Peking

Peking was launched in 1911 at Hamburg, Germany, by the Blohm & Voss shipyard. She was owned by the F. Laeisz Company of that port, which used her to carry fuel and manufactured goods to the west coast of South America around Cape Horn and return to European ports with nitrate mined in northern Chile. The nitrate was used to fertilize the worn-out fields of Europe and to manufacture chemicals for various applications, including munitions. With her four-masted bark rig, steel hull and masts, and midship bridge deck, Peking represents the final generation of sailing ships built for world trade. Though a product of the 20th century, she still sailed in the traditional way, with few labor-saving devices or safety features. Her crew followed the standard sailing vessel routine of four hours on duty and four hours off duty, alternating around the clock, seven days a week. The number of sails set depended on the strength of the wind, and when it increased, the sails had to be taken in quickly no matter what the weather conditions. A ton or more of heavy canvas had to be gathered up by hauling on lines from the deck. For the final furling, the men had to climb ratlines almost as high as a seventeen-story building, go out on swaying footropes rigged from the yards, and bundle up the sail with their bare hands. Peking was retired in 1933, when steamers using the Panama Canal took over what was left of the nitrate trade. She served as a nautical school for boys, moored in a British river, until she was acquired by the museum in 1974.

New York, New York · United States