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Falls Of Clyde
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PHOTOS |
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Click on a thumbnail to
see a larger version of the photo |
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OVERVIEW |
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Mention
"sailing vessels in Hawaii," and most people
automatically think of Polynesian canoes.
But Honolulu, Oahu is also the home of the
Falls of Clyde, the only surviving,
fully-rigged, four-masted sailing ship left
in the world. Docked at Honolulu Harbor next
to the Aloha Tower Marketplace, the ship now
serves as a floating exhibit at the Hawaii
Maritime Center.
Over 265 feet long and weighing in at over a
thousand tons, the Falls of Clyde
took a circuitous rout in reaching the
Hawaiian Islands. The ship was built in 1878
in Port Glasgow, Scotland and served as a
trade ship. Her maiden voyage took her to
Karachi, with subsequent trips including
stops in Australia, India, New Zealand, the
British Isles and California.
In 1899, the ship was purchased by Captain
William Matson and became the first four-masted
ship to fly under the Hawaiian flag. When
Hawaii was annexed by the United States in
1900, it took a special act by Congress to
give the foreign-built ship the right to fly
the American flag. Rigged down as a bark and
adding passenger accommodations, Falls of
Clyde brought general merchandise from San
Francisco and sugar from Honolulu.
An oil company purchased the ship in 1907
and converted her to a bulk tanker.
Following World War I, the ship sailed to
Denmark and made her last voyage under sail,
to Brazil. In 1925, the Falls of Clyde
was sold again, this time to the General
Petroleum Company, which used the ship as an
oil barge in Alaska. Finally, in 1963, the
bank holding the mortgage on the ship
decided to sell her to be sunk as part of a
breakwater at Vancouver, British Columbia.
At the last minute, however, the Falls of
Clyde was purchased and transferred to
Honolulu to be used as a public exhibit.
Restored to her past glory, the Falls of
Clyde opened to the public in 1968. Her
restoration was assisted by the grandson of
her original builder, Sir William Lithgow.
His Glasgow shipyard donated masts and other
fittings.
The ship is now listed in the National
Register of Historic Places. Admission to
the Hawaii Maritime Center includes a tour
of the Falls of Clyde. The Center is
open daily from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. |
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DIRECTIONS |
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Located at
the Maritime Museum off Nimitz Highway next
to the Aloha Tower Marketplace in Honolulu
Harbor. |
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WEBSITE |
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http://sites.google.com/a/friendsoffallsofclyde.org/www/ |
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