The Star of India is the world's oldest active sailing ship, and she celebrates her 160th birthday this weekend, in San Diego, as the Maritime Museum of San Diego takes her sailing for the first time in five years. To say I'm giddy is an understatement.
I am no historian, but it is fascinating to think that the Star of India was launched in 1863 (her original name was Euterpe) in the Isle of Man, five days before Abraham Lincoln's Gettysburg Address. Or that she circumnavigated the globe 21 times in service of transporting all manner of goods and people, or that she is the last ship still sailing that once flew the flag of the Kingdom of Hawaii (before it became a U.S. territory).
Maritime history is human history. (nerd alert!) In the world of finance, it was a maritime company called the Dutch East India Company that was the first to issue a public stock offering (and also the first publicly traded stock to be shorted). The mutual insurance industry became prominent because wealthy investors wanted to share their losses in the event of a shipwreck. And maritime law (aka admiralty law) set early precedent for a wide range of industries, although perhaps was not the basis for determining who owns the Antarctic or outer space (fun to research though)!
And that's why Maritime history is fun. Understanding our maritime heritage grounds us in so many topics, introduces us to fascinating details of present-day life and helps us understand the bigger picture. We still have a lot to learn.
I also recognize that maritime domain awareness will be crucial for the future, whether we are responding to sea level rise, building offshore wind farms, or offering youth fun ways to learn technical skills that will be applicable in many different industries.
And being in San Diego, where we are a port city found by Juan Rodriguez Cabrillo in 1542 (before the pilgrims landed at Plymouth Rock), are recognized as the birth place of Naval aviation and the home port of the U.S. Navy pacific fleet, with a thriving oceanographic research institute and BlueTech economy, along with being the epicenter of wireless telecommunications industry (how else do you intend to talk with boats?), and where the patents for reverse osmosis membranes (desalination to make fresh water) were established... or if you think about our sunny weather, sandy beaches, and fish tacos... one way or another, our entire lives are influenced by the ocean and maritime history.
So it is fitting that the world's oldest active sailing ship is part of the Maritime Museum of San Diego. And I get to sail her this weekend. Please join me in celebrating this remarkable milestone, and stop by our little non-profit next time you're in town.
Captain at MSC Shipmanagement
2wVery hectic route for the crew on board. I have done this route earlier on one car carrier.