Masting and Rigging / Dismasting

Wavertree is a full-rigged ship carrying square sails on all three masts; the earliest full-riggers had three yards on each mast, nine in all, a possible origin of the phrase "the whole nine yards." On Wavertree, the lower yards and masts are iron and the upper ones are wood, and while many spars are reproductions, the fore and mizzen lower masts are original rolled, riveted iron. In 1910, during a second attempt to round Cape Horn in extremely violent conditions, the ship was dismasted when the mainmast broke above the deck, bringing down most of the upper fore and mizzen rigging; tons of iron, steel, cable, and canvas crashed onto the deck, crushed the compass platform, destroyed deck machinery, and left the vessel unable to sail, though no one was killed or badly injured. That disaster ended her career as a sailing ship but helped ensure her survival, as she was converted first into a floating warehouse and then a sand barge instead of being lost, scrapped, or wrecked. After later being bought for the Seaport Museum, she was towed into New York Harbor in 1970 and has been cared for there ever since. In 2015-2016, she underwent an award-winning and unprecedented restoration made possible by $13 million in funding from the Mayor of the City of New York and New York City Council, NYC Department of Cultural Affairs, and the Manhattan Borough President. Today, Wavertree stands as an example of the ships that built New York and of the thousands of similar vessels that connected the metropolis to the world.

New York, New York · United States