Marco Polo (ship)

For other ships of this name, see Marco Polo (disambiguation).

250 px Marco Polo
History
New Brunswick
Owner:	James Smith
Builder:	James Smith, Saint John, New Brunswick
Launched:	1851
History
United Kingdom
Owner:	James Baines, Liverpool, for the Black Ball Line of Australia Packets
Acquired:	1854
Status:	Rebuilt to be used in the passenger trade.
Notes:	Rebolted with yellow metal bolts and coppered.
Owner:	J. Wilson & Blain, South Shields Packets
Acquired:	1871
Status:	Put in the coal and timber trade
History
Norway
Owner:	Capt. Bull, Christiania Oslo, Norway
Acquired:	1887
Fate:	1884 July 22, wrecked near Cavendish, Prince Edward Island
General characteristics
Class & type:	Medium clipper
Length:	184 ft. 1 in.
Beam:	36 ft. 3 in.
Draught:	29 ft. 4 in.
Depth of hold:	30 ft.
Sail plan:	Ship rigged, with Cunningham's patent roller reefing topsails. Reduced to barque rig, 1874.
Notes:	Built for passenger trade. 3 decks; height between decks, 8 ft.

Marco Polo was a 3-masted wooden clipper ship, launched in 1851 at Saint John, New Brunswick. It was named after Venetian explorer Marco Polo.

Lumber trade

In summer of 1852, Marco Polo sailed from Saint John to Liverpool, England with a cargo of timber, making the crossing in 15 days.

Emigrant ship

In 1852, the ship was purchased by the Black Ball Line and converted for passenger service between England and Australia. That year Marco Polo sailed from Liverpool to Port Phillip, Australia in 76 days. After spending 3 weeks in port, it returned to Liverpool in another 76 days. The total trip time was 5 months 21 days, making this the first recorded round trip in less than 6 months.

It has been asserted, “One in every twenty Australians can trace his or her roots to the Marco Polo.”

Collision and rescue

"1861 March 7, collided with an iceberg north of Cape Horn and arrived in Valparaiso leaking badly on May 2. After repairs it continued to Liverpool on May 22 where it arrived 183 days out from Melbourne."

Last voyages

In 1867, Marco Polo was converted back to cargo use. On a trip from Quebec on July 25th 1883, she sprang a leak north of Prince Edward Island. Pumps were not holding back the water so her crew grounded on a beach at Cavendish, Prince Edward Island. Her masts were cut down to prevent the wind from blowing Marco Polo further onshore, however a very strong wind the following month caused her to break up.

In popular culture

• Marco Polo, Queen of the Seas, film by National Film Board of Canada
• The Marco Polo Suite, by composer Jim Stewart
• “The Wreck of the Marco Polo”, short story by author Lucy Maud Montgomery, age 16 (later famous for writing the novel Anne of Green Gables and subsequent works)

Marco Polo: The Musical written by Mark Blagrave, with an original score by Richard Kidd, performed October 23, 2010 at Harbour Station in Saint John, New Brunswick, produced by the Saint John Theatre Company and The New Brunswick Youth Orchestra. Directed by Stephen Thomas Tobias. Orchestra conducted by Antonio Delgado.

Reconstruction of Marco Polo

Replica stern carvings from Marco Polo, on display in the Merseyside Maritime Museum.

Replica stern carvings from Marco Polo, on display in the Merseyside Maritime Museum.

[1] The Marco Polo Project

Museum artifacts and wreck site

Today the wreck site is in the waters immediately offshore from Prince Edward Island National Park and is considered a National Historic Site.

A ship portrait and many artifacts from the ship are on display at the New Brunswick Museum in Saint John, New Brunswick. Another ship portrait is displayed at the Yarmouth County Museum & Archives in Yarmouth, Nova Scotia. The original half-model of Marco Polo now lies in the Mariners' Museum in Newport News, Virginia.

References

• David MacGregor, Merchant Sailing Ships 1850-1875—contains hull lines plan for the Marco Polo

Further reading

• Details the story of the Marco Polo and its captain Bully Forbes. A host of characters and places within Liverpool in that era - James Baines, Bully Forbes, the Earle slaving ships, and many others.