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Tall Ships of Twilight 2000

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  • #16
    Duluth hosts a Tall Ships event every year and has info pages on the ships that attend. All of these vessels also travel the Great Lakes as well as the oceans to get to Duluth (Lake Superior, MN).

    Sadly the Bounty was a regular visitor.



    There's also a virtual deck tour for some of them on that site.

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    • #18
      One of the best sites I have seen on tall ships or sailing vessels that are in sevice today, and probably would have been around in twilight, coming in all sizes, is schoonerman. http://www.schoonerman.com/

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      • #19
        Ecuadorian Navy Sailing Ship Catches Low-profile Narco Speedboat

        Starring...

        BAE Guayas (Ecuador)

        From the linked article:

        "Over 257 feet long, the vessel is a school ship, built in Spain, launched in 1976, and home-based in Guayaquil, Ecuador. Outwardly, the design of this vessel recalls the tall ships of the 19th century. Unarmed, the sailing vessel has a typical crew of about 120, including 80 cadets."

        Yeah, this happened...



        -
        Author of Twilight 2000 adventure modules, Rook's Gambit and The Poisoned Chalice, the campaign sourcebook, Korean Peninsula, the gear-book, Baltic Boats, and the co-author of Tara Romaneasca, a campaign sourcebook for Romania, all available for purchase on DriveThruRPG:

        https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product...--Rooks-Gambit
        https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product...ula-Sourcebook
        https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product...nia-Sourcebook
        https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product...liate_id=61048
        https://preview.drivethrurpg.com/en/...-waters-module

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        • #20
          The Duyfken replica would have just missed out on being part of the original T2K timeline - she was launched in 1999.
          sigpic "It is better to be feared than loved" - Nicolo Machiavelli

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          • #21
            Originally posted by Targan View Post
            The Duyfken replica would have just missed out on being part of the original T2K timeline - she was launched in 1999.
            maybe not. she had her keel laid in mar 97. this could be used as a propaganda tool. it also was built in the Duyfken Replica Ship Yard in Fremantle, Western Australia. It is not like this place would be working on modern warships. So she might have fight under a new flag, but she might have launched. without fuel this might force it to be finished and launched.

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            • #22
              For fans of the new edition and a going home style campaign: Here is a chance for survivors of 2MARDIV to build their way out and have a Spanish Main style adventure. It appears, the Swedish navy thought somewhat ahead back after Napoleonic Wars:

              Liber et infractus

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              • #23
                there are multiple sail powered cruise ships that definitely would be impressed into service with the various navies as transports or by pirates

                Example would be the Sea Cloud - https://www.seacloud.de/en/

                Sea Cloud was rebuilt in 1978 to be a 64 person sailing cruise ship but during WWII she was an armed US Coast Guard weather ship - she has a diesel engine but she can cruise with sails only

                You also have the Wind Star, Wind Song and Wind Spirit sail powered cruise ships (also with diesel engines but capable of cruising with the sails alone) and the Club Med 1 (which became the Wind Surf in 1998)

                From the 3rd volume of the Fanzine

                In November of 2000 the Wind Song, a 5300-ton sailing cruise ship sailed into Pago Pago for vitally needed repairs. The territorial governor saw an opportunity and seized the ship from its previous owners. The repairs have finally been completed in April 2001 and he intends to use the ship to sail to Hawaii to bring the two Samoan infantry companies based there home, along with ammunition and weapons to be able to defend the territory. He is planning to send a cache of vitally needed working computers and electrical parts along with it for trading for the weapons and if need be the men themselves.

                The Wind Song depends on her sails for propulsion and is only being provided enough alcohol fuel to operate the galleys and a few lights. The governor has armed her with two recoilless rifles and two heavy machine guns and a single 20mm gun from the Buttonwood. Her interior furnishings have been stripped out to make room for bringing he two infantry companies back to American Samoa and to haul enough food and water for the trip which will take at least eighteen days round trip. The computers which work her sails are still functional, allowing a minimal crew to man her, with most of her complement being soldiers to man her defenses.

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                • #24
                  Until right now, I wasn't even aware of these sailing cruise ships. Those are quite interesting! The largest two, Club Med 1 and Club Med 2 (the latter only completed in 1996) have a gross tonnage of almost 15,000 ts and are listed having a crew of around 214 and a capacity of 340-386 passengers, mostly in twin-beds. The staterooms look easily convertible to two double-racks or even six bunks in total. If you stack up in the state rooms in such a way and reduce the crew, i. e. the steward department, you can embark a light marine battalion.

