20090519

Québec 84

The Gorch Fock is a tall ship of the German Navy (Deutsche Marine). She is the second ship of that name and a sister ship of the Gorch Fock built in 1933. Both ships are named in honor of the German writer Johann Kinau who wrote under the pseudonym "Gorch Fock" and died in the battle of Jutland/Skagerrak in 1916. The modern-day Gorch Fock was built in 1958 and has since then undertaken 146 cruises (as of October 2006), including one tour around the world in 1988. She is sometimes referred to (unofficially) as the Gorch Fock II to distinguish her from her older sister ship.


Québec 84**
Originally uploaded by montivier

1765 HMS Victory masts, Portsmouth, England



The HMS Victory is the most famous sailing warship of all time. Lord Nelson commanded her at the Battle of Trafalgar in 1805 to defeat the combined French and Spanish fleet. We toured her in August of 2006 in Portsmouth, England, where she is in drydock #2. Some of these pictures will look a little ragged, because the Victory is SO large even standing back as far as I could she would not fit in my viewfinder.
  • Launched May 7, 1765

  • LOA 227 feet
  • Length on gun deck: 186 feet
  • Length of keel: 151 feet 3 inches
  • Bridge clearance: 220 feet
  • Beam 51 feet 10 inches
  • Depth 21 feet 6 inches
  • Sail area 4 acres
  • Cordage 27 miles
  • Timber used 2,000 oak trees
  • (38 tons of iron ballast added to the port side to stabilise trim)
  • 20090508

    Szczecin/Świnoujście - Tall Ship's Races 2007

    Szczecin/Swinoujscie - Tall Ship's Races 2007
    I am not a small boat...
    1982 / 1755gt
    Built by Astilleros y Talleres Celaya, Bilbao (187)
    Operated by Armada de México
    Seen departing Portsmouth on 28th June 1996




    The ARM Cuauhtémoc BE-01 is a Sail Training vessel of the Mexican Navy, named for the last Aztec Emperor Cuauhtémoc who was captured and executed in 1525.



    She is the last of four sisterships built by the Naval Shipyards of Bilbao, Spain, in 1982, similar to the 1930 German designs of Blohm & Voss, like the Gorch Fock, the USCGC Eagle and the N.R.P. Sagres.


    Like her sisterships, the Colombian Gloria, the Ecuadorian Guayas and the Simón Bolívar of Venezuela, the Cuauhtémoc is a sailing ambassador for her home country and a frequent visitor to world ports, having sailed over 400,000 nautical miles (700,000 km) in her 23 years of service with appearances at the Cutty Sark Tall Ships' Races, ASTA Tall Ships Challenges, Sail Osaka, and others.