"You tell me stories of the sea..."

The very special James Craig. Something my Grandfather is proud of, something I thoroughly enjoyed. A little piece of history.

"The barque James Craig was built by Bartram, Haswell & Co. in Sunderland, England in 1874. Originally named Clan Macleod, her maiden voyage was to Peru. 

For 26 years she plied the trade routes of the world carrying general cargoes during which period she rounded Cape Horn 23 times. In 1900 she was purchased by Mr J J Craig of Auckland and was used on trans-Tasman trade routes as a general cargo carrier. In 1905 she was re-named James Craig and then a short six years later, in 1911, she was laid up because increasing competition from steam ships made sailing vessels uneconomical. She was then stripped and used as a copra hulk in New Guinea. After the First World War there was an acute shortage of cargo ships. This gave James Craig a new lease of life after being towed from New Guinea to Sydney for re-fitting."