Tall Ships

[clancy]

Cross,Roy-The Bounty Off Pitcairn Island - oil on canvas
'Fletcher Christian rows across to the rugged island destined to be the permanent home of all but one of the white men aboard.'



Cross,Roy-Salem Harbour - gouache on board
'A fine little merchantman in the Mediterranean trade, Margaret was built in her home port of Salem, Massachusetts, in 1800, grossing 295 tons. She was well armed with eighteen or more long guns for defence against the notorious Barbary piratesand other seafaring marauders.'




Cross,Roy-Frolic And Wasp - oil on canvas
'...a British brig, the Frolic, battles to protect her convoy from a marauding American cruiser, the Wasp, during the naval
war of 1812 between the United States and Great Britain. Thedate is 18 October 1812. The 450-ton Wasp was rated 18 guns and the 384-ton Frolic, of the famous Royal Navy 'Cruizer' class, was similarly armed; an even match and a hard fight.'




Cross,Roy-The Ocean Sentinel - gouache on board
'A fine naval frigate drives along before the wind in the glow from the setting sun, accompanied by a small cutter as her tender.'

[clancy]

Cross, Roy-Lynx - gouache on board
Lynx was among the paintings which earned the artist membership of the Royal Society of Marine Artists in 1976.





Cross,Roy-Camden-Maine - oil on canvas
'A view of the old harbour of Camden, Maine, as it would have appeared in the mid-nineteenth century. Readying to slip her moorings is the barque Aurelia bound for the Mediterranean. She was built in Camden in 1855 and owned in Boston. Mounts Baffie and Megunticook can be seen overlooking the harbour...'



Cross,Roy-The Nantucket Whaler Atlas - oil on canvas

'The Nantucket whaler Atlas in southern waters'
'Even before the thirteenth century the Franco-Spanish Basqueswere expert European whalers, and their example was followed by the first Dutch, British, Scandinavian and other continental fleets...Nantucket and then New Bedford south of Boston were early participants in the whaling industry and rapidly opened up the Pacific whaling grounds pioneered by the British. The boom years of the sailing whalers were from the 1830s until the late 1860s after which steam whalers began to dominate the industry.'



Cross,Roy-Dusk On The East River NYC - oil on canvas
'Dusk on the East River, New York City highlights the sails of the Atlantic packet Ocean Monarch as she takes on last-minute passengers for Liverpool.'

[clancy]

Cross,Roy-SouthernCross - oil on canvas
'The medium clipper Southern Cross leaving Boston in the 1850's. Baker & Morrill, Boston shipping owners, ordered the SouthernCross from builders E. & H. O. Briggs for launch in 1851, destined for the East Coast to San Francisco route. Here she is leaving the Boston wharves with the Capitol building silhouetted on the skyline.'





Cross,Roy-The First America's Cup Race - oil on canvas
'Steer's commission as designer was simply to create the fastest yacht afloat, and in the 22 August 1851 Royal Yacht Squadron Cup race round the Isle of Wright, America certainly proved she could beat a fleet of British cracks handsomely in their own waters.'




Cross,Roy-Magic-v-Cambria-1870 - oil on canvas
'The centre-board schooner Magic is already outpacing the British challenger Cambria, a larger, heavier keel schooner, over the New York Yacht Club course past Staten Island. In the background is the original America, which came fourth to Magic's first and Cambria's tenth in the final corrected result.'



Cross,Roy-Constitution-Columbia-Independence - oil on canvas
'For the 1901 series no less than three great American yachts were in competition to defend the Cup. The previous winner, Columbia, was still in contention with the great Charlie Barr at the helm, and two fine new vessels were built...Columbia still proved to be the superior boat overall and went on successfully to win the 1901 Cup races. Here the three contenders, from left to right: Constitution, Columbia, and Independence, are racing off Newport in the July 1901 trials.'

[J. Dillon]

Thanks Clancy for posting those images. I especially like the square riggers.



JD

[Tom Lathrop]

Thanks Clancy for posting those images. I especially like the square riggers.

JD

This reminds us Jack. You haven't posted any of your work lately.

[clancy]

Gardner,Derek-The Indefatigable - watercolour
'This famous ship, seen here off St. Mawes Castle, Falmouth, in May 1795, will always be associated with Captain Sir Edward Pellew, who, many years later, became an admiral and was raised to the peerage of Lord Exmouth.'




Gardner,Derek-Nymphe And Cleopatre - watercolour
The Nymphe and the Cléopâtre, 18 June 1793.
'...a hard-fought encounter, the French ship only surrendering after all her officers were casualties and her gallant captain mortally wounded. The Cléopâtre was taken into the Royal Navyand renamed Oiseau, serving until 1810.'







Gardner,Derek-TheBattle Of Trafalgar - watercolour
The Battle of Trafalgar: The Bellerophon Opens Fire
'The Battle of Trafalgar, fought on 21 October 1805, is one of the great milestones in out long history. In four and a half hours the British Fleet under Vice-Admiral Lord nelson utterly defeated the combined fleets of France and Spain under Admiral Villeneuve.'

