Four Masted Barque...

The bucket-list item for this particular trip was to sail on the Sea Cloud, a possibility we have entertained ever since becoming a "friends for life" customer of Lindblad - National Geographic. The Sea Cloud is a majestic four masted luxury sailing ship almost 100 years old. We combined that with another bucket-list item, sailing the Greek Islands, something we enviaged doing by ourselves decades ago (in a flotilla) but never got around to doing. In a quotation that might be as reliable as most Greek mythology, a Lindblad brochure says "legend has it that the Sea Cloud was so beautiful that when sailors first saw it, they began to weep". Well maybe, but it sure is a grand old windjammer!

Light winds, the ship making 2 knots under full sail, we could take photos from Zodiacs. [8007]

The Sea Cloud unrigged, on motor. [6885]

On our first evening, sailing out of the Athens port of Pireaus and en route to Milos, we approached Cape Sounion at about 10pm to look at the Temple of Posiedon. It was fully dark by this time, but the temple is artfully illuminated and easily seen on a high point at the cape which is the southern-most point of the Greek mainland. The temple, ruins of course, was constructed in 440BC, in homage to Posiedon, the "god of the sea", so important to Greece's reliance on its navy for defence and on maritme trade for its prosperity. An earlier, 700BC, temple was probably destroyed by Persian invaders in 480BC in retribution for Athens' resistance. Thus, the new temple is in celbration of the Greek's eventual victory of the Persian empire.

Temple of Posiedon at night. [6904]

We devote a whole blog post to the Sea Cloud, because this ship is itself a destination as much as all the islands we visited.

Sea Cloud painting gracing the Lounge. [4249]

The next day, the Sea Cloud, travelling south with a fearful tail-wind (up to 50kn, 6 approaching 7 on the Beaufort scale), hoisted limited sails and killed the engines. We made 6kn. The hoisting of these few sails was treated with almost ceremonial reverence on the Sea Cloud. Paula, our Expedition Leader, made a presentation on the ship's sail plan - we learned the name of every mast, every sail, every spar, every yard on the ship, and then we all gathered near the stern to watch the crew climb the rigging to unlash them, and then set them from the deck. Chief Officer Alexandre Filipe Cateano Bota (from Portugal) commentated the actual operation for us. By our count, there are five square rigged sails on each of the three forward masts, six on the main mast. The foremast also supports up to four jibs, the main mast and the mizzen mast, three staysails each, and the rear spanker mast has a variety of gaff and staysails. Every one of this bewildering plethora has its own name! The total of different mast and sail terms on Paula's schematic numbered 36.

Chief Officer Bota explains the rigging of the sails. [6927]

Classical rope handling on the Sea Cloud. [6945]

Able seaman on the rigging having unlashed the square sails. [7697]

Those northerly winds, Etesian or Meltemi, are a dominant weather influence in the Aegean Sea between Greece and Turkey in summer, and their predictability was successly employed by the ancient Athenian navy to frustrate and defeat less knowledgeable enemies from the south. (The winds dissipate down south at Santorini and Crete.)

An able seaman supervising an anchor drop. [6992]

Ship's bell. [6993]

At the first sign of bad weather (two occasions), the ship's doctor Klaus, handed out sea-sickness medication (Dramamine) with what looked like gay abandon to nervous passengers. His method seems to be that the drug is most effective if taken before any symptoms appear, and no harm is done if they are not needed. Drowsiness is the main side-effect, and none of us were driving the ship! [At the end of the cruise, Klaus indicated that there had been no significant medical issues on board, apart from sea-sickness. In other words, he had an easy time of it.]

Captain Komakin's presentation on the Sea Cloud, backed up by the officer in charge of IT. Nothing allowed to go wrong when the Captain is speaking! [7179]

Officers of the Sea Cloud introduced by Captain Komakin in the Lido. [2834]

The Sea Cloud, a four-masted barque, was first launched in 1931 from its shipyard in Germany, commisioned by American cereal company heiress Marjorie Merriweather Post (1887-1973, a businesswoman in her own right, socialite, and philanthropist). Its first name was Hussar V, previous Hussars belonging to her husband E.F. Hutton. We are told that the Sea Cloud was "the last private four-masted ship ever built". In its first configuration as a luxury private vessel, it accommodated 16 very privileged guests and 72 crew. The Sea Cloud has had many lives, serving as a floating US Embassy to Russia, then a US Weather Station in World War II ("Sea Cloud"), then a private yacht of the President of the Dominican Republic ("Angelita") until he was assassinated, thus renamed "Patria", then "Antarna". Finally a Hamburg, Germany buyer renovated it back to original condition and branded it "Sea Cloud". Manual operation of its original sailing configuration has been retained. Everything is in immaculate condition and the whole feeling of the Sea Cloud is one of a brand new 100 year old windjammer! Lindblad - National Geographic charters the Sea Cloud for something like three months a year. It was a fabulous experience to be on this ship, especially when it was under full sail, as was possible later in the voyage.

