The Last Cape Horners

I served 14 yrs in the Royal Navy, in 4 warships, and have no illusions about the sea. Now in my 70s I still like to look at the sea - but from dry land! I have great respect for these old shellbacks. Great footage thanks. Frank in Bristol.

I sailed arround Cape Horn in 1993, I was onboard a US Aircraft Carrier, and it was rough going, I could not imagine being on one of these. These men and women are a special breed.

We are so lucky to have these men relate their stories and to have the photos and movies taken.

I'm a retired trucker. I'm gone through hurricanes, snow storms and floods where used the telephone poles as guides to where the road was. Stuck for 3 days with a broken truck off road in Northern BC delivering to an oil well. It was -40f and a snow storm. My heat was in a hard hat with diesel fuel and under the truck with snow banked around it. People thought I was a pretty tough guy. After watching this video, those people were 10 times the man I was. Things are so much easier and safer than was it those days. Watching that in a real life video, that would have scared the crap out of me. Up working the sails standing on a rope holding on to a flapping sail, the ship heeling and no safety harness in hurricane force winds was just insane. Plus the waves were higher than where they were. Nope, I feel like a wimp compared to those people.

I spent 11 years as navigator in the Merchant Navy. While in dry dock in St Nazaire in 1979 I purchased the Heller 1/150 scale model kit of the 'Pamir'. It took me 25 years, on and off, to complete it [!] and it now resides in a bespoke made display case. During its construction I learnt much about the history of the great 'windjammers' so I found your documentary very interesting and well presented. Thank you.

If you have any fascination with the era of sail, watch this masterpiece.

I once climbed a mast to sort out a problem with a halyard. The yacht was moored alongside a jetty but the movement at the top was enough to make me nervous even with a safety harness. How these men worked aloft in such dreadful weather with no protection is beyond my comprehension - they were giants! What a revealing and fantastic account of the hardships of those sailors endured and which must have made their times ashore or in good weather so much more pleasurable.

It warms the heart that these incredibly brave men had the well deserved satisfaction of getting their stories documented. The West was built by strong men and their wives rearing strong children. Let us always appreciate these pillars.

As a child, growing up near Falmouth in the 1960s, my Father introduced me to a man named Peter Davies. I remember him to be one f the biggest human beings I'd ever seen .... likely because I was a mere 7 or 8 years old at the time and rather small in stature !! I later learned that he was Captain Peter Davies, I do remember him having a profound aura of gentle authority about him, so intense that you simply wanted to respectfully address him as "Sir". Though my memory of the details has faded considerably now, Captain Davies, well into later life and using a collection of slides, would give talks at local pubs and yacht clubs etc about his experiences serving aboard the round-the-world grain ships. These talks would be in 2 parts, the first was a factual talk about the general operation of these vessels and the second was essentially a collection of sea stories and "yarns". Many years later I learned that he was also an artist, though I don't believe he was one of any notable acclaim, his depiction of the ships he painted was superb, however his seas were poor, at least that's what I was told. My Father, knowing my admiration of Captain Davies, gave me one of his paintings which he'd found in a local auction. The painting is of the Passat under full sail, but sadly it was was in very poor condition. I had the painting restored by a friend of mine who happens to be a well respected Art Conservator here in Canada and subsequently framed. I've searched the internet high and low (though I'm not very good at it) to find information about Captain Peter Davies. Beyond finding a few others of his paintings, my search has been fairly fruitless. I am curious to know whether he was ever Master of Passat and about his career in general. I've been a modern seafarer since 1977 and have had my own set of experiences on the world's oceans though they pale significantly to those of these true "Seaman" who worked these sailing ships. The vessels are gone and so are the men, the likes of which will never be seen again. I humbly salute you.

Wow, after falling asleep to many YouTube videos I found one that literally kept me on the edge of my seat. It's hard to fathom The bravery, strength, grit, and determination of the men and women who risked such great undertakings. Hardly seems real from the perspective of 2023.

What a harrowingly beautiful documentary.... you have my thanks and utmost appreciation... just remarkable

During my years as a professional yacht delivery skipper I was fortunate to have the opportunity to act as Mate aboard the replica 16th-century galleon, 'The Golden Hinde' for the voyage from Yokahama back to Plymouth, England. A six-month voyage of something over 12,000 miles..a unique experience and one that helps me relate to what these men experienced, both the wonder and the pain.

I was fortunate to meet Captain Irving Johnson in the late 70s in Long Beach California. What an amazing man he was. He was showing and narrator of his adventures on his sail boat the Yankee. Him and his crew salvaged the anchor from the Bounty.

I read Stormalong by Alan Villiers when I was 8 or 9 years old and loved it. Some 65 years later I still have the book, and its still a favourite. A hard life for tough characters. Thank you for posting this film, fascinating.

Thank you to everyone that has made these comments. My father sailed with the British merchant marines on the Braque Kilmallie. They sailed around the world three times. From the experience's that my father told me of their journeys it was a very great experience and it really took a lot to make these sailings. I have quite a few photos that my father took on these journeys and it really is something to have as a memory of my father, he passed away when I was 13 but I will always remember him and my mother.

This is a beautiful collection of stories you have put together perhaps for future generations to see what life was like in the age of commercial sail. I knew Tor Lindquist thru the Melbourne Maritime Museum and spent a few days sewing sails for the Polly Woodsidewith him.

So amazing to see and hear men, and women , who worked those ships through such brutal conditions . It’s hard to imagine today people going off for a year or more for a job and only getting to see your family every year or so. Today people get divorced or infidelity if they are gone a week . I’m 70 and have worked ranches, horse packed into the wilderness and seen high mountain storms and sub zero weather. But what these men did was truly amazing and they had to be more tough than anybody I ever met. Thank you for this video.

"Man doesn't live forever, if he lived that challenging and adventurous life while he may, that's not such a bad idea". Well said sir. Respect @43:05

For two summers I served on the crew of the US Brig Niagara, Erie, Pennsylvania. This ship was the 2nd reconstructed Niagara, Commodore Oliver Hazard Perry's flagship in the Battle of Lake Erie in the War of 1812. I "hauled sail" on the mainmast on the topsail yard. Our motto was "One hand for the ship, one hand for yourself." Although we often did clip our safety harnesses to the steel safety rail running on the aft side of the spar if it was really windy when hauling in sail, or "busting up" as it was known.  Hard work was rewarded at day's end with a sleep in a canvas hammock belowdeck - broken by one hour standing deck watch at night. Meals were made on a wood fired Candadian cast iron wood-fired stove by the ship's cook. We ate well. To have the opportunity to sail on a "sticks and strings" wooden square rigger was a distinct honor.

Thank you Garry Kerr. I was astonished as I watched this video. Shocked that the footage existed and that the men who sailed as young men on the ships gave their testimonials of life aboard. It's fantastic!