[clancy]

Gardner,Derek-Surrender Of Renommée To The Alfred - oil on canvas
'This painting depicts an incident in the career of the 74-gun ship-of-the-line Alfred during the Revolutionary War when,
under Captain Thomas Drury, she captured the French 36-gun frigate Renommée off San Domingo.' 13 July 1796




Gardner,Derek-TheCaptureOfTheImmortalite-1798 - watercolour
'...the 36-gun Immortalite..., on the morning of 20 October, wasintercepted by the Fisgard...A furious fight followed in which both ships suffered much damage and many casualties, but after two hours the French frigate struck, having lost both her brave captain and his first lieutenant. The prize was a fine ship which was taken into the Royal Navy under her French name and served until 1806.'







Gardner,Derek-The Constitution And The Java - oil on canvas
The British frigate, the Java, was defeated off the coast of Brazil on December 29, in the War of 1812, by the Constitution.

[clancy]

Gardner,Derek-HighSeas - oil on canvas
'This is the celebrated tea-clipper Leander, built on the Clyde and launched in 1867. The china tea trade under sail lasted only a quarter of a century, roughly from 1850 to 1875, yet the names of many of the ships are still remembered today. The most famous of them is undoubtedly the Cutty Sark, preserved in dry dock at Greenwich, the only survivor of the many ships that year by year, raced home to London, their holds packed tight with chests of tea.'

[clancy]

[clancy]

[J. Dillon]

Keep em coming Clancy.

It always amazed me all the shots that went so high into the topsails.

JD

[clancy]

In post #6, the first photo, what is the purpose of having the sails on the mainmast back winded?

[J. Dillon]

Clancy, She is "Hove To" A kind of way of stopping the ship from serious fwd. motion. Ships would do this to take on a pilot etc , a whaler to cut in a whale. Not sure why a war ship would do this in a battle. It seems to me that would make em a sitting duck. But perhaps someone else can answer that one.

Tom about art or yarns?

JD

[J. Dillon]

Clancy, I notice in the first image the Bounty is Hove to. Notice the boat making for shore. Probably Mr. Christian checking to see if the island is suitable place to hide from British justice

JD

[clancy]

Gardner,Derek-Sovereign Of The Seas - oil on canvas
'This is the famous Sovereign Of The Seas which in the summer of 1853 set up a record crossing of the Atlantic from New York to Liverpool, completing the passage for the first time in less than fourteen days.'

[clancy]

Groves,John-Hoisting The Upper T'Gallant - pastel
Hoisting The Upper T'Gallant, 1900s
'Much of the very heavy work of 'pulley-haul' aboard a ship of this period might be alleviated by taking a halyard, sheet, or brace to one of the capstans fitted on the main deck.'



Groves,John-Gale Coming On - pastel
'In an advancing gale a merchant ship of the late 18th century shortens her sail. The sails were shortened with the aid of reef-points: lengths of rope spliced each side of the sail through stitched holes in reinforced bands of two or three strips across the sail, to enable the sail to be rolled or folded and made fast to the yard so as to expose a smaller area to the wind.'




Groves,John-South West Coast - pastel
'After several weeks of overcast and stormy weather, making for the English Channel, unable to fix her position and relying on deadreckoning, pushed sideways by currents or general scend of the sea, this ship came off course and, like so many others, one dark and stormy night found herself embayed on the coast of Cornwall, with every possibility of no
survivors among the crew.' 'Quite a number of people are uncomfortable with this picture. I guess it is because it shows a side of the sea they do not wishto be reminded of.'

Definitions from the web:

scend
1. Rise or heave upward under the influence of a natural force, as on a wave.
2. The distance that the trough of a wave is below the average water level. With large waves in shallow water the scend is important to help determine whether a boat will run aground.

embayed
1. (geography) Formed into a bay.
2. (navigation) Pertaining to a vessel in a bay unable to put to sea or to put to sea safely because of wind, current, or sea.

[clancy]

Groves,John-Scarborough-The Herring Season - pastel
'The great fleet of herring drifters has arrived with their catch at Scarborough. The quaysides bustle with activity: on the boats the baskets are filled from the holds then hauled up on to the quay, where the men empty their contents into large rectangular wooden tubs or troughs set up on the quays. Women would gut and salt down the fish and pack them
into barrels. Working on piece rates in teams of three in all weathers, they could deal with about 3,000 fish in an hour.'







Groves,John-A Good Catch - pastel
'Some fish was sold locally by retailers who worked direct from the foreshore where the fish was landed. This St. Ives woman with her family is a fish "jouster" or seller...'

[clancy]

Groves,John-No Wind - pastel rough
'Heavy rain knocking the breath out of the wind, a heavy swell, the deck canting, the boom swinging to and fro over one's head, the gear banging and clattering, and the sound of swearing from the galley.'



The Sheba Queen
John Rackham, known as Calico Jack for his costumes of colourful cotton, together with the female pirates Anne Bonny and Mary Read, who sailed with him in the 40-gun Sheba Queen, came up against two Spanish men-of-war sent to capture and sink them because of their persistent attacks on Spanish merchant shipping. The action was close and destructive, the Spanish receiving the worst of it. During the action Bonny, being of a fierce and courageuos nature, leapt into the main shrouds, exposing herself to the fire from the enemy ships, to cheer on the upper deck gun crews.

