Should San Francisco commission a Tall Ship?
Today, Wednesday November 25, 2009, the 132-foot steel hull of the Oliver Hazard Perry will be towed from Newport Harbor, R.I., to Providence, where it will undergo major steel and mechanical work, including adding bow thrusters, platforms for diesel engines to drive its two screws, and a state-of-the-art rudder system. The ship then will return to Newport where its spars, rigging, and other hardware will be configured and installed. When it is ready to sail in 2011, it will measure 207 feet in length, carry a soaring three-masted, square rig 13 stories tall. It will be a 21st Century version of the naval vessels used in the Battle of Lake Erie, where Commodore Oliver Hazard Perry commanded a victorious fleet. She will have a passenger capacity up to 100 for day sails and 49 overnight.
The hull was bought from a shipyard in Amherstburg, Ontario for the non-profit organization Tall Ships Rhode Island (TSRI), Inc., on September 2, 2008, and towed to Newport, arriving on October 24, 2009. (Photo left by Onne van der Wal)
Bart Dunbar, TSRI’s Chairman said the Oliver Hazard Perry “will not rest as a museum ship at the dock. The ship is intended to be a working sail school vessel, with an office, staff and crew, representing all of Rhode Island and supporting itself with educational and sail training programs. The ship will integrate with the school systems, Rhode Island’s marine trades industry, and the various waterfront-related programs in the state for both youths and adults.” In the summer, it will sail in New England with trips to Canada and the Great Lakes, while in the winter it will sail in the Caribbean.”
Plans are for it to play a significant role in the country's planned Bicentennial Celebration of the War of 1812.
There are 75 Class A (longer than 160-feet) Tall Ships engaged in sail training worldwide, with ten of them in the US. The number is growing as state and private organizations realize the benefits as well as the financial viability of operating a Tall Ship. Cities with A Class Tall Ships include Boston, Galveston, San Diego (2), Erie, Philadelphia, New London, and Brunswick, GA.
A 2007 study by the University of Edinburgh found that “sail training does what it claims to do.” The researchers found:
• Young trainees who participate in offshore sail-training programs show measurable improvements in social confidence and their ability to work with others, and those benefits are sustained long after the voyage experience.
• The positive value of the sail-training experience transcends national and cultural boundaries.
Should San Francisco commission a Tall Ship?
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Should San Francisco follow the lead of Newport and other US cities by creating a foundation to build a tall ship for San Francisco Bay? Perhaps a clipper ship, such as The Flying Cloud, the most famous of the clippers (Right in a painting by James E. Buttersworth, 1859-60) In 1851 she sailed from New York to San Francisco around Cape Horn in just under 90 days, and again in 1853 in 80 days. It was a speed record that lasted almost 140 years, until beaten by the French racing yacht Gitana.
The Flying Cloud’s record was set under the command of Captain Josiah Perkins Cressy, and what makes the accomplishment even more interesting is that the navigator was a woman, Eleanor Cressy. Both Josiah and Eleanor became instant celebrities in San Francisco following their record-setting sail. 
(Left is a modern clipper ship like The Flying Cloud, the Brazilian educational ship The White Swan. (Photo by marcusrg's photostream.)
If you think it would be a good idea to organize a foundation to raise $10 million or so to build an educational sail-training clipper ship for San Francisco Bay, take the poll below, and leave a comment with your ideas. For more information on how Newport is doing it, click here.
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