South Street Seaport: Manhattan's Tall Ships
Step Onboard Mighty Clipper Ships and See How the Crew Lived at Sea
Feb 19, 2009
Tall ships were arguably as numerous in New York Harbor as cars now clogging the streets of Manhattan but by the early 20th century, these fine sailing vessels all but vanished by when steam power gained prominence. Many of the requisite skills needed to operate and maintain these ships were also driven to extinction. South Street Seaport in New York City came to the rescue, preserving this seafaring heritage for posterity and showcasing it for visitors to experience. On the shores of Manhattan’s East River, monolithic skyscrapers would have gobbled up South Street Seaport, a historic community that hosted the golden age of the clipper ship, if it weren’t declared a historic district in 1967. Today there is a block of preserved buildings known as Schermerhorn Row and Fulton Fish Market, only relocated a few years ago after being in business since 1807 in the same location.
Inside The Ships
Along the waterfront, the Peking, stands tall among seven other historic ships open for tours. One of the largest sailing vessels ever built and the largest preserved by a museum, this circa-1911, four-masted barque was a Cape Horn trade route veteran. Climb aboard this ship with a steel hull as long as a football field and stand on deck, gazing up at masts as tall as an 18-story building covered with fully restored wire rope rigging. Admire the sweeping views of lower Manhattan’s skyline over the bow and the Brooklyn Bridge off the stern. Below deck, tour the restored galley, Captain’s Saloon, and seamen’s “foc’sles,” which are accompanied by vintage photos depicting and explaining their use. Be sure to take time to check out a 10-minute film, “Peking at Sea,” which was shot aboard as it rounded Cape Horn. Narrated by Captain Irving Johnson, who took part in the voyage, the film includes footage taken during a storm as well as showing crew members getting haircuts, and repairing and unfurling the sails. Only when seeing crew members climbing the masts to spread the cloth without any safety harnesses does the sheer monstrosity of these sails hit home. The camera also shows the ocean whizzing past below, making it hard to believe that wind is the sole mode of propulsion. Other ships available for exploration include the Ambrose, a lightship that guided boats through sandbars and treacherous shoals at the mouth of New York Harbor from 1908 - 1963 and the schooner Pioneer.
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