Blue Clipper

History of the Blue Clipper
Tall Ship Blue Clipper was built in 1991 at Feab Marstrandsverken in Sweden. She was owned by the famous Brandy company Hennessy and named ‘Spirit of Hennessey.’ In 1872, the ship Alfred brought the first load of Cognac from France to Shanghai. In 1992, with the same name and painted white, Tall Ship Blue Clipper repeated this historic voyage. She has appeared in various TV programmes and TV commercials including the Trade Winds TV series starring Hugh Johnson. Following this, she went into private ownership and sailed in Mediterranean waters under a Maltese flag.

Maybe Sailing acquired the ship in 2016. After an extensive maintenance period the ship sailed to London to begin a 5 month tall ship Regatta, the 2017 Rendez-Vous. The ship was one of only four vessels to complete the whole race, travelling over 10,000 nautical miles visiting Portugal, the Canaries, Bermuda, USA, Canada and France. This Regatta was to commemorate the 150th Anniversary of the Canadian Federation. It was an extremely successful regatta for Blue Clipper and her crew, placing either 1st or 2nd in four of the five race legs. 2018 marked a new chapter for the vessel, as she was repainted Blue and travelled North once more to visit the Arctic before heading to the Caribbean for some winter sunshine. 2019 sees Blue Clipper returning to the UK, heading up to Iceland before crossing the North Sea to spend the summer in Denmark, Norway and Sweden, participating in the International Tall Ship Races and exploring the Kattergat and Skagerrak.

About the Ship
Blue Clipper is a three masted gaff rig schooner. This means that the sails are rigged to run from forward to aft along the length of the ship. There are 10 sails, with an area of 675m2. She has a steel hull and teak deck, steel masts and wooden booms/topmasts. Below deck Blue Clipper has three main compartments. Furthest forward is the forepeak, with 4 trainee berths and 2 crew bunks. In midships we have the guest accommodation with 7 twin ensuite cabins. Furthest aft there is the crew quarters, with 4 twin cabins and shared bathroom. The engine room and lazarette are also located at the aft of the ship. At full capacity the ship can accommodate 28 people. The deckhouses are home to the galley, the saloon and the wheelhouse.
The ship usually sails with 8 crew, made up of experienced permanent crew and eager volunteers, wanting to put their sailing knowledge and experience to good use.