I caught Stad Amsterdam leaving Pier 66 this afternoon on the portevergladeswebcam. It was amazing to me that she backed down through the 17th Street Causeway Bridge rather than turning and going through head first. But she executed the maneuver flawlessly!
Here are the last shots of her leaving Port Everglades into the Atlantic Ocean where she will be heading North to Jacksonville the next stop on her tour. Here is a bit of her history from the stadamsterdam website: In 2000 the Clipper Stad Amsterdam is completed. Rita Kok, wife of the then prime minister Wim Kok, christens the ship and the Clipper is presented to the audience for the first tim during the Sail Amsterdam 2000 event. Press and public are enthusiastic: at last, Holland had its own historic flagship. From that point on, things started to happen fast: In 2001 Stad Amsterdam won the Cutty Sark Tall Ships Race. In 2005 she sailed the river IJ as flagship of the Sail Amsterdam event, with Crown Prince Willem Alexander at the helm. In 2009 the Stad Amsterdam was commissioned by the VPRO national TV network to depart from Plymouth for an eight month voyage commemorating the two hundredth birthday of Charles Darwin, world famous biologist, natural scientist and geologist. From 1831 to 1836 he sailed around the world on board of the Beagle, a journey replicated by the Stad Amsterdam. His theory regarding the evolution of species driven by natural selection was extensively developed during this legendary journey. As a training vessel and passenger ship Stad Amsterdam takes guests across the world’s seas each year. Additionally, she frequently participates in Tall Ships Races and sailing events and is rented for business events. Length 76 metres Length across deck 60,5 metres Greatest width 10,5 metres Depth 4,8 metres Sailing speed 16,5 knots Motor speed 11 knots Rigging 3 mast square rig Mast height 46,5 metres Number of sails 29 square Sail area 2.200 m2 Number of cabins 14 Motor power 749 kW Tonnage 723 BRT Weight 1.038 MT Hull Steel Building period 1997 - 2000 Classification Lloyd's Register of Shipping, de Nederlandse Scheepsvaart Inspectie, Safety Of Life At Sea Certificate, Passenger Safety Certificate, US Coast Guard Certificate Ontwerp Gerard Dykstra & Partners, Naval Architects and Marine Engineers NBJA, Amsterdam Building Damen Oranjewerf, Amsterdam Interior Pieter Beeldsnijder, PB Design, Edam
We looked after her just before she crossed the Pond. I love it when Chief Engineers come into the store and say "I'll have 2 cases of Racors, 2 cases of fuel filters, a case of oil filters............." Makes my day.
Amazing The more amazing thing was that she backed thru' the 17th Street Bridge in the dark last friday night about 9pm. I was having a cold one (or more) at Cafe 66 when she started coming thru' the bridge backwards and then turned around in front of 15th Street Fisheries before docking at the Pier.
Disco, Thanks for some great shots. I noticed on this website a helmstation was located fairly well aft and it might have been easier to actually go backwards thru the Causeway since then the helmsman would have a clearer view ahead of him/her. Photo and video - Stad Amsterdam
I asked Stad Amsterdam why they did this maneuver on their website and got this reply: It has to do with maneuver space. She probably hadn't had the room to turn before going through the bridges or it would just take more time… So I have asked them to elaborate since they had lots of maneuvering room in the Port. Hopefully we will get a more detailed answer.