Sea Cloud bridge, a blend of modern technology with historical instrumentation. [1187]

The Sea Cloud bridge has a definite Jules Verne vibe. [1188]

Classic window and materials, looking into the Dining Room from the Promenade Deck. [7038]

Simon, the current Hotel Manager, has been employed on the Sea Cloud for 40 years! [7715]

Upstairs-downstairs call buttons from the old days show how entrenched Simon, the Hotel Manager, is in Sea Cloud history. [7037]

While the sail plan might be "original", the mid-ship's engine room is now much more modern. Propulsion is provided by two eight cylinder 770kW turbo-diesels linked to the twin props by a gearbox and a 43m long drive shaft. These engines are off when the Sea Cloud is sailing. Steering machinery is much the same as it was in 1931. Electric power for the ship is from two diesel generators/alternators, usually only one running. Fuel is burned at 3.5t/day, typically, the bunker holding 100 days worth. To avoid contamination risk, marine gas oil is only onloaded from large, reliable depots. A reverse osmosis desalination plant can produce about 50t of fresh water a day. We took an engine room tour - it was exceptionally clean, and Leif, a Lindblad executive on holidays, told us that he was quite impressed.

For our trip around the Greek islands, Athens to Athens, 600nm, there were 44 guests on board plus about 60 crew including the expedition team, The current guest capacity is 60, so we were pleasantly uncrowded. Almost all guests were Americans - we were the "two Aussies", and another couple were Brits who also live in Sydney, having emigrated via New Zealand. Meals, all superb, were taken in one of three locations depending on weather and occasion: formal meals were served in the Lounge and Dining Room on the Promenade Level, less formal dining, often delicious buffets, were in the Lido at the ship's stern, and barbeques were dished up outside on the Promenade Deck. We were a little surprised to hear that non-perishable provisions are only onboarded monthly in containers from Hamburg. Fresh local produce is taken on weekly.

Three of the chefs serving up barbeque pork and sashimi tuna on the Promenade deck. [2820]

The magnificent rigging of the Sea Cloud under full sail. [7701]

From outside the Wheelhouse. [7707]

From outside the Wheelhouse. [7708]

All Lindblad - National Geographic expeditions maintain an "open bridge" policy, meaning us passengers are free to visit the bridge (except during difficult operations or when a Pilot is onboard). Captain Sergey Komakin, from Ukraine, continued this policy on the Sea Cloud. The bridge (its sign says "Wheelhouse") on the Sea Cloud could not contrast more with more modern expedition ships we have sailed on, and is a world away from what we saw on the Nat Geo Resolution in the Arctic. The Sea Cloud bridge preserves its historical features but has been retrofitted with the latest technology where it suits.

Captain and photographer by the Wheelhouse. [8118]

Able seaman piloting a Zodiac off the Sea Cloud. [8062]

Navigation is not "paperless" yet, meaning courses are plotted on survey charts, despite GPS whiz-bangery also in use. We gather there is a program to do away with the charts, and we also gather that some officers are not supportive of that. When asked about this by nervous luddites, the Captain's response was brief: "aeroplanes don't use paper charts".

Ashley, a videographer on assignment from National Geographic, filming a promotion for future Mediteranean itineraries by the L-NG Orion. [7145]

Gabriel, the ship's musician, provided background music through every meal. [2956]

The Sea Cloud is most certainly a destination in its own right, but the crew also provides additional sevices and opportunities to entertain the passengers beyond simply being on the vessel. Firstly, we had the opportunity to visit the engine room. There we saw the diesels driving the ship and providing electric power, and the desalination plant. Then, in safe harbours, we were able to swim off the gangway in the clear blue waters of the Aegean Sea. And the more adventurous were allowed to don safety harnesses and go out on bowsprit and (apparently for the first time) climb the rigging on the foremast. Ship's Doctor Klaus had to certify fitness before anyone was allowed to attempt these feats. These tests involved balancing on one foot for twenty seconds, and hanging from a bar for ten seconds. Our resident super-woman (and certified photo-instructor) Sue Forbes, a Brit who lives in San Francisco, had to lead all these activities so she could take good photographs. (Not only that, Sue was seen ouside the swimming safety lines to collect some floating litter passing by.) And, as on all L-NG expeditions, we were treated to excellent presentations by experts whose "day jobs" have them actually working, studying and researching, in the field. These presentations were comfortably accompanied by the sounds of flapping sails, and silhouettes of sailors climbing up the rigging seen on the Lido's translucent ceiling.

One of the Sea Cloud's main propulsion diesel engines. [8111]

A swim in the calm waters off Sifnos. [1220]

In waters the bluest of blue, our swimming zone was defined by ropes held in place by a Zodiac. [1225]

High-tech appoach to keep count of who is in the water swimming, and who is on the Zodiac safari. [1231]

Photo-instructor Sue climbs the rigging to get better angles on the guests. [7823]

Two passengers, in harness, happy to be out on the Sea Cloud's bowsprit. [7802]

Ashley is cock-a-hoop having climbed the foremast rigging. [7856]

Perhaps the most interesting Sea Cloud excursion we were provided was to inspect the original guest cabins designed by Marjorie Merriweather Post. Talk about luxury and spaciousness! If we had booked early enough, we could have bought one of these cabins which live below the Lounge and Dining Room, but instead we elected to take one of the rather smaller and more functional Bridge Deck cabins, one on a corner, so we had picture windows on two sides.

Owner's quarters bathroom. [1190]

Owner's quarters bedroom, complete with firepace. [1192]

Sails on the Sea Cloud look magnificent through any lens. [1198]