LETTERS
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NATIONAL MARITIME HISTORICAL SOCIETY
OFFICERS &TRUSTEES: Chairman, Howard Slomick; Vice Chairmen, Richardo R. Lopes, Edward G. Zelinsky; Executive Vice President, Burchenal Green; Treasu rer, W illiam H . White; Secretaiy, Marshall Streiberr; Trustees, Donald M. Bi rney, Walter R. Brown, Sabata Catucci , Th omas F. Daly, Richard T. du Moulin , David S. Fowler, Jack Gaffney, Virgini a Steel e Grubb, Rodn ey N. Houghton , Steven W. Jones, Richard M. Larrabee, Warren G. Leback, Guy E. C. Maitland , Karen E. Markoe, M ichael R. McKay, James J. M cNamara, David A. O 'Neil , Ronald L. O swald, David Plattner, Bradford D. Sm irh, David B. Vieto r; Chairmen Emeriti, Alan G. Choate, Guy E. C. Maitland, C raig A. C. Reynolds; President Emeritus, Peter Stanford FOUNDER: Ka rl Kortum (1917- 1996)
OVERSEERS: Chairman, RADM David C. Brown; Walter C ronkite, Alan D. Hutchison, Jakob Isbrandtsen,John Lehman, Warren Marr, II, Brian A. McAl lister, VADM John R. Ryan, John Stobart, W illiam G. W in terer AD VJSO RS: Co-Chairmen, Frank 0. Braynard, Melbourne Sm ith; D.K.Abbass, GeorgeF. Bass, Francis E. Bowker, Oswald L. Brett, Norman J. Brouwer, RADM Joseph F. Callo, Fran cis J. Duffy, John W. Ewald, Joseph E. Farr, Timorhy Foote, Wi lliam G ilkerson, Thomas C. Gillmer, Walter J. Handelman, Steven A. Hyman , Hajo Knuttel, G unnar Lundeberg,Joseph A. Maggio, Conrad Milster, W illiam G. Mu ller, David E. Perkin s, Nancy Hughes Ri chardso n, Timothy J. Runya n, Shannon J. Wal l, Thomas Wells
press ure of 150psi (compared with th e 60psi of the wro ught iron boilers of th e 1860s) and that, together with th e tri p leexpansion engine, halved the rate of coal consumption and really made the steamship economically co mpetitive. Even then, the square rigger co uld sail faster than the steamer with a fair wind. They found these winds thanks to the work of Matthew Fontaine Maury, USN. Between 1847 and 1851 he pub lished his analysis of oceanic winds and currents, which were of enormous benefit to the sailing master. Using Maury's directions, the 12,000 mile journey from the UK to Australia, via Cape of Good Hope, was reduced from aro und 120 days to 90-of course, the clipper hull design contributed ro this. The distance from Britain to Australi a via Suez was only 850 miles shorter than the Cape trip, and w ith speeds of 14 knots the square riggers marched the steamers' passage times. And there was no need to stop at coaling statio ns! Sailing ships continued to improve in eco nomic efficiency through the las t decades of the 19th century. Steam winches
were applied to the working of yards, sails and anchors, and ton-for-ton crew numbers were reduced by twenty-five percent. T he introduction of steel masts and rigging redu ced running costs, and with the acceptance of steel for hulls the sailing vessel became larger. The typical dead weight of an 1890s square-rigged ship of 2000 tons was roughly double that of the wooden clippers of the 1860s. All of these changes helped sail resist the in evitable advance of steam but it had to fall back on a restricted range of specialized commodity trades. rt became the carrier of choice for Europe's export of coal and its import of th e cheap bulk cargoes oflndia's jute, Australia's wool and grain, and Chile's nitrates and Cali fornia's wheat. Rat her it was th e opening of the Panama Canal in 1914 that drove the square rigger from the seas . The route from the Atlantic to Pacific became thousands of mil es shorter by cutting our the Cape Horn passage and sailing ships could no longer compete on the trades to the west coast of America.
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