                  Certainly they would have to make due almost without any land vehicles, but four medium sized barges can hang from davits. Deck space is a problem though, with only a small forecastle and not much space on the quarterdeck (i. e. the stern). I really don't see room for recoilless guns without some rebuilding, to be honest, mainly since the huge back-blast would make them dangerous to operate near walls and sails. Also, the range is not great on these guns, so Bofors 40 mm in single or dual mounts may be a better alternative. Light guns up to 30 mm as well as the venerale Bofors also enjoy the benefit of not needing barbettes, i. e. they could be bolted directly on decks without punching through the construction. That makes retrofitting much easier.

                  One probably could raze the light structures on Star Deck - mainly a glass superstructure housing a restaurant - in order to create more deck space for crans, boats, vehicles, containers and light artillery. A great feature of both ships however is the water sports platform, which is essentially a miniature well deck/dock and can be used to disembark marines quickly for boarding parties etc. There is also room for small-craft.

                  The big question for these ships constructed by Socit nouvelle des ateliers et chantiers du Havre will be, how there computers have weathered nuclear war. The ships cannot be sailed manually without significant modifications to the standing rigging. The masts are not meant to be climbed easily and the crew complement does not support a traditional sailing crew, without significantly reducing the number of passengers. So, if the computers are fried, e. g. by EMP, those ships become slow steamers, 10 to 12 knots with engines only, compared to 15 kn under combined (sailing and steaming) propulsion.

                  Deckplan: https://www.windstarcruises.com/Blan...f_10-22-20.pdf
                  Last edited by Ursus Maior; 10-27-2021, 06:09 AM.
                  Liber et infractus

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                  • #25
                    Other tall ships available during the 1990s are Sea Cloud (ex-USCGC Sea Cloud, ex-Hussar V) and SV Mandalay (ex-Hussar IV). Both ships began their lives as private yachts of E. F. Hutton of the financial services company, served in the USCG during World War Two, end ended up as cruising ships in the 70s and 80s, respectively. They are fitted for 60-80 passengers each, although Mandalay is significantly smaller (585 GRT compared to 3,077 ts), and make 14 kn (Sea Cloud) and 16 kn (Mandalay) respectively, presumably under combined propulsion.

                    A couple of light guns could be installed on their main decks and in fact medium artillery guns of (3"/50 DP) had been in use on Sea Cloud during World War Two. When it comes to supporting a marine complement, the two smaller ships fare far worse than Club Med 1 and 2, though: only two light davits, no (pseudo-)well deck and no larger deck space for containers, vehicles or additional barges or speed boats.

                    But hey, I bet the Caribbean, Polynesia and the African West Coast would tremble with fear if some of these ships with a combined marine battalion would start raiding the area.

                    What a great setting for a campaign.
                    Liber et infractus

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                    • #26
                      The question for the computer controlled sailing ships would be more where they were during the nuclear phase - the ones that were in the South Pacific would most likely have no EMP damage at all - no nukes in their area at all - versus ones that might have been in the Med or anywhere near Europe or places in the US that got nuked

                      The Wind Song that I wrote up in the fanzine was in the Pacific during the nuclear phase in Polynesia - i.e. no where near any nukes at all - so her computers work. Would be a great basis for an adventure to need to get working computer equipment for one of her sisters - they would be a real asset for anyone who had control of one of them

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                      • #27
                        Just want to say I love the topic.

                        I wish I had something to contribute, but I don't at the moment, for a variety of work and personal reasons.

                        As soon as I can come up with a reasonable thought / idea / adventure seed, I will!

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                        • #28
                          Originally posted by cawest View Post
                          maybe not. she had her keel laid in mar 97. this could be used as a propaganda tool. it also was built in the Duyfken Replica Ship Yard in Fremantle, Western Australia. It is not like this place would be working on modern warships. So she might have fight under a new flag, but she might have launched. without fuel this might force it to be finished and launched.
                          An added complication is that the Garden Island Naval Base (Australia's west coast submarine base) and the Kwinana fuel refinery just across the water are moderately likely nuke targets. If so, Fremantle's port facilities would likely have taken at least minor tsunami damage, if not blast damage.

                          But I do like the idea of the Duyfken having made it to launching.
                          sigpic "It is better to be feared than loved" - Nicolo Machiavelli

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                          • #29
                            Do NOT forget the infamous WINDJAMMER sailing fleet that stalked the Caribbean until they went bankrupt in 2006. Those four ships could carry a huge compliment of crew and passengers.

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