[rufustr]

Fantastic!
Thanks for posting those images.

[clancy]

Groves,John-Sail - pastel
'The owners of these magnificent ships drove their captains who in turn drove their ships and crew hard. Speed was of the essence, whether the cargo was perishable or not. It was a case of first home, bigger profits for all, except maybe the deck hands.'

[clancy]

Groves,John-A King's Ship - pastel
'A corvette, nearly all plain sail set, beats out of the Solent against a background of a passing squall over Portsmouth, during the wars with France. She is a flush decked vessel of war with one tier of guns, small and fast, and designated as a naval escort.'

[clancy]

Groves,John-Dutch East Indiamen Making Sail - pastel
'A small fleet of ships of the Netherlands East India Company preparing for sea. They are bound for their trading stations in South East Asia, and are being seen off by relatives, friends and trading partners.'

[clancy]

A King's Ship - A Sighting
A ship-sloop of war while on patrol in the English Channel, has just come about after sighting a strange sail on the horizon. She closes to investigate.




Groves,John-Crescent And Reunion-1793 - pastel
'The 36-gun frigate Crescent in action with the French frigate Réunion. The English ship lost her fore topmast early in the action, but shot away the Frenchman's fore yard and mizen topmast. After two hours of close-quarters fighting Réunion struck her colours with heavy casualties; astonishingly , Crescent had only one man injured. The English Captain
James Saumarez was knighted following the ship's return to Portsmouth with her prize.'




Groves,John-Trafalgar-1805 - oil on canvas
'Of all the big important battles under sail, I suppose Trafalgar with Nelson's Victory breaking the line must be the most painted...'

[clancy]

Hunt,Geoff-Cutty Sark And Thermopylae - oil on canvas
'The incident depicted is the well-known duel between Cutty Sark and the ship she had been purposely built to beat, Thermopylae.'



Hunt,Geoff-Lymington Quay - oil on canvas
Lymington Quay, circa 1790
'Standing on Lymington town quay today it is quite easy to visualize this scene, though the water is jammed with yachts rather than trading vessels, overlooked by visitors and their cars rather than countrymen and their cattle.'

[clancy]

Hunt,Geoff-Henry B Hyde - oil on canvas
Shipbuilding along the Kennebec River, Maine; The Henry B. Hyde
alongside.
'...one of the celebrated 'Down-Easters'...These ships were the successors of the tea-clippers, inheriting the traditions of speed and hard-driving, yet they were bigger ships, required to carry substantial loads in a tough trade - the Cape Horn route to California...built at Bath, Maine, in 1884...'

[clancy]

Hunt,Geoff-Wager - oil on panel
Wager in the Great Southern Ocean, 1741
'...she was wrecked on the desolate and uninhabited coast of what is now Chile, at the Gulf of Penas, on 14 May 1741...another store ship, the Anna, (is) in the distance.'

[clancy]

Sorry guys but I just found the captions that go along with a lot of these. I just began adding them.

[Dave Williams]

Clancy,

Thank you.

I'm susprised that it hasn't been asked, but where did you find all these wonderful images?

Here's to kindness,
Dave

[clancy]

I found them on a Usenet newsgroup:

alt.binaries.pictures.tall-ships

[clancy]

[clancy]

Hunt,Geoff-Nelson's Agamemnon - oil on panel
Nelson's Agamemnon: Mediterranean, 1796
'...Nelson was operating in the Gulf of Genoa with a small squadron under his command, which provides the setting for this painting. Agamemnon leads, followed by Meleager (32), Blanche (32), Diadem (64)...


Hunt,Geoff-The Battle O fSt Vincent - oil on canvas

The Battle of St. Vincent, 14 February 1797, at about 1:50 p.m. Leading British ships in action with Spanish main group, HMS Captain in distance. 'In this confused fighting...Nelson was to perform his well-known feat of capturing an 80-gun ship, the San Nicholas, and using her as a bridge to capture another even larger, the 112-gun San Josef. The ship at the extreme left is the 98-gun Prince George, which was to play a major role in knocking out the San Josef.'

[heimlaga]

I am down with the flue sitting here being bored and tired, and up comes theese beautiful pictures. THANKS A LOT.


A question for those of you who know a little about the handling of squareriggers:
Do some of the paintings show the ships with too much sail set for the conditions? In particular picture number 2 of the merchantman in Salem harbour?

[clancy]

[clancy]

[clancy]

Hunt,Geoff-Bellona And Courageux - oil on canvas
Bellona and Courageux coming home, Spithead 1761

'HMS Bellona (left) was one of the first of the new British standard 74-gun ships - a long-lived ship, completed in 1760, still active in 1813. On 15 August 1761 she ran into the powerful French Courageux 74 off the coast of Portugal. A famous, hard-fought action ensued, in which Courageux was finally captured. She proved to be an excellent ship and influenced British battleship design for decades.'