The Golden Age of Sail

Tall ships were the only form of global transport during the Golden Age of Sail in the mid-19th century, the equivalent of today’s container ships, passenger liners and warships. They harnessed the wind to carry vast cargoes across the oceans, and defended the interests of their sovereign states.

The Royal Albatross is no longer equipped for trade or warfare, but she is still sailed traditionally, by manually pulling on nearly 200 ropes to hoist and lower her 22 sails. Her 650 square metres of Dacron canvas include four square sails on the foremast, the ship’s main horsepower and what classifies her as a Barquentine tall ship. The techniques used to sail her are the same today as they were over 200 years ago.

Her sails and rigging are new, designed by master rigger Jim Barry, the man behind the tall ships featured in Master and Commander and Pirates of the Caribbean. The wooden interior and its unique carvings were hand-crafted by the crew, using a local Malaysian hardwood, Kempas, believed to be over 100 years old.

Most of her equipment is new and state of the art, from firefighting and safety to satellite communications, lighting, AV and navigation. Unlike their ancestors, the crew wear high-tech climbing harnesses to work aloft up to 28 metres above the deck, with officers in headsets during sailing.