Tall ship

A tall ship is a large traditionally rigged sailing vessel. Popular modern tall ship rigs include topsail schooners, brigantines, brigs and barques.

Traditional rigging may include square rigs and gaff rigs, with separate topmasts and topsails. It is generally more complex than modern rigging, which utilizes newer materials such as aluminum and steel to construct taller, lightweight masts with fewer, more versatile sails. It should be noted that most smaller, modern vessels use Bermuda rig. Though it did not become popular elsewhere until the twentieth century, this rig was developed in Bermuda in the seventeenth century, and had historically been used on its small ships, the Bermuda sloops. A modern replica of an 1831, Bermudian-built sloop-of-war is the sail training vessel Spirit of Bermuda (34.13 m, LOA).

The term tall ship has come into widespread use in the mid-20th century with the advent of The Tall Ships' Races, and was not generally used in the era when such ships were the norm.

While Sail Training International (STI) has extended the definition of tall ship for the purpose of its races to embrace any sailing vessel with more than 30 ft. (9.14 m) waterline length and on which at least half the people on board are aged 15 to 25, this definition can include many modern sailing yachts, so for the purposes of this article, tall ship will refer to those vessels rated as class "B" or above (Fore and aft rigged vessels between 100 to 160 feet in length, and all square rigged vessels).

International Sail Training Association, Class A Tall Ships

In alphabetical order (sortable). International Sail Training Association classifies its A Class as "all square-rigged vessels over 120' (36.6m) length overall (LOA). Fore and aft rigged vessels of 160' (48.8m)(LOA) and over." Also see list of tall ships for other tall ships, or List of large sailing vessels for a list that includes other sailing vessel types.

Class A Tall Ships

Current Name	Current Nationality	Original Delivery	Mast	Rig	LOA (m)	Beam (m)
Alexander von Humboldt		1906	3	Barque	63.0	10.8
Alpha		1948	2	Barquentine	44.0	8.9
Amerigo Vespucci		1931	3	Full rigged ship	102.7	15.8
Belem		1896	3	Barque	61.0	8.8
Bounty		1960	3	Full rigged ship	51.5
Captain Miranda		1930	3	Staysail Schooner	63.7	7.9
Christian Radich		1914	3	Full rigged ship	98.1
Cuauhtemoc		1982	3	Barque	90.5	12.0
Cisne Branco		1999	3	Full rigged ship	76.2	10.7
Concordia		1992	3	Barquentine	56.4
Constitution		1797	3	Full rigged ship	93.3
Creole		1927	3	Schooner	65.2	8.9
Creoula		1937	3	Schooner	92.0
Danmark		1932	3	Full rigged ship	77.1	10.1
Dar Młodzieży		1982	3	Full rigged ship	108.8	14.0
Dewaruci		1953	3	Barquentine	58.2	9.4
Druzhba		1987	3	Full rigged ship	110.0
Dunay		1928	3	Full rigged ship	97.1	14.8
Eagle		1936	3	Barque	89.9	11.9
Eendracht		1989	3	Gaff Schooner	59.1	12.2
Elissa		1877	3	Barque	48.8	8.5
Eugene Euginides		1959	3	Topgallant Schooner	66.2	9.2
Europa		1911	3	Barque	56.4	7.3
Gazela of Philadelphia		1883	3	Barquentine	54.3	8.5
Georg Stage (II)		1935	3	Full rigged ship	54.2	8.5
Gloria		1968	3	Barque	75.9	10.7
Gorch Fock		1958	3	Barque	89.3	11.9
Großherzogin Elizabeth		1908	3	Gaff Schooner	63.7	8.2
Guayas		1977	3	Barque	78.6	10.4
Jadran		1933	3	Topsail Schooner	58.2	8.9
Jessica		1983	3	Topsail Schooner	61.5	6.7
Juan Sebastián Elcano		1927	4	Topsail Schooner	113.1	13.2
Kaiwo Maru II		1989	4	Barque	110.0	13.8
Kaliakra		1984	3	Barquentine	49.0	7.9
Khersones		1989	3	Full rigged ship	110.0	14.0
Kruzenshtern		1926	4	Barque	114.6	14.0
Leeuwin		1986		Barquentine	54.0	9.0
Libertad		1960	3	Full rigged ship	105.2	13.7
Mercator		1932	3	Full rigged ship	78.4	11.9
Meridian		1948	2	Barquentine	39.4	8.9
Nippon Maru		1984	4	Barque	110.0	13.8
Lord Nelson		1985	3	Barque	55.2	8.5
Mir		1987	3	Full rigged ship	109.1	14.0
Mircea		1938	3	Barque	82.1	12.5
Niagara		1813	2	Brig	60.4	9.8
Orp Iskra		1982	3	Barquentine	49.0	7.9
Palinoru		1934	3	Barquentine	68.9	10.1
Pallada		1989	3	Full rigged ship	108.6	14.0
Picton Castle		1928	3	Barque	53.6	7.3
Pogoria		1980	3	Barquentine	46.9	7.9
Prince William		2001	2	Brig	59.4	9.9
Roald Amundsen		1952	2	Brig	50.3
Sagres (III)		1937	3	Barque	89.6	11.9
Sedov		1921	4	Barque	121.6	14.6
Shabab Oman		1971	3	Barquentine	54.0	8.5
Simon Bolivar		1979	3	Barque	82.3	10.4
Sorlandet		1927	3	Full rigged ship	60.5	9.6
Spirit of New Zealand		1986	3	Barquentine	45.2	9.1
Statsraad Lehmkuhl		1914	3	Barque	98.1	12.6
Stavros S Niarchos		2000	2	Brig	59.4	9.9
Surprise		1970	3	Full rigged ship	54.6	9.8
Thor Heyerdahl		1930	3	Topsail Schooner	49.8	6.5
Tovarisch		1933	3	Barque	82.1	11.9
Unicorn		1948	2	Brig	39.6	7.3
Wavertree		1885	3	Full rigged ship	99.1	12.2
Wilhelm Pieck		1950	2	Brigantine	50.0	7.4
Young America		1975	2	Brigantine	39.6	7.2
Young Endeavour		1986			44.0

Gallery

See also

• American Sail Training Association
• Cutty Sark Tall Ships' Race
• Jubilee Sailing Trust
• List of tall ships
• List of large sailing vessels
• Sail training
• Tall Ships Challenge
• The Tall Ships' Races
• Tall Ships Youth Trust

References

Further reading

• American Sail Training Association; Sail Tall Ships! (American Sail Training Association; 16th edition, 2005 ISBN 0-9636483-9-X)
• Thad Koza; Tall Ships: A Fleet for the 21st Century (Tide-Mark Press; 3rd edition, 2002; ISBN 1-55949-739-4)

External links

• Tall Ships' Regatta 2008
• American Sail Training Association
• Tall Ships Today!
• Sail Training International
• Tallships Australia, site providing information on tallships principally based in Australian and New Zealand waters.
• Bermuda Sloop Foundation
• Tall ship pictures published on USENET stored with a search function.
• Tall-ship pictures for personal/commercial use.
• Maritime Heritage Network, an online directory of maritime history resources in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States.
• University of Washington Libraries Digital Collections – Transportation Photographs An ongoing digital collection of photographs depicting various modes of transportation in the Pacific Northwest region and Western United States during the first half of the 20th century.
• Tall ship photo gallery