4 masted fully rigged iron sailing vessel

Russell & Company
Port Glasgow, Scotland

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1878

December 12, 1878

See notes

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On display at the Hawaii Maritime Center, Pier 7, Honolulu, Hawaii.

280'

Iron

40'

4

21' (depth)

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1,809

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East India trade routes.

Used for general cargo around the world.

Sold to Matson Navigation Co., Honolulu, Hawaii and used between Hawaii and
San Francisco, California.

Departed San Francisco for Hawaii.

Arrived at Hawaii in an attempt to obtain Hawaiian registry.

(According to U.S. law, Falls of Clyde needed American registry to trade between
American ports, a right denied to foreign-built and registered vessels. This
problem surfaced for American owners of foreign bottoms with the annexation of
Hawaii as an American territory in July 1898. Only a major rebuilding at a port in the
U.S. would bring American registry, so Matson, like other ship owners, sought and
obtained temporary Hawaiian registry in the hope that Hawaiian vessels would be
"grandfathered"into American-register ships. When this strategy failed, lobbying
added language to the 1900 organic act establishing the territory of Hawaii that
specifically granted U.S. registry to certain vessels, including Falls of Clyde.)

Returned to San Francisco. Where she was re-rigged as a barque and refitted with a
deckhouse, charthouse and accommodations for a small number of passengers.

Sailed from San Francisco with her first cargo for the Matson Line.

Sold to Associated Oil Co., San Francisco, California.

Departed Hawaii under tow by the SS Hilonian (Matson Line) for San Francisco, California
for conversion into a bulk tanker. Ten bulk tanks with a capacity of 19,000 barrels
(800,000 gal.) were added. The conversion was completed by early 1908.

Registered with Associated Oil Co. as her owners.

Used on San Francisco - Hawaii route taking oil to Hawaii and returning with molasses
making 5 - 9 round trips a year.

Sold to G. W. McNear, San Francisco, California and used for two voyages to Denmark.

Departed San Francisco.

Arrived at Kolding, Denmark.

Departed Kolding.

Arrived at Beaumont, Texas. From there she sailed to Port Arthur, Texas.

Departed Port Arthur.

Arrived at Copenhagen, Denmark. She returned to Texas in Feb. 1921.

Sold to General Petroleum Co. San Francisco, California.

Sailed from Texas to Tampico, Mexico then Buenos Aires, Argentina and returned to
Tampico, Mexico.

Arrived at Tampico, Mexico and was laid up.

Towed from Tampico via the Panama Canal to San Pedro, California.

Arrived at San Pedro, California, there where her masts were removed and she was
converted into a fuel barge.

Departed San Pedro under tow by the SS Yorba Linda and taken to Ketchikan, Alaska
via Seattle, Washington and moored at the General Petroleum dock. She was used to
refuel fishing boats and other vessels.

Sold to William W. Mitchell for planned use as a museum ship at Seattle, Washington or
California.

The mortgage holder planned to sell ship for use as a breakwater at Vancouver,
British Columbia, Canada but Mitchell, Karl Kortum (Director of the San Francisco Maritime
Museum), Fred Klebingat (a former chiefmate on the Falls of Clyde), John Wright and
Robert Krauss both of Hawaii, aided by funds from the Matson Navigation Co. and donations,
including money raised by school children, raised enough money to buy the ship and donate
it to the Bernice P. Bishop Memorial Museum in Honolulu, Hawaii.

Towed from Seattle to Hawaii by USS Mactobi ATF-105.

Arrived at Hawaii and handed over to the Bishop Museum for restoration. Sir William
James Lithgow, the grandson of the ship's designer William Lithgow, aided in the
restoration of the ship and provided new masts, rigging and other fittings from his
shipyard in Scotland (Lithgows).

Opened to the public at Pier 5 Honolulu, Hawaii.

Re-masted and rigged.

Listed as National Historical Landmark # 73000569.

It has now become part of the Hawaii Maritime Center and was moved to Pier 7.

The Falls of Clyde was reported to be in threatened condition in March, 2005. Photos of the keel in the area of the Jigger mast show about 3-4 feet of water there, over the top of the keel. The interior hull is very rusty with heavy flaking of the iron plating and virtually no signs of any remaining paint. Small holes (1"-2"diam) below the waterline have been plugged with wooden plugs to stem the majority of the water flow but some of these are leaking. She has a pronounced list to port. There is only one person assigned to maintain the vessel (who has virtually no budget). If some action isn't taken to try to stabilize the situation, it seems to be just a matter of time before she may be lost.
(Assessment from the National Historic Landmarks Program)

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