Eye of The Wind, originally named "Friedrich" was built in 1911 as a topsail schooner by Conrad Luhring of Brake Unterweser, Germany. She was constructed for the South American hide trade, a lucrative venture at that time.
In 1923, she was sold to a Swedish operator and renamed "Merry". For the next 50 years she traded under the Swedish flag in the Baltic and North Seas, carrying general cargo. During the summer months she was employed drifting for herring off the coast of Iceland.

It was not until 1926 that her first engine was installed. Over subsequent years her rig was gradually reduced; first her yards were removed, followed by the topmasts. Later the cargo hatches were re-arranged and the rig changed to that of a ketch. When cargo rates were high, during the 1950s she became a virtual motor-sailer and was lucky to escape lengthening of the hull, a common practice at this time, used to increase cargo space. In 1956 much of the bottom of the hull was replaced with a sturdy welded steel construction.
In 1969, in Gothenburg, Sweden, a fire broke out in the engine room, completely destroying the wheelhouse and the timber poop deck.

It seemed that her life as a working vessel had come to an end. Fortunately for the old ship, about this time, a group of square-rigger enthusiasts were forming plans to re-build a suitable hull as an ocean going Tall Ship. Finally, in 1973, a deal was reached with the owners of the burnt out hulk and then began the daunting task of rescuing the old iron hull.

Renovation

When the original "Adventure Under Sail" syndicate, Anthony "Tiger" Timbs, Lesley Reiter, Rod Clarke, Jean Dixon, Joe Spinelli and Alan Obrien bought "Merry", she was effectively a burnt-out hulk lying in Gothenburg, Sweden. Despite the damage caused by the fire, and a gaping hole in the bow of the ship, most of the riveted iron hull plating was in a sound condition. The first stage of the renovation was to make "Merry" sufficiently seaworthy to sail to England where it was planned to carry out the bulk of the re-building.

The Skandia, air-start, two-stroke diesel engine was completely re-built. Surprisingly, parts for this old engine where comparatively easy to obtain. The wooden poop deck was replaced with locally reclaimed timber. Areas of shell plating buckled by the fire were replaced with welded steel, as was the hole in "Merry's" bow. Worm steering gear was fitted and temporary 24 volt electrics were installed to provide basic lighting and navigation facilities. After six months, with ballast made up of ten tons of Gothenburg granite cobblestones, "Merry" was ready to make the passage across the North Sea to England where work on the superstructure and rig was to be carried out.

After several months lying in the historic Humber fishing port of Grimsby, a suitable fitting out berth was found in Faversham, Kent.
The owners and many friends came together at Easter in 1974 to begin the restoration. Slowly, a fine Brigantine began to evolve. The blacksmith's forge glowed as the bands were shaped to fit the spars and master rigger Wally Buchanan (later to be the "Cutty Sark's" official rigger) came to Faversham to live whilst the rigging was in progress. Pieces of scrap metal became the bowsprit, chain plates, dolphin striker and other fittings. The missing mainmast was replaced by an 80ft (24m) length of suction dredge piping, the fitting of
which proved to be one of the most challenging parts of the project. A nearby warehouse became the rigger's workshop as coils of wire rope were fashioned into shrouds, backstays, footropes and running rigging.

The owners had been collecting suitable materials for the interior of their vessel for many years, and as work progressed many reclaimed items were pressed into service. West Australian Jarrah, once part of a breakwater at a nearby seaport and railway crossing sleepers from the disused Tenterden railway were fashioned into the pinrails. A teak dance-floor became the deckhouse, fastened to a sturdy steel frame, whilst church pews became the deckhouse seating. Panelling from a London bank now enhances the lower saloon and its doors were modified to become the midships hatch.

Finally, in September 1975 the now re-named vessel was ready to sail from the Faversham mud berth, down the river Swale, into the Thames estuary, along the Kent coast, to Ramsgate where she was to be prepared for her first real voyage for more than 10 years.
Thus began the long and fruitful sailing career of Eye of the Wind.

First Voyage

It was decided that the first voyage would be a circumnavigation of the globe and on 12 October 1975 Eye of The Wind set sail from Ramsgate. After a brief stop in Brixham, she was pointed south, crossing the Bay of Biscay, making her first landfall in Madeira. A few days later she headed for the Canary Islands where, suitably provisioned, the Atlantic crossing was commenced. Four weeks later, in
early December 1975 the ocean voyage was completed in Barbados.

