Give me a tall ship – and a computer to steer it by

Story and photos by Lawrence I. Charters

Seahawk, September 21, 1984, pp. 1, 6-7.

Few of humanity’s creations are as beautiful as a sailing ship. A creature of wind and sea, nature and necessity combine to give it strong, clean lines, free of clutter and obstruction. At speed, as the hull knifes the surface of the water, its masts all but disappear under clouds of white, billowing canvas. While oil-fired craft grunt and rumble and smear the air with soot, a sailing vessel leaves behind no trail of smoke, and its passage generates little more than the sound of rushing water, booming sails, and taunt lines thrumming with strain.

Port hole below decks, looking out onto the harbor in Uraga. [This photo was printed upside down in the paper; see the original at the bottom of the page.] Scanned from a print.
Port hole below decks, looking out onto the harbor in Uraga. [This photo was printed upside down in the paper; see the original at the bottom of the page.] Scanned from a print.

Yet in today’s world beauty usually must give way to efficiency, and sailing ships are not very efficient. Labor intensive, prey to air and sea currents, and with limited cargo capacity, the days of sail have been eclipsed by the brute strength and speed of powered craft.

Looking forward from atop the sailing wheelhouse. When under sail, the Nippon Maru sails the wind - which may seem obvious, but the wind may not be blowing in the same direction you want to go. A computerized Sailing Performance and Weather Data Acquisition System -- the only such system in the world -- simplifies this task by automatically loggmg wmd speed and direction, data from the doppler sonar, compass headings, and other information. From this the system returns very accurate measures of true and apparent speed, true and apparent heading, suggested angle of heel and other critical findings. Scanned from a print.
Looking forward from atop the sailing wheelhouse. When under sail, the Nippon Maru sails the wind – which may seem obvious, but the wind may not be blowing in the same direction you want to go. A computerized Sailing Performance and Weather Data Acquisition System — the only such system in the world — simplifies this task by automatically logging wind speed and direction, data from the doppler sonar, compass headings, and other information. From this the system returns very accurate measures of true and apparent speed, true and apparent heading, suggested angle of heel and other critical findings. Scanned from a print.

Why, then, would Japan’s Ministry of Transport spend ¥6.8 billion ($28.3 million) building and outfitting a brand-new sailing ship? Constructed in Sumitomo’s Uraga shipyard in Yokosuka, the new Nippon Maru is a stunning beauty, but for the 120 Institute for Sea Training cadets and 70 crewmen assigned to the ship, life will not be easy. Under sail, the Nippon Maru will require four cadets to man the double wheel, and bringing the wheel from hard over to hard over might require 30 or more cadets working in five-minute shifts. Its main engines — the sails — must be set and struck by hand, in all kinds of weather, even if this means climbing a wildly swinging 180 foot mast during a full gale.

When the sails need adjustment, muscle and bone perform the chore. From below the 180 foot masts look pretty; to the cadets, these same masts will become symbols of long, hard, exhausting work - and will provide material for endless sea stories. Scanned from a print.
When the sails need adjustment, muscle and bone perform the chore. From below the 180 foot masts look pretty; to the cadets, these same masts will become symbols of long, hard, exhausting work – and will provide material for endless sea stories. Scanned from a print.

On the other hand, cadets trained on the Nippon Maru will really know the sea: know how to sail with the wind and current rather than against them. Powered vessels allow sailors to fall victim to arrogance, thinking they are masters of nature. But on a sailing ship you soon learn the proper way to view the ocean: with awe, caution, and respect.

Changing of the guard

Japan already has two older sailing vessels used for training, the old
Nippon Maru and the Kaia Maru. Both vessels were built in 1930, and when the old Nippon Maru completed its last voyage in late August it finished out a career in which it helped train 11,500 Japanese ship officers and traveled more than a million miles.

Framed by the rigging, a worker inspects one of the liftable yards. Scanned from a print.
Framed by the rigging, a worker inspects one of the liftable yards. Scanned from a print.

In 1982 Japan decided to replace the old Nippon Maru with a new vessel of the same name. Larger and better equipped, the new vessel was also designed to carry female cadets for the first time, and would train cadets using the most advanced radio, navigation, and electronic equipment. Launched on Feb. 15, 1984, in a ceremony attended by the Crown Prince and Princess, it was delivered this week — the world’s newest and most advanced example of the sailing ship, humanity’s oldest means of transportation.

