The BALCLUTHA Schooner Poster

The BALCLUTHA moored in San Francisco Harbour was built in Glasgow Scotland in 1886. It is one of only 3 steel-hulled, fully-rigged three masted schooners in existence. It is a true workhorse of United states maritime history and a National Historic Landmark. The ship made 17 trips around Africa's notorious Cape Horn, each taking nearly half a year. “No one who has not been there can imagine the strain on the Captain in trying to get around Cape Horn,” said ships Captain Alfred Durkee at the end of the 19th century. “This passage in the BALCLUTHA was about my hardest time!” It began hauling general cargo and coal from Europe and returning there with California grain. Then the ship hauled lumber from the Pacific Northwest to Australia and returned with coal. Finally, she fished Alaska waters for salmon and carried more than 200 crew and passengers there and back. The normal crew capacity was 26 in her earlier days. In 1935, the ship starred with Clark Gable and Charles Laughton in MUTINY on the BOUNTY, a Hollywood blockbuster of the era.