Cruising the Caribbean islands for one month provided a well-earned break from the rigours of the ocean passage.
From the Caribbean, Eye travelled to central America, to make her first ever voyage through the Panama Canal. Now began the longest ocean passage for the renovated vessel, across the Pacific, toward Australia, calling at the Cocos Islands, Galapagos, Easter Island, Pitcairn (home of the Bounty mutineers), the Tuamotu islands, Tahiti and the Society islands, Samoa, Fiji, the New Hebrides and New Caledonia.

Finally, after a short stop in Coff's Harbour, Queensland, Eye of The Wind arrived in Sydney in August 1976.
The 11-month voyage proved the seaworthiness of the re-fitted Eye of The Wind. She performed well in both light airs and strong blows, averaging more than 100 miles per day on the 18,000-mile passage. The crew of 26, made up of the owners and paying crew, found it all-to-easy to fall under the spell of this tall, gracious little ship with the wind-song in the rigging and bow wash along the hull.

The return voyage to England took Eye of The Wind north from Sydney, following the Queensland coast, then to Papua New Guinea, Indonesia, Singapore, Malaysia, the Maldives, Port Sudan and through the Suez Canal to the Mediterranean. Eye spent a four-month sojourn in the Mediterranean, visiting Athens, the Aegean islands, Turkey, Yugoslavia, Malta and Italy. Sailing north from Sicily landfall was made on both Stromboli and Vulcano, with their active volcanoes. Further north took in Sardinia and Corsica, then westward to the Balearics, Gibraltar and northward through the Bay of Biscay, finally returning to England, arriving in Plymouth in May 1978.

Operation Drake

By the time Eye of The Wind returned from her first circumnavigation in May 1978, it had been decided that she would become the flagship for Operation Drake, a two year round the World expedition involving 414 "Young Explorers" from 27 countries.
Patroned by HRH The Prince of Wales, Operation Drake undertook many scientific and cultural projects during its nine phases.
The full story of Operation Drake can be found in the book "In The Eye of The Wind; The story of Operation Drake", by Roger Chapman, one of the "Young Explorers".

For Operation Drake, a number of major modifications were made to Eye of The Wind. A new Gardner eight cylinder diesel engine was installed and the long planned aft deckhouse was constructed to house a marine biology laboratory and radio shack containing then state-of-the-art communications equipment allowing daily reports to be relayed both to the Operation Drake base in London and Capital Radio, who broadcast daily reports on the expedition.

One of the few crew to remain on Eye of The Wind for the full two-year period, Dr Trish Holdway, ran the ship's laboratory, providing
a wealth of research information on the state of plankton growth on the course of the World voyage. Eye of The Wind was also designated an auxiliary weather vessel and provided invaluable meteorological data to the UK Met Office.
Operation Drake concluded in London in December 1980 as Eye of The Wind, dressed overall, sailed under Tower Bridge in to the Pool of London.


“Over the past two years I have watched the progress of Operation Drake with interest. I think that we can all feel well satisfied that the expedition has been an outstanding success.
I have been particularly pleased to see how the Young Explorers have been able to make a genuine contribution to the many scientific projects. I hope that this can be an example to others of how simple scientific studies can be completed by young people, even though
at the outset they may have been lacking in any specialist knowledge.

Much of the expedition's programme has been concerned with conservation studies. I am hopeful that in due course the results will make a modest contribution towards encouraging the conservation of our natural resources. The work of Operation Drake in Indonesia has been a fine example of how an expedition comprising teams of scientists and Young Explorers from many different nations and cultures can work in harmony together towards a common goal - in this instance, the survey and preparation of a management plan for a nature reserve.

Operation Drake has provided opportunities for a great many Young Explorers to work and live amongst people of other countries and contribute towards a better understanding of one another. Often projects have been conducted in remote areas and under arduous conditions, which have provided both adventure and an opportunity for the Young Explorers to stretch themselves mentally and physically. If, as I hope will be the case, these young people transmit their enthusiasm to others and seek to put their experience to use in service to the community - then the aims of Operation Drake will truly have been fulfilled.

The expedition would not have been possible without the wonderful measure of support afforded by governments, commerce, industry, the armed forces and many individuals throughout the world who have given freely of their time, energy and resources. I am most grateful to all those who have contributed to provide this wonderful experience for the Young Explorers.”
- Prince Of Wales

Australia Bound

With Operation Drake successfully completed, the owners of Eye of The Wind decided to continue their programme of improvements to the vessel. In 1980, they had discovered an old wooden decked minesweeper being broken for scrap. They struck a deal for the 2 inch (50mm) thick soraya (a type of teak) decking and after removing it from the minesweeper themselves, fitted the planking to the deck of Eye of The Wind. This one project made an enormous difference to the look of the vessel and vastly improved the comfort and safety of working on deck compared with the original iron plating.

