Steel-hulled square-rigger Balclutha at the San Francisco Maritime National Historical Park
Balclutha, also known as Star of Alaska, & Pacific Queen, is a steel-hulled full rigged ship built in 1886. The only square rigged ship left in the San Francisco Bay area she is representative of several different commercial ventures, including lumber, salmon, and grain. She is preserved at the San Francisco Maritime National Historical Park Balclutha was built in 1886 by Charles Connell & Co. Ltd., of Glasgow in Scotland, for Robert McMillan, of Dumbarton . Her namesake is said to be the town of Balclutha, New Zealand, but her name can also refer to her first homeport, Glasgow, Scotland, which is a "City on the Clyde" - the meaning of her name derived from the Gaelic Baile Chluaidh. Designed as a general trader, Balclutha rounded Cape Horn 17 times in 13 years. During this time she carried cargoes of wine, case oil, and coal from Europe and the East Coast of the US to ports in the Pacific including Chile for nitrate, Australia & New Zealand for wool, Burma for rice, San Francisco for grain, & the Pacific Northwest for timber. In 1899 Balclutha traded timber from the Pacific N West to Australia, returning to San Francisco with Australian coal. In 1902 the Balclutha was chartered to the Alaska Packers' Association. After striking Sitkin island near Kodiak in 1904, she was renamed the Star of Alaska and bought by APA for $500. After extended repairs she joined the salmon fishing trade, sailing north from San Francisco to Chignik Bay, Alaska, with supplies, fishermen, and cannery workers, returning in September with a cargo of canned salmon. She carried over 200 crew and passengers, compared to the 26 men carried as Balclutha. In 1911 the poop deck was extended to the main mast to accommodate Italian and Scandinavian workers. In the 'tween deck bunks for Chinese workers were built. Her last voyage in this trade was in 1930. In 1933 renamed Pacific Queen she appeared in the film Mutiny on the Bounty In 1954, she was bought by the San Francisco Maritime Museum
Size: 3744px × 5616px
Location: Hyde Street Pier, San Francisco California USA
Photo credit: © Niall Ferguson / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
Keywords: 19th, balclutha, centuray, clipper, francisco, historic, historical, maritime, national, park, preserved, sailing, san, ship, square-rigged, square-rigger
