Tole Mour

The SSV Tole Mour is a 156 ft (48 m) schooner[1] and sail training vessel operating in the Channel Islands of California, off the West Coast of the United States.

History
United States
Name: SSV Tole Mour
Owner: Catalina Island Marine Institute
Builder: Nichols Brothers, Whidbey Island, WA
Launched: 1988
Homeport: Avalon, CA
Identification:
Status: Active
General characteristics
Displacement: 229 tons
Length: 156 ft (48 m)
Beam: 31 ft (9 m)
Height: 13.5 ft (4.1 m)
Draft: 13 ft 6 in (4 m)
Sail plan: Sail Area: 8,500 sq ft (790 m2). Three Masts, 15 Sails
Notes: Design by: Ewbank, Brooke and Associates

Built by the Nichols Bros. Boat Builders[2] on Whidbey Island in Washington's Puget Sound to withstand the extreme conditions of the South Pacific, she is extremely seaworthy and meets or exceeds all of the United States Coast Guard's regulations as a Sailing School Vessel, while offering luxurious accommodations in comparison to other tall ships. At 229 gross registered tons she is the largest active tall ship on the West Coast.

The Tole Mour was originally commissioned by the Marimed Foundation of Hawai’i in 1988 as a self-contained primary health care support vessel, operating in the US trust territory protectorate of the Marshall Islands.[3] The name of the ship was selected by a competition of Marshall Islands school children, and means 'A Gift of Life and Health' in the Marshallese language.[4] With onboard medical, dental and ophthalmological offices, the Tole Mour provided medical services to over 15,000 islanders over a period of 4 years, until the Marshallese government commissioned their own fleet of medical delivery vessels and the Tole Mour returned to Hawai’i to serve other purposes.

In her most recent incarnation, she was part of the Guided Discoveries' Catalina Island Marine Institute, offering sail training, oceanography and marine biology education to hundreds of school-aged participants a year. The professional crew was housed in up into 6 double cabins and 2 master rooms within her 123 feet on deck and 31-foot (9 m) beam. Up to 36 youth participants could be accommodated in cabins housing 4, 8 and 10 berths. Her previous medical requirements provided areas for laboratory equipment, touch tanks, and aquariums.

In 2014, the Tole Mour was sold to Island Windjammers, a charter cruise company operating in the Caribbean Sea. She underwent a refitting, as well as a name change, and is now known as Vela.[5][6]

See also

References
  1. The square sails alone do not qualify the Tole Mour as a barquentine as this ship type would not have a gaff-rigged sail on the foremast. Instead, the Tole Mour can be considered a topsail schooner with a fore course. Also see its description as a schooner by its builders on (pdf file)
  2. Diesel progress engines & drives. Diesel & Gas Turbine Publications. 1 January 1989. p. 28. Retrieved 10 October 2010.
  3. American Sail Training Association; Dickinson, Jonathan; Wood, David V V (10 April 2000). Sail Tall Ships!: A Directory of Sail Training and Adventure at Sea. American Sail Training Association. p. 251. ISBN 978-0-9636483-5-8. Retrieved 10 October 2010.
  4. Schäuffelen, Otmar (1 May 2005). Chapman Great Sailing Ships of the World. Hearst Books. p. 394. ISBN 978-1-58816-384-4. Retrieved 10 October 2010.
  5. "Catalina Island tall ship sold to Caribbean company". www.thecatalinaislander.com. Retrieved 22 January 2017.
  6. "Island Windjammers". islandwindjammers.com. Retrieved 22 January 2017.
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