With the new decking firmly in place, Eye of The Wind sailed northward through the Western Isles of Scotland, then via the Caledonian Canal to the North Sea. As she headed south visiting the east-coast ports, Tiger Timbs, the sailing master and main owner decided to pay a visit to Brake, Germany where "Friedrich" as she was originally named was built. In May 1981 Eye of The Wind sailed up the Weser river to the Conrad Luhring shipyard in Brake. She was met, seventy years after she left the maker's yard by three generations of the Luhring family. An emotional moment for all concerned. To commemorate the occasion, Luhring's presented the owner's of Eye with a copy of the original manufacturer's plate, which now takes pride of place on the ship, above the midships hatch. Sadly Luhring's yard is no longer in existence, having been absorbed by large business and eventually dismantled. It is however a testimony to the skill and attention to detail of the original men who built Eye of The Wind, that she is still sailing the high seas over eighty years later.

After leaving Brake, Eye of The Wind was pointed southwest, once again crossing the Atlantic Ocean, via the Caribbean and Panama Canal to the Pacific.

The voyagers on Eye where privileged to be allowed to explore the Galapagos Islands. Private vessels are no longer permitted to cruise these extraordinary islands, best known for their wildlife providing Charles Darwin with much of his research material leading to the groundbreaking "Origin of Species".
Travelling southwest from the Galapagos, Eye of the Wind called again at Pitcairn Island, further developing the bond between the Ship and the island descendants of the "Bounty" mutineers. One of the few means for Pitcairn residents to maintain an income is by selling traditional carvings to passing merchant and private vessels. This is made doubly difficult, as the most suitable wood for these carvings comes from the neighbouring Henderson Island.

With no safe deep water anchorage at Pitcairn, the islanders' only means of transport is by long boat (not dissimilar to those used on the original Bounty). These are kept in the boathouse in Bounty Bay. The open water journey to Henderson is extremely hazardous for these small craft and so Eye of The Wind was duly pressed into service as a timber freighter to provide several years supply of carving wood to the islanders.

Leaving Pitcairn, Eye headed for Fiji where she was due to undergo the biennial "Load-Line Survey". With the ship out of the water in Suva, the owners took the opportunity of having the hull sandblasted and re-painted. Hitherto rigged as a Brigantine, the long planned square sails were added to the mainmast. Three additional yards were added; nearly doubling the area of square sail the vessel could carry.
Whilst in Fiji, Eye was chartered for her second major film role in "Savage Islands". This took her from Fiji to the Bay of Islands, New Zealand. With filming completed, Eye left New Zealand, bound for Australia. Cruising Tasmania during the Southern Hemisphere summer kept Eye well clear of the annual cyclone season further north.
Finally arriving in Sydney in April 1983, Eye of The Wind prepared for a season of Pacific cruises.

Pacific Years

From April 1983 until October 1991, Eye of The Wind sailed the Pacific Ocean (with the odd foray westward to the fringes of the Indian Ocean), using Sydney, Australia as her home base. The first of these voyages found Eye visiting Lord Howe Island, North Island New Zealand, the Austral Islands, Tahiti and the Society group of islands, Tonga, Vanuatu, the Solomon's and Papua New Guinea, before returning to Sydney in time for Christmas 1983. During the Southern Hemisphere summer months, Tasmania offered a welcome refuge from the tropical cyclone season further north.

In May 1984, Eye departed Sydney for her second Pacific tour. This time calling at New Caledonia in addition to Vanuatu, the Solomon Islands and Papua New Guinea, before returning to Sydney in time for Christmas 1984. Once again, the summer months found her back in the now familiar Tasmanian cruising waters.

As a third Pacific tour was being planned, Eye of The Wind was chartered for the filming of Tai-Panbased on James Clavell's epic novel
on the origins of Hong Kong. Filming took place in Southern China & Macau and was finally completed in November 1985.
Whilst in Macau with the filming over, a new "junk-wood" (a local hardwood) capping rail was fitted by a team of Burmese carpenters, continuing the tradition of improvements, which has been a hallmark of Eye of The Wind.

