Tole Mour
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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| Type: | Schooner |
| Hull: | Steel |
| Built: | 1988, Whidbey Island, WA |
| Homeport: | Avalon, CA |
| Designer: | Ewbank, Brooke and Associates |
| Builder: | Nichols Brothers |
| Sparred Length: | 156 ft (48 m) |
| Length on deck: | 123 ft (37 m) |
| Length waterline: | 102 ft (31 m) |
| Beam: | 31 ft (9 m) |
| Draft: | 13.5 ft (4.1 m) |
| Displacement: | 340 tons |
| Sail Area: | 6,675 sq ft (620 m²) |
The SSV Tole Mour is a 156 ft (48 m) schooner[1] and sail training vessel operating in the Channel Islands of California, off the West Coast of the United States.
Built by the Nichols Bros. Boat Builders on Whidbey Island in Washington’s Puget Sound to withstand the extreme conditions of the South Pacific, she is extremely seaworthy and meets or exceeds all of the United States Coast Guard’s regulations as a Sailing School Vessel, while offering luxurious accommodations in comparison to other tall ships. At 229 gross registered tons she is the largest active tall ship on the West Coast.
The Tole Mour was originally commissioned by the Marimed Foundation of Hawai’i in 1988 as a self-contained primary health care support vessel, operating in the US trust territory protectorate of the Marshall Islands. The name of the ship was selected by a competition of Marshall Islands school children, and means 'A Gift of Life and Health' in the Marshallese language. She served the outer islands for 4 years, providing medical services to over 15,000 islanders. With onboard medical, dental and ophthalmological offices, the Tole Mour served this role for 4 years, until the Marshallese government commissioned their own fleet of medical delivery vessels and the Tole Mour returned to Hawai’i to serve other purposes.
In her current incarnation, she is part of the Guided Discoveries’ Catalina Island Marine Institute, offering sail training, oceanography and marine biology education to hundreds of school-aged participants a year. The professional crew is housed in up into 6 double cabins and 2 master rooms within her 123 feet on deck and 31-foot (9 m) beam. Up to 36 youth participants can be accommodated in cabins housing 4, 8 and 10 berths. Her previous medical requirements provide areas for laboratory equipment, touch tanks and aquariums.
[edit] Notes
- ^ The square sails alone do not qualify the Tole Mour as a barquentine as this ship type would not have a gaff-rigged sail on the foremast. Instead, the Tole Mour can be considered a topsail schooner with a fore course. Also see its description as a schooner by its builders on nicholsboats.com (pdf file)
