What, in your own opinion, was the greatest sailing ship ever built?

To keep it to the thread:

1. The ship you mention must have had sails as the main type of propulsion (please, no hybrid systems: sails only).

2. Please give a reason why you believe this ship to be the greatest ship? (Based on speed? Battles won? Was it the prettiest? be specific.).

3. And finally, give us an example of this reason. (if battle, give an example of a battle the ship was engaged in that makes it prominent to you).

If you disagree with an opinion, do so nicely. There can be no wrong answers with an opinion question. ( I hope)

Originally Posted by Mark Conley

What, in your own opinion, was the greatest sailing ship ever built?

To keep it to the thread:

1. The ship you mention must have had sails as the main type of propulsion (please, no hybrid systems: sails only).

2. Please give a reason why you believe this ship to be the greatest ship? (Based on speed? Battles won? Was it the prettiest? be specific.).

3. And finally, give us an example of this reason. (if battle, give an example of a battle the ship was engaged in that makes it prominent to you).

If you disagree with an opinion, do so nicely. There can be no wrong answers with an opinion question. ( I hope)

In my opinion HMS Victory for the British has got to be one of, if not the greatest sailing ship commissioned by the Royal Navy.

She was classified as a 1st rate 100 gun 3 decked ship of the line.

Her most famous battle being the Battle of Trafalger in 1805.

The Battle of Trafalgar (21 October 1805) was a sea battle fought between the British Royal Navy and the combined fleets of the French Navy and Spanish Navy, during the War of the Third Coalition (August-December 1805) of the Napoleonic Wars (1803-1815). The battle was the most decisive British victory of the war and was a pivotal naval battle of the 19th century. Twenty-seven British ships of the line led by Admiral Lord Nelson aboard HMS Victory defeated thirty-three French and Spanish ships of the line under French Admiral Pierre Villeneuve off the south-west coast of Spain, just west of Cape Trafalgar. The Franco-Spanish fleet lost twenty-two ships, without a single British vessel being lost.

The British victory spectacularly confirmed the naval supremacy that Britain had established during the 18th century and was achieved in part due to Nelson's departure from the prevailing naval tactical orthodoxy, which involved engaging an enemy fleet in a single line of battle parallel to the enemy to facilitate signalling in battle and disengagement, and to maximize fields of fire and target areas. Nelson instead divided his smaller force into two columns directed perpendicularly against the larger enemy fleet, with decisive results.

Nelson was mortally wounded during the battle, becoming and remaining Britain's greatest naval war hero. The commander of the joint French and Spanish forces, Admiral Pierre de Villeneuve, was captured along with his ship Bucentaure. Spanish Admiral Federico Gravina escaped with the remnant of the fleet, and succumbed months later to wounds he sustained during the battle.

Her other battles included.
First Battle of Ushant (1778)
Second Battle of Ushant (1781)
Battle of Cape St. Vincent (1796)

It didn't fight in any battles, but for me the Kon Tiki, sailed by Thor Heyerdahl has to be in the mix. It not only proved that ancient civilisations could and had built trans ocean ships, but that we don't know half as much about our ancestors as we would like to think.

The KonTiki was a raft and not a ship

My bad, typical land lubber, not be able to differentiate between a boat, ship and raft. For me it had a sail, it floated and was made of wood, it's a boat.

In lieu of my first choice I would like to opt for The Golden Hind, circumnavigated the globe & took prisoners along the way.

"My bad, typical land lubber, not be able to differentiate between a boat, ship and raft. For me it had a sail, it floated and was made of wood, it's a boat."


Official naval definition.......

"A boat is something that is picked up and put aboard a ship"!

USS Constitution heavy duty Frigate
Never saw action but the US 76 gun Ship-of-the lines were a notch above the typical RN 75.
HMS Mary Rose was supposed to have been a jump forward, but didn't work out well.

Just FYI, here is the battle history of USS Constitution:

A Cutting-out Expedition, 1800
Bombardment of Tripoli, 1804
Escape from an Enemy Squadron, 1812
Engagement with HMS Guerriere, 1812
Defeat of HMS Java, 1812
Capture of Cyane and Levant, 1815
Seizing a Slaver, 1853

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As for beauty, I've always like the schooner. Specifically the schooner Atlantic.
"Commissioned by New York Yacht Club member Wilson Marshall, the Atlantic was launched in 1903. William Gardner, one of America's foremost designers of large yachts, designed her. From the moment Atlantic went to sea, it was clear that she was an exceptionally fast and beautiful schooner. When a yacht in 1903 hits twenty knots during her sea trials, she is a promising yacht, but even then nobody could imagine two years later this yacht would set a record that would stand unmatched for almost a century."

I think the greatest sailing ships were the Tea Clippers that raced from China to London and performed some of the greatest sailing feats ever

Very nice choice LeEnfield. The clipper Flying Cloud comes immediately to mind.