Falls of Clyde – January 2017 Update
Ships in Honolulu Harbor, ca. 1888. Hawai‘i State Archives Call No. PPWD-9-4-014
Sailing ships played a large part in the maritime history of Hawai‘i. Thus, it should be no surprise that the fate of “Hawai‘i’s Tall Ship”—the National Historic Landmark, Falls of Clyde—is of great concern to Maritime Hawai‘i.
Falls of Clyde in Honolulu Harbor.
Built by Russell and Co. on the river Clyde (Scotland) and launched on 12 December 1878, she spent her first two decades under the British flag. She subsequently sailed under the flags of the Hawaiian Kingdom and the United States—first as part of Matson’s fleet carrying bulk cargo and passengers between Hilo, Hawai‘i and San Francisco, California and then as a sailing tanker for Associated Oil bringing petroleum products from California to Hawai‘i and occasionally returning with molasses from the sugar plantations.*
Narrowly escaping an ignoble fate in 2008, the ship’s existence is once again threatened, this time by the State of Hawai‘i. The state has impounded her and has made it clear that she is no longer welcome at Pier 7, or anywhere else in Honolulu Harbor, for that matter.
Her current owner, the non-profit Friends of Falls of Clyde, is running out of time and options.
There is one glimmer of hope in the increasingly sad tale of this survivor from the twilight of the Age of Sail. There is a concerted effort by Glasgow native David O’Neill to bring the ship back to Scotland. This is a long shot and will be a tough uphill battle, both financially and logistically. But where there’s a will…
Mr. O’Neill’s campaign to save Falls of Clyde has just received a boost from press coverage both in the UK and in Hawai‘i. He has also gained the support of Ms. Alison Thewliss, MP for Glasgow Central. Ms. Thewliss has sent a letter of appeal to Governor David Ige, requesting that the State give the Scottish effort time to save the ship. In it she writes:
I seek your urgent intervention to help ensure that the ship is not destroyed or sunk. Second to that, I would greatly welcome the opportunity to speak with you with a view to discussing the ship’s repatriation to Scotland.
Maritime Hawai‘i supports Mr. O’Neill’s group, Save Falls of Clyde International, and hopes that our readers and the local waterfront community will do likewise.
The Falls of Clyde is the last of her kind. If we lose her, those of us who love the sea and ships will be much poorer.
*If you would like to learn more about Falls of Clyde, read The Indestructible Square-Rigger Falls of Clyde: 324 Voyages Under Sail (2004) by Bob Krauss.
