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It
was the greatest Dutch sailing vessel to three trees, of those
constructed before the aim of the century slid in iron and that
deserved for their qualities the definition " bark " " best ", "
barcobestia " as they have translate it to ear our men of sea (but
that in English sound as "the best ship-schooner"). The tonnage was
of 1099 tons and had been launched to Amsterdam from the yards
Huyghens and Van Gelder. It was defined "barco", two trees to
squaresails and the mizzen with fore and aft sail and was fastest.
It proudly carried the name of the city born them, "Amsterdam", and
the row of the black hatches of battery on face white, like one ship
from war, characteristic exactly of those ships. Launched in sea in
1891, it had entered in service in 1892 and magnificent unit had
been demonstrated endured one true "hardloper" that is a “hard races
horse “.
Indeed a true supremacy succeeded in
1906 to complete in 97 days the ocean crossed Sydney-Falmouth.
After some other travel endured serious damages for a burst fire to
edge and had to be towed to Christiania (the actual Oslo) in Norway
and sold.
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The three trees " Amsterdam " after a fire, was repaired by the
Norwegians and taking the name of “SIRDA |
The Norwegians repaired it and they renamed it "Sirdar", assigning
it to transports to mixed cargo, that, being to the Dutch almanac on
the sail ships of L. Smit and H. Hacquebord, " compensated more and
more times the expenses of acquisition ". Survivor to the first
world war, that it saw a mass slaughter of sailing ships, the "Sirdar"
was sold in France in 1923 and renamed “Alice Micheline “. With the
new name it continued to strike to good speed the routes of along
course between Europe, Australia and New Zeland. Its characteristics
induced a Italian shipowner, that seen it with firm interest in
1924 to St. Louis du Rhóne, it acquired. The "Amsterdam", after to
have been "Sirdar" and "Alice Micheline", the " Peter " now became
of the Dufour Brothers of Genoa and the 1924 Christmas Day sailed
to the orders of the captain Scotto Lavina di Procida (Italy) and
with a crew of procidani, in ballast for It has to you, on the
Atlantic route of the Antilless, making return to Genoa with a cargo
of campeccio (tree of the leguminoses).
In the third party travel
the "Piero" takes only 39 days from St. Marc d'Haiti to Genoa. To
the return from the quarter travel it came but put in disarmament 28
October 1928, for the disappearance of the Dufour House. The
competition of the steamboats was made to feel, nevertheless the
"Amsterdam" had held the 14 sail nodes well, in the Pacific and the
Indian Ocean, what that not many ships, they succeeded to make, also
being set in action to motor!!. Acquired from the shipowners Arata
of Camogli and then from the "Peninsular" of Genoa, the "Piero"
remained in remained in the years 30 to deposit of salt in the I
bring of Genoa for account of the Monopoly of State, one sad fate
for what English called "old Salty" (old sailor). During the
dramatic years of the war, the old sailing vessel was requisition
by the Germans, towed to Livorno, and sunk to the entry in the
bring as obstruction.
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After a lot vicissitudes, the ship was acquired by a
Italian ship-owner and transformed in 1948 in the motor-ship "
Piero ". |
To
the end of the second world war, the "Piero" was acquired like scrap
iron from the shipowner Silvio Bonaso of Genoa, that it made it to
recover in 1947 and to transform in 1948 in motor-ship, with the
installation of a motor complex of 1.800 horses, to work of the
shipyard Orlando of Livorno. The tonnage was increased, it had
become of 1.148 tons and like motor-ship the "Piero" remained
enrolled in the naval registry, from 1949 maintaining the nominative
case that it had had like sailing vessel. In 1950 Dutch captain H.P.
Mellema, of Amsterdam that had lend service from 1902 to 1906 to
edge of the "Amsterdam" under Swart commander like third official,
it salted in visit to edge of the "Piero" by now become motor-ship
in the port of Rotterdam and wrote to the shipowner for to express
him its alive sorrow in seeing its beautiful veliero of the
principle of the reduced century to be annoying to naphta.
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It
made present the Bonaso shipowner that, not even to all force, it
would be successful to hold the 14 nodes that it spun, instead, in
sea, with the favorable wind on the route of Australia. "In truth I
had to share this its thought" remembers the shipowner Silvio Bonaso
today, that photo and documents have supplied us. While, in Holland,
the adventure of the "Piero" had become of public domain and it was
quite believed to acquire it, in order to restore it like sailing
vessel. But the cost of a similar operation resulted prohibitive
and nothing didn't do.
The "Piero", after a honored
service, it was sold to La Spezia in 1969 for demolition, that it
happened in 1971.
| From the Italian
Naval Magazine 1976 |
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