With the ship in the South China Sea, the owners of Eye took the opportunity of cruising the Indonesian Islands, and then east to the North Pacific islands where, during World War II, fighting between the Americans and the Japanese was at it's fiercest. Now, the islands are at peace, but the war legacy of thousands of sunken ships, aeroplanes and vehicles presents a divers paradise. Truk Lagoon, in the Caroline Islands is particularly famous and many dives were made here from Eye of The Wind.

At the end of 1986, Eye headed for Perth, Western Australia, in time for the Australian hosting of the America's Cup sailing race. In the previous race, the Australian team had unexpectedly wrested the trophy from the Americans for the first time ever. Using the, then controversial, winged keel designed by Australian Ben Lexcen. The winning of the Americas Cup by the Australians gave a terrific boost to the Nation's morale and tourism.

The race of February 1987, was however not destined to be Australia's, and Dennis Connor, the US skipper of Stars and Stripes had no problems in defeating all comers. This was to be the last of the Americas Cup races fought with the restrictive "12-metre" yacht design limitation. With the event descending into a battle of the lawyers, rather than that of sailing boats, it is only in recent years that any form of stability has begun to prevail.

Bicentennial

With the Americas Cup race over, Eye of The Wind headed East for Tasmania.
With a short series of cruises completed and the ship being readied to sail to Sydney, news arrived from England that was to have major consequences for the future of Eye. As a result of the mid-Atlantic sinking of the sail training vessel "Marques", the UK Department of Transport had decided to apply new stability regulations to the operation of British registered Sail Training Vessels. Eye was taken to Sydney, and a team of naval architects employed to assess the problem.

Eventually, it was decided that Eye would have to be re-ballasted.
With the original 70 tons of concrete railway sleepers, granite cobblestones and blue metal chippings removed, the inside of the hull was cleaned and painted and the ballast replaced with 80 tons of lead, pig iron and railway line. With the new ballast secured, Eye of The Wind was found to comfortably exceed the new stability requirement.

After six months gruelling work, but with her future assured, Eye of The Wind set sail once more. Bound once again for Perth, this time to join up with the "First Fleet re-enactment" vessels as they sailed from England to Australia, thus re-creating the first convoy of ships carrying convicts to Australia.

At Christmas in 1987, Eye of The Wind joined the "First Fleet", sailing from Perth to arrive in Botany Bay two days prior to Australia Day. On 26 Jan 1988, The "First Fleet" ships along with thousands of other small craft entered Port Jackson, mooring up next to the Sydney Opera House as the Australian bicentennial celebrations commenced. With the big day over, Eye continued with the subsequent bicentennial voyages along Australia's eastern seaboard, finally returning to Sydney in December 1988.

In early 1990, Eye of The Wind sailed east across the South Pacific to participate in the celebration of 200 years of settlement of Pitcairn Island by the descendants of the "Bounty" mutineers. It is hoped that the relationship which has been built up between the Pitcairn Islanders and Eye of The Wind can be maintained for many years to come. However the future of the islanders is by no means certain, dependent as they are on the vagaries of New Zealand politics.

Cape Horn

On October 7, 1991, Eye of The Wind, in convoy with the sail training vessel "Soren Larsen" bade Sydney farewell and began her most adventurous voyage ever, "Homeward Round the Horn". After a brief stop in Auckland, New Zealand to re-provision, the two vessels sailed eastward across the great Southern Ocean and at 09:43 on Dec 10, 1991 rounded Cape Horn in uncharacteristically calm conditions.
Sailing northward via the Falkland Islands, Montevideo, Tristan da Cunha, St Helena, Ascension Island and the Azores, Eye of The Wind and Soren Larsen arrived in Lisbon, Portugal at the beginning of April 1992.

Lisbon was to be the starting point for the Columbus Quincentenary voyage, celebrating the discovery of the "New World" by Christopher Columbus in 1492. On 24 April 1992, the 20th century's largest fleet of tall ships, set sail from Lisbon, via Cadiz (the departure point for Columbus) westward across the Atlantic. In early June, the fleet began to arrive in San Juan, Puerto Rico to a tumultuous welcome. Leaving the Caribbean, the fleet sailed north to New York and Boston before re-crossing the Atlantic completing the epic voyage in Liverpool, England in early August 92.

With the celebrations and parties finally over, the vessels of the Columbus voyage returned to their respective home waters, leaving Eye of The Wind in the UK for the first time in eleven years.

