1936 VOYAGE AROUND CAPE HORN BY SCHOONER WANDERBIRD 31014

[@flyinggybe2113]

For those commenting about child protection services, I can report that both kids lived long and fulfilling lives. Commodore is now 89 and still regularly sailing. He is a good friend and has said to me on many occasions that he detests those who depend too much on government regulations for their own safety rather than taking responsibility for themselves. His present day boat, designed by one of his sailing protégés Tom Wylie, is beautifully maintained. On several occasions in recent years I asked if it might be time to consider adding roller furling for headsails, but Commodore was having none of it. He was not willing to compromise sail shape since he views perfectly shaped and trimmed sail a thing of beauty. There is much for the younger generation of sailors to learn from this living legend.

[@Garryck-1]

Good for him! To which I would add that IMO, roller-furling headsails are inherently unseaworthy. Not only do they "fail dangerous" rather than "fail safe", they always seem to break/jam at the worst possible time, in the worst possible way, thus endangering both vessel and crew. About the only thing worse for this than roller-furling headsails, is in-mast roller-reefing.

[@martyspargur5281]

I Try, believe me I Try, to talk my customers out of roller furling and they look at me like I'm some kind of KOOK. There is No Substitute for having the right headsail up at the right time, but sailing has become push-button and kind of dumbed down in the 21st Century. That, and leading ALL the controls to the cockpit, which makes reefing that much more difficult. People have become Afraid to leave the cockpit, citing it as UNSAFE, even when they're being blinded by their big screen plotters mounted to the binnacle. How about: The lee helm induced by all the windage of a rolled-up jib, which couldn't be dropped if you wanted to bc of all the lufftape friction that cannot be overcome in anything over 20 knots of breeze? And If you Do manage to get it down, it goes right overboard because there are no snaps (piston hanks) to keep it safely on deck! This kind of talk isn't going to win me any popularity contests, but it's the truth. Yes, I'm a Dinosaur, and proud of it. When I was a kid, Commodore stopped me as I was leaving the Laser NA's on the strand in Coronado and Tactfully took the time to ensure that I wasn't getting on the road with our boats tied to the trailer half-assed...That's when I learned how to tie a Trucker's Hitch. Always paying it forward, before it was a thing. A decade later, Harold and Anna Sommer graciously allowed us to stay aboard Wander Bird when we were passing through Sausalito. So Grateful to have had the chance to come aboard, even at the dock. Below, she was lined with private "pilot berths", the ultimate in comfort aboard any ship. Thank You, Periscope!

[@martyspargur5281]

@@Garryck-1 WORD

[@boathemian7694]

My wife sailed around the southern ocean on a Wylie boat.

[@richgouette]

wow... I couldn't help but be shocked by the ages of those little ones hard at work.. Their lives were doubtless the richer for these adventures

[@laserbeam002]

This is a fantastic post. Thank you.

[@kavikafl9345]

Been Around twice. Both times East to West. BLOWING both times!

[@yojimbos1]

An outstanding depiction on competence and courage and such a far cry from our contemporary paradigms of "safety" and "appropriate". I am so inspired by this footage. Thank you Captain.

[@willymueller3278]

Those were the good old days. And the children seem to have a lot of fun. What a beautiful experience for those kids, being at sea, they are fearless, playing, helping out, wherever they can, how different from todays kids, being bored with their computers.

[@erictakakjian6021]

Awesome film!! Love seeing the kids out on deck and up in the rigging. True seafarers all.

[@Atitlan1222]

This kids playing on deck rounding the Horn was the best.

[@richgouette]

right??

[@thomaslohr2864]

Different times.. the quality of narration, the effort it must have been to produce a film like this back then.. the lives these people, and especially those children, must have lived - amazing, almost made me cry!

[@steadmanuhlich6734]

What an amazing adventure film, and such an adventure for those two young children (boy and girl) who did so much on that boat. Amazing to see them up the mast, out on the bowsprit, and coming down the ropes, doing work on the boat. Great fun! I would have loved to have done that at that age.

[@waltertaljaard1488]

These kids, if they are still alive, must be well into their eighties now. They would be amazed about the way children are treated Nowadays. And look back in awe upon an amazing childhood.

[@johnburgess5534]

That brought back many memories. Four times round the horn but not under sail. The grey funnel line wearing the white ensign.. Capt John.

[@ChimeraActual]

So happy to see this! I remember reading Commodore's articles in Sail magazine in the 70's (if memory serves). They were amazing, as is his life story. I met him once in Corpus Christi during one of the Ultimate 30 regattas. I forgot where we were going, but we were both in a small boat trading stories when he told me his name. I was struck dumb with hero worship. Would have liked to have continued chatting, but I was too shy. I can relate a little, vicariously, as my grandmother told me stories of sailing around the world with her father, captain Andrew Caldwell (Coldwell if you're a Bluenose) on the Hamburg out of Hantsport N.S.. Mostly, my Grandma said it was the most horrible thing she ever did -- probably why I spent most of my life around boats. I sincerely doubt that Warwick Tompkins would have traded his youthful sailing experiences for anything. I believe that's enough to counter any charges of child endangerment.

[@hansnelsen5926]

the things you read in the comments! wonderful story! you should have spoke up! thanks for sharing that !

[@truesdel]

I love how young Commodore is always the highest in the rigging, the farthest forward on the bowsprit, etc.!

[@MTJLT]

My grandsons were raised on the sea, and a more confident and vigorous pair of boys you'll never meet. When they were in school, the teachers called the parents in to report the boys' lying during sharing time. What memories those boys will share with their own kids.

[@MrLethahandz]

I wish i could go on a float like this, on the same boat.!!! Even the kids were almost full deck hands....Outstanding!

[@Grantster2720]

+MrLethahandz Can you imagine what would happen in this day and age letting kids do all that ! The do gooders and nanny state would have the parents in jail and them packed off to foster homes. Bet they grew up to be great adults with lots of wonderful tales to tell :)

[@jimmbbo]

+MrLethahandz Read "Two Years Before the Mast" by Richard Henry Dana for an fascinating look into a 19th century sailor's daily life www.amazon.com/Years-Before-Mast-Richard-Henry/dp/1482305860

[@ironpirites]

+jimmbbo It's a great book. I've read it twice. I might read it again. I think it is one of the greatest books of the sea ever written. It is certainly a vivid picture of the time. Dana had a poet's or painter's eye for wonderful vignettes. I can still imagine his picture of the two ships under full sail gliding along parallel with each other, or his first time aloft in bad weather, clinging to the lines, vomiting and realizing that the vomit was being blown away horizontally and never fell on the deck, and also early California where people didn't own horses because they were so plentiful that they just caught one whenever they needed it, rode it to where they were going, let it go and caught a different one for the trip back. The book was written around the same time as DeToqueville's Democracy in America. There are other, lesser known books of observations that one can find on line, but Two Years Before the Mast is a real classic and a great pleasure to read. Dana was a great man.

[@MrLethahandz]

+jimmbbo Thanks I will do!

[@ladydi4runner]

ironpyrites I couldn’t agree more, thanks for your thoughts! Dana’s book is one of favorites, my introduction into nautical history/fiction. I go back to it from time to time, to reread passages. Knowing the CA coast very well after almost 30 years in Bay Area, it surely fired up my imagination thinking of those BRUTAL square rigger voyages just to get to the West Coast! Next book on my bