Windjammer

A windjammer is a type of large sailing ship, with an iron, or for the most part, steel hull, built to carry cargo in the nineteenth and early twentieth century. Windjammers were the grandest of merchant sailing ships, with between three and five large masts and square sails, giving them a characteristic profile.

A common incorrect explanation of the origin of the term consists of an introduction into English of a folk etymology of the term common in Dutch. As Dutch jammeren is similar to "jam" and means "to wail" and since speakers of these languages were not aware that the term "windjammer" originally came from English, the folk etymology claims "windjammer" refers to the typical sound of strong winds blowing through the rigging. In fact, the word comes from the English word "to jam" because the sails are so large that they seem to "jam" the wind.

The windjammers were cargo ships designed for long voyages. They usually carried bulk cargo, such as lumber, guano, grain or ore from one continent to another, usually following the prevailing winds and circumnavigating the globe during their voyages. Several of these ships are still in existence, variously operating as school ships, museum ships, restaurant ships, and cruise ships.

Windjammer (1930 film)

Windjammer is a 1930 British film directed by John Orton and based on the book By Way of Cape Horn by A.J. Villiers

Plot

A full rigged windjammer ship sails from Australia to England via Cape Horn.

Cast

External links

Windjammer (1958 film)

Windjammer is a 1958 documentary film that recorded a 17,500-nautical-mile (32,400 km) voyage of the Norwegian sail training ship Christian Radich. Windjammer was produced by Louis de Rochemont and directed by Louis de Rochemont III. It was the only film to be shot in the widescreen Cinemiracle process, which came with a seven-track stereophonic soundtrack.

Filming

The Christian Radich and its Norwegian crew were filmed while sailing from Oslo, via the island of Madeira, across the Atlantic to the Caribbean, to New York City, Portsmouth, New Hampshire, and then back home to Bergen in Norway.

The movie featured a score by Morton Gould, with additional musical performances by cellist Pablo Casals and Arthur Fiedler conducting the Boston Pops Orchestra.

A musical highlight through the film is the Piano Concerto of Edvard Grieg. This ties in with the narrative of the voyage because one of the sea-cadets is a piano-student who is preparing to play the concerto in Boston.

The film also features a meeting with the German ship Pamir, which sank in a hurricane in September 1957.