The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1907-08-03
Great German Freight Carrier Now on the
Pacific Coast From European
Waters

The largest sailing ship in the world
is now in the Pacific. having arrived
recently at San Pedro from Germany
with thirty thousand barrels of ce-
ment in her hold. She is an auxiliary
clipper, a decided innovation in vessels
of her class being tried by providing
her with an auxiliary steam engine.
the object of which is to assist the
ship across the belt of Gains and also
in her movements in harbor when COM
ing to an anchorage, warping along
side a dock or threading her way
through entrance channels and other
narrow waterways.
The spirited illustration Of this great
ship which is herewith presented gives
an excellent impression of her great
length, graceful sheer, lofty bow, and
towering spread Of canvas. She is
shown with practically everything set,
and bowling along at fifteen knots an
hour at her fayorite point of sailing.
which is with the wind over her quar-
ter. On deck the r. c. Rickmers meas
ures AL feet in length; her extreme
beam is 53 feet s inches; her draft is
Is feet 9 inches when fully loaded, and
her nodded depth is % feet. Her gross
tonnage is 554S tens and on her max
imum draft she displaces L. 1850
The r. c. Rickmers carries. of course,
a huge spread of canvas, the vertical
height from the deck to the trunk OF
the main mast being III feet. and the
length of the mainyard 100 feet. She
has five masts, known respectively as
the fore. main, middle, mlzzen and
spanker. All of the masts are Of steel.
except that at the extreme top Of each
there is a 6-foot wooden stump. The
total spread of canvas is $4,000 square
feet, and as the captain does not hest
tate 20 hang out every rag Of this, long
after smaller craft are shortening sail,
it can be readily understood that the
dimensions of the masts and the num-
b-A GA44&& SIC VI tit SNN~A ~ -
wire rigging are unusual. The main
mast. which is built of haIf-inch steel
plates. measures three feet in external
diameter. To stay and hold up TO ITS
work the towering spread OF canvas
on this mast alone calls for no less than
thirty shrouds, and backstays, fifteen
on each side First there are six
shrouds of special 51z-inch steel wire
then come two baekstays of 41z-inch
wire. and one Of 4-inch; and so great Is
the holding strength Of these fifteen
ropes. that in the strongest breeze
there is very little perceptible slacken-
ing Of the lee shrouds or backstays- A
rather surprising feature in this ship is
that. in spite Of her great size, all the
sails are worked by hand by means OF
special windlass. The ships compile
nent consists of ffty-nine sailors two
officers and the captain.
The auxiliary equipment consists q
a triple expansion engine Of 80 indI-
Gated horsepower. steam for which IS
provided by two boilers. and IN the
side and between-aeck bunkers fuel
supply Of CSC tons can be carried IL
was found that in moderate weather
when the ship is in ballast the en-
gines can drive her at a speed Of eight
knots per hour; when she Is loaded.
the speed under steam is from six 10
seven knots Because OF the great
length and easy lines Of the RickTners
and her large spread Of canvas. she
is capable under favorable conditions.
Of sailing faster than any ship that
was ever built.
In an interview several months ago,
\. watson, who commands