Recent Years

With the Columbus voyage completed, Eye cruised the Western Isles of Scotland and then sailed south to Bristol where she was moored across the basin from Isambard Brunel's "Great Britain" for a full engine room re-fit.
During the winter of 1992-93, Eye was laid up for four months in Santa Cruz, Canary Isles, giving Tiger Timbs, the master and main owner a chance for a well earned rest.

A long charter with the Scottish Maritime Trust commenced in March 93, with the Eye crossing the Atlantic to the Caribbean before heading north to Boston, returning to the UK in time for the 1994 Tall Ship's Race.
The end of 1994 found Eye back in the Caribbean, where she started filming Ridley Scott's "White Squall". As the script required some heavy weather sailing shots, the film company decided that South Africa would be a good place to shoot these. This involved a 3,600 mile passage for the ship and with adverse winds prevailing Eye finally arrived there in August 1995.

With filming complete, Eye returned to the Caribbean, then turned east back to England to compete in the 1996 Tall Ship's Race, visiting St Petersburg for the first time.
In October 1996, Eye once again departed England, bound for Australia, via the Panama Canal. Arriving in Sydney in time for Christmas 1997.

After the now familiar sojourn in Tasmania, Eye set sail for England, via Queensland, Darwin, Bali, the Seychelles, Cape Town, the Caribbean and Bermuda, arriving in Penzance in May 1999. After completing the 1999 Tall Ship's Race in Aarlborg, Denmark, Eye sailed through the Caledonian Canal down the west coast of England to Penzance, thus completing her fourth circumnavigation of the World.
In October 1999, Eye of The Wind once again entered the dry-dock in Gloucester, England, this time to undergo modifications to comply with the newly formed "Maritime and Coastguard Agency" regulations for the operation of large sailing vessels engaged in any form of charter work.

This work included the addition of an additional watertight bulkhead in the accommodation area, the installation of a full fire detection system, a complete replacement of the radio fit and many other detail changes. Inevitably, the required work took longer than originally expected, but eventually Eye re-emerged from the dock, to start the new millennium with a clean bill of health and conforming to the most stringent safety standards in the World.
On Friday 03 March 2000, the final Maritime and Coastguard Agency survey was carried out in Gloucester, England. Eye of The Wind passed all aspects of this rigorous examination and as such, was the first traditional British sail training vessel to have achieved this standard.

Sporting her new survey status, valid for five years, Eye of The Wind set sail from Gloucester on 09 March 2000 bound for Southampton, to meet up with the "Tall Ships 2000" regatta fleet.
In September 2000, Eye of The Wind completed a three month charter with the Canadian organisation, Tall Ship Millennium Challenge, carrying groups of young Canadians' on each of the sectors of the Tall Ships 2000 voyage.

2001 Refit

In May 2001, following a winter season cruising the Caribbean, Eye of The Wind arrived to a shipyard in Denmark for handover
to her new owners.
In September 2001, the new owners successfully completed the biggest refit of Eye of The Wind since the original reconstruction in Faversham in 1974. With no part of the ship left untouched, and after 4½ months the Eye of The Wind re-emerged with new accommodation, new decks, new sails, new engine room, new navigation equipment and conforming to the highest safety standards
in the world

Recently

In September 2001, following the largest refit since the original reconstruction in 1974, Eye of The Wind left Denmark and headed South.
Calling at Copenhagen in Denmark, Den Helder in the Netherlands, Southampton, Plymouth and Falmouth in England before preparing to cross the Bay of Biscay bound for the Canary Isles, gave the new crew a chance to get to know the ship and deal with all the minor problems inevitable after a major refit.

Finally on a freezing mid December day, Eye of The Wind slipped her mooring in Falmouth harbour and was pointed South for warmer waters.
Plans of reaching Tenerife by Christmas had been shelved due to the later than expected departure from England and so Christmas and New Year were spent on the Breton Peninsular, giving the crew a chance to celebrate ashore.

Leaving Brittany early in the New Year, Eye once again headed for Tenerife. The voyage was interrupted when a main generator fault developed, requiring the installers to revisit the ship in Lisbon, Portugal.

With the generator fixed Eye finally headed for Tenerife on 10 January 2002, arriving in Santa Cruz one week later.
With transatlantic provisioning completed and the outstanding MCA survey items completed, Eye set sail for Barbados, 2,500 miles to the west. Her first transatlantic crossing under new ownership and with her new Captain and crew had been enjoined.
Eye of The Wind arrived in Barbados on 16 March and is now preparing for a short Caribbean season

The Present
More to follow...