Star of India (ship)
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- The article is about the ship "Star of India". For other items of the same name, please see Star of India.
Star of India was built in 1863 as Euterpe, a full-rigged iron ship in Ramsey, Isle of Man. After a full career sailing between Great Britain and India, she became a salmon hauler on the Alaska to California route. After retirement, she was restored and is now a seaworthy museum ship ported in San Diego. The ship is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and has been designated both a California and National Historic Landmark.
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[edit] History
[edit] As Euterpe
Named for Euterpe, the muse of music, she was a full-rigged ship (a ship that has 3 masts and squaresails on all 3 masts) built of iron in 1863 by Gibson, McDonald & Arnold, of Ramsey, Isle of Man, British Isles, for the Indian jute trade of Wakefield Nash & Company of Liverpool. She was launched on November 14, 1863, and assigned British Registration No.47617 and signal VPJK.
Euterpe's career had a rough beginning. She sailed for Calcutta from Liverpool on January 9, 1864, under the command of Captain William John Storry. A collision with a Spanish brig off the coast of Wales carried away the jib-boom and she returned to Anglesey to repair. During the repairs the crew became mutinous and had to be confined to the Beaumaris Gaol. Then, in 1865, Euterpe was dismasted in a gale in the Bay of Bengal off Madras and had to be repaired at Trincomalee. Captain Storry died during the return voyage to England and was buried at sea.
Euterpe made four more relative uneventful voyages to India, then, in 1867, was sold, first to David Brown of London to be used in the India and South America trade, but then again in 1871 to Shaw, Savill & Company of London. In 1873 she began thirty years of carrying passengers and freight on the New Zealand trade. The fastest of these voyages took 100 days, the longest was 143 days. She also made ports of call in Australia, California, and Chile. A baby was even born on one of those trips en route to New Zealand. The baby was given the middle name Euterpe.
In 1897, after 21 round trips, Euterpe was sold, first to Hawaiian owners, then in 1899 to the Pacific Colonial Ship Company of San Francisco, California. She was registered in the United States on October 30, 1900.
[edit] As Star of India
In 1901, Euterpe was sold to the Alaska Packers' Association of San Francisco, who re-rigged her as a barque (converting the square-rigged aftermost mast to fore-and-aft) and in 1902 began sailing each spring from Oakland, California to the Bering Sea, returning each fall with holds full of canned salmon. In 1906, the Association changed her name to be consistent with the rest of their fleet, and she became Star of India. She was laid up in 1923; by that time, steam ruled the seas.
In 1926, Star of India was sold to the Zoological Society of San Diego, to be the centerpiece of a planned museum and aquarium. The Great Depression and World War II caused that plan to be canceled; it wasn't until 1957 that her restoration began. Alan Villiers, a windjammer captain and author, came to San Diego on a lecture tour. Seeing Star decaying in the harbor, he publicized the situation and inspired a group of citizens to form the "Star of India Auxiliary" in 1959 to support the restoration of the ship. Progress was still slow, but in 1976, Star of India put to sea again. She currently houses exhibits for the Maritime Museum of San Diego, and sails at least once a year. The Star of India is the third oldest ship afloat in the United States, after the USS Constitution and USS Constellation.
[edit] Location
The Star of India is currently home-ported at the San Diego Maritime Museum, just south of Lindbergh Field (San Diego International Airport), on the west side of Harbor Drive at approximately Ash Street. This location is slightly west of downtown San Diego, California.
When she sails, the Star of India often remains within sight of the coast of San Diego County, and usually returns to her dock within a day. She is sailed by a skilled volunteer crew of Maritime Museum members, who train all year for the honor of taking her to sea.
[edit] General characteristics
- Displacement:
- 1197 tons gross, 1107 tons under deck (as Euterpe)
- 1318 tons gross, 1247 tons net (as Star of India)
- Length: 62.5 m (205 ft 5 in)
- Beam: 10.7 m (35 ft 2 in)
- Height:
- Full-rigged: 7.1 m (23 ft 4 in)
- Barque rig: 6.5 m (21 ft 6 in)
(note that these heights refer to the railing of the weather deck, not mast height)
[edit] External links
- Star of India from Maritime Museum of San Diego
- Star of India from San Diego Ghosts - several pictures of the ship - inside views
- Star of India from Golden State Images - more ship views
- Star of India: Iron Lady of the Seas (PBS video)
