junior and non-commissioned officers.

And beyond her training duties, she is known as Mexico's "Ambassador of the Seas." Over the years, Cuauhtemoc has won many awards, including two for having the crew who most contributed to friendship and international understanding.

As opportunities to climb aboard such remarkable vessels don't come often, I would advise everyone to take some time this weekend and tour Cuauhtemoc before she leaves for Alaska on Monday.

And while you're there, why not visit the nearby Maritime Museum? The exhibits there are bound to add to your historical perspective of the age of windjammers and Honolulu Harbor.