Belaying pins, popular as impromptu clubs in pirate movies and novels, are actually designed for securing the rigging. If required, you can let out a lot of line in a hurry by simply pulling the pin from its canvas-lined socket. Scanned from a print.
Belaying pins, popular as impromptu clubs in pirate movies and novels, are actually designed for securing the rigging. If required, you can let out a lot of line in a hurry by simply pulling the pin from its canvas-lined socket. Scanned from a print.

Takano Masao, ship supervisor for the Nippon Maru, noted the loving detail that went into the ship’s construction. Interior finishings are teak, and a rear stairwell is covered by a stained glass skylight featuring a starburst compass, emblem of the Institute for Sea Training. There is also a darkroom, an X-ray room, a three bed hospital, and communal baths almost large enough for swimming. Personal computers have been installed in the lecture halls and offices for instructors and students, as have pay telephone booths and even a red and white Coke machine.

Gracing the bowsprit is the bright, metallic gold form of a woman. Carved from oak, the figurehead was designed by Dr. Nishi Daiyu of the Tokyo Art University. No Japanese ship has ever before had a figurehead, so it seems appropriate the new Nippon Maru will greet the waves with Ranjo no sei (the “spirit of deep blue”).

The first figurehead to grace a Japanese ship, Ranjo no sei (
The first figurehead to grace a Japanese ship, Ranjo no sei (“Spirit of Deep Blue”) will guide the vessel on its journeys. Scanned from a print.

Fully loaded, the new Nippon Maru displaces 4,500 metric tons, more than twice as much as the U.S. Coast Guard’s sailing ship Eagle. Thirty thousand square feet of sail can move the ship faster than the 12 knots provided by two 1,500 hp auxiliary engines. Three 400 kilowatt generators power all electrical and electronic equipment. Takano was particularly pleased with the radio gear; upon acceptance by the Japanese government, Takano will join the crew as chief radio officer.

Shipyard workers perform last-minute checks in the highly automated engine control room. A unique voice control system allows adjustments in engine speed and direction to be made directly from the bridge through simple commands spoken into a microphone. Scanned from a print.
Shipyard workers perform last-minute checks in the highly automated engine control room. A unique voice control system allows adjustments in engine speed and direction to be made directly from the bridge through simple commands spoken into a microphone. Scanned from a print.

A passion for perfection

Dr. Fukui Takao, designer of the new Nippon Maru, stated that, “Frankly speaking, I had no interest (in sailing vessels) before the old Nippon Maru.” Trained in the design of modern cargo ships and tankers, his interests changed when Sumitomo received a contract to service the old Nippon Maru. Fukui bought a plastic 1/100th scale model of the ship to “learn the name of the parts — the sails, the yards.” He then designed and built a larger 1/20th scale model, and subjected it to wind tunnel and tank tests.

When Sumitomo received the contract to build the new Nippon Maru, Fukui was delighted. Eyes gleaming, he said “I then made a 1-to-1 scale model,” pausing to see if his joke was understood. Asked if he wanted to build another sailing vessel, he agreed enthusiastically, and casually mentioned that the Eagle (built in Germany in 1936) is getting kind of old.

Several Yokosuka Naval Base officers, on a tour of the ship prior to delivery, found themselves repeatedly muttering: “… amazing … beautiful … incredible … ” Cdr. Ron Kennedy of PWC, after slowly scanning the ship from fore to aft, stated the new Nippon Maru was “a subtle blend of the old and the new.”

Awaiting final acceptance by the government of Japan, the Nippon Maru dominates the harbor of Uraga. Soon it will be visiting other ports, both in Japan and around the world, training a new generation of nautical professionals. Scanned from a print.
Awaiting final acceptance by the government of Japan, the Nippon Maru dominates the harbor of Uraga. Soon it will be visiting other ports, both in Japan and around the world, training a new generation of nautical professionals. Scanned from a print.

Yes, it is, and yet — can anything so beautiful ever be called “subtle?”

Scanned copy of the original article as it appeared in the Seahawk. Reconstructed from several scans of a printed original.
Scanned copy of the original article as it appeared in the Seahawk. Reconstructed from several scans of a printed original.