User:France3470/draft article on Grace Harwar

Grace Harwar was a Finnish vessel (1889, 1816 GRT) alongside the Rank Empire Mill at the Royal Victoria Dock in July 1935. Then owned by Gustaf Erikson of Mariehamn, this was the 'Grace Harwar's' final voyage. She was one of the last of the sailing vessels that brought Australian grain to London.

History
The full-rigged steel ship Grace Harwar built in 1889 by Wm. Hamilton & Co., Port Glasgow. Dimensions: 266'7"×39'1"×23'5" and tonnage: 1816 GRT, 1749 NRT and 1736 tons under deck. The forecastle was 31 ft long and the poop 39 ft. Rigged with royal sails over double topgallant sails. The mizzen topgallant sail was single. Launched 1889 October at the shipyard of Wm. Hamilton & Co., Port Glasgow, for W. Montgomery, London. Assigned the official British Reg. No. 96655 and signal LJSQ. Captain J.D. Watt was given command of the new ship was a beautiful ship as the "wind in her rigging called imperiously as she lay at the pier at Wallaroo".

Yet as Alan Villiers stood on the dock, a wharf laborer warned "Don't ship out in her! She's a killer." The warning would prove true, as Villiers' friend Ronald Walker would be lost by the time Grace Harwar made Ireland. More than 40 years old at the time, she had barnacles and algae growing along her waterline. "Dirty bottoms make slow ships, and slow ships make hard passages." But Villiers here showed an early desire that would continue throughout his life to document the great sailing ships before it was too late, and Grace was one of the last working full-riggers. With a small ill-paid crew and no need for coal, such vessels undercut steam ships, and maybe 20 ships were still involved in the trade. The ill-fated voyage took 138 days, the Grace the last of the fleet for the year, but the experiences netted some 6,000 feet of film and many of the great images we have of the period. Delta Productions in Glendale, California has original audio tracks and film footage from the Dwight Long collection. Long presented "Last of the Great Seadogs", "Square Riggers of the Past" Armchair Adventures lecture series at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion as a motion picture, Los Angeles, California, circa 1976. Delta Productions is in the process of restoration of these sailing films and photos to help preserve the fine art of "Sailing Tall Ships".

Log

 * 1910 July 30 - October 25 Sailed from London with a cargo of cement to Talcahuano in 87 days.
 * 1911 March 9 Sailed from Newcastle, NSW, to Coquimbo, Chile, with a cargo of coal in 39 days.
 * 1913 January Sold to Finska Rederi AB Delfin (Georg Stenius), Helsingfors, Finland. Assigned the official Finnish signal SRCB. The Finnish measurements were 84,30×11,64×7,09 meters. Captain C.V. Nygrén was given command of the ship.
 * 1916 July 5 Drifted ashore together with the four-masted barque Frieda during a hurricane while loading pitchpine at Mobile, AL. Both ships were severely damaged and the Grace Harwar lost most of her rigging.
 * 1916 Sold to Gustav Erikson, Mariehamn, Åland, for FIM 940 000.
 * 1929 April 17 - September 3 Sailed from Wallaroo to Queenstown f.o. in 138 days.
 * 1932 May 2 - September 11 Sailed from Port Victoria to Falmouth f.o. in 132 days.
 * 1932 October 18 - January 31 Sailed from London to Port Victoria in 105 days.
 * 1933 March 6 - July 11 Sailed from Port Pirie to Falmouth f.o. in 126 days.
 * 1933 October 10 - January 24 Sailed from København to Port Victoria in 101 days.
 * 1934 March 10 - July 15 Sailed from Wallaroo to Falmouth f.o. in 127 days.
 * 1934 November 2 - January 30 Sailed from København to Port Lincoln in 89 days.
 * 1935 March 18 - June 24 Sailed from Port Broughton to Falmouth f.o. in 98 days.
 * 1935 Sold to be broken up at Charlestown.