High and Dry 4

or highest and dryest so far in this series. Imagine an 18-story structure appearing behind your house like these on Staten Island…

 

or trying to blend into winter trees.

 

Nearly 400 feet long, Peking, you never let me “see” your features before.

 

Peking–one of the “flying P liners” of F. Laeisz–could “fly” a century ago, leaving slower vessels to see a distancing stern. Peking‘s twin–Passat–twice collided with steamers cutting across its path, misjudging its speed. In one case, the steamer sank.

 

No matter how often I looked at you in your South Street Seaport slip, I never noticed your sweet lines, sans prop. Compare with lines of the gypsum bulker. Also, assuming the workman here stands 5 feet, the rudder extends at least 25 feet top to bottom.

 

No wonder you sailed at 16 knots! Peking hauled nitrate from Chile to Germany, making the run from the mouth of the River Elbe to the “nitrate coast” in just over two months. For background, click here and read “abandoned nitrate mining towns.”

 

Such exquisite steel plating after nearly a century! The wooden blocks supporting the keel stand around three feet high.

For more info on Peking, read the prolific Basil Lubbock‘s Nitrate Clippers. I plan more posts too. Thanks to the fine folks at Caddell Dry Dock.

All fotos by Will Van Dorp.