sail tale

sail tale[ 02.2015 | San Diego ]

when I was in San Diego last year, I was lucky to see the ‘Star of India’ berthed in its home port at the Embar­cadero. there it lay in the fading sun: the oldest still active sail­ing ship. built on the Isle of Man in 1863, the iron-hulled vessel was origi­nally named ‘Euterpe’. it sailed the seas all over the world for more than 60 years. in the 1920s when sail­ing ships were replaced by steam ships, the Star of India was bought by a philan­thro­pist and brought to San Diego. after its restau­ration after World War II it opened as mari­time museum for the city in 1963.

the ‘Pirates of the Carib­bean’ is a series of fan­tasy adven­ture films that take place in a fic­tional his­tori­cal set­ting: a world ruled by the British Empire and the East India Company. the pirates embody free­dom from the ruling powers. the main charac­ter is the eccen­tric pirate Jack Sparrow, por trayed by Johnny Depp. Sparrow is captain of the Black Pearl, a ship said to be ‘nigh uncatch able’.

sources: sdmaritime.org | pirates.disney.com