The first was the 'James Craig', which was first constructed in 1874 in England. She is a barque (you can google that, if you want to know what it means - as I did) with a steel hull, and only one of four barques in the world that still regularly goes to sea. Originally she was called the 'Clan McLeod' and her first trip to Australia was to Brisbane in August 1879. She brought Scotch whisky, beer and other assorted general cargo. This link http://www.afloat.com.au/afloat-magazine/2011/january-2011/James_Craig tells more about her if you are interested in seeing her condition when she was rescued.
The remarkable thing was that she was sunk and abandoned in Recherche Bay, not far from here. The restoration project was lengthy (40 years) and expensive (AUD $30 million), but the end result is stunning. She looked fabulous under sail yesterday in the Parade of Sail.
Toni is glad she doesn't have to figure out which rope goes with what sail! it all looks VERY complicated!
One amusing story we were told was the greeting they received in 2005 when the James Craig first returned to Hobart in all her restored splendor. The mayor of Hobart was also in all his splendid mayoral robes. After he had greeted the ship he declared that this vessel was illegally removed from its previous resting place in Tasmanian waters and the vessel would be impounded unless they paid the the outstanding fee of Five Guineas and associated costs and interest, amounting to Thirty-Seven Pounds, fourteen shillings and five pence ha’penny, has been paid. The mayor then announced that a female crew member would have to be held in jail as collateral! Finally, he relented and said that if the public could come and inspect the ship for a fee, they would waive the outstanding debt! If the captain of the James Craig had no warning of this 'surprise' he/she must have been quite taken aback!
The rooms that look like wooden boxes behind the man in the red t-shirt are mock ups of the economy passenger cabins.
This is what they look like on the inside - pretty basic for a loooong journey to Australia!
By contrast - this is the officers quarters! Much nicer!
Including a lace antimacassar!
Toni and I would make a pretty good-looking crew, too.
The second ship we visited was the 'Tenacious' - aptly named as she is designed to allow people of all physical abilities to sail - anyone over 16 with a physical disability can serve as crew. They showed us accommodations for the blind and wheelchair bound in particular. It is the largest wooden ship built in England in the last 100 years and very impressive for the thought that has gone into so many accommodations to provide the widest possible range of people the opportunity to participate in sailing.
Carrie was a paraplegic who had joined the crew just 11-days ago. She had never sailed before and was absolutely thrilled to be part of this adventure.
These raised guides on the ship's deck were in place to allow blind people to navigate the deck. There were also braille markings for all the ropes and other instructions, along with raised arrows along the hand rail to help them determine the front of the ship.
This is a wheelchair lift to allow people in wheelchairs to go from deck to deck. They also had rope systems set up to allow able-bodied crew to move wheelchair-bound sailors from one deck to the next in case of power outages. They also had systems for getting the wheelchairs up into the rigging! The bunks also had hoists to assist paraplegics transfer to their bunks independently.
These little devices in the floor allowed wheelchair anchors to provide stability during rough seas.
There are also able-bodied crew on the Tenacious.
I put this photo in just because I like the colors of the safety harnesses all hanging up together.
The setting for these magnificent boats was in Constitution Dock in Hobart, immediately adjacent to the famed Salamanca Place.
The third warehouse on the right was once a fertilizer factory which was owned jointly by an uncle and my father. I am sad to say it was sold in the early 70's because taxes were getting too costly. These buildings are now worth substantial amounts of money! SAD FACE :(!
To get to Salamanca Place from our hostel in Battery Point, we went down a set of old steps called the Kelly Steps.
Finally, I want to show you the type of structure that is typical of this area in Hobart - Battery Point. It has many charming buildings like this - some small, some large. It is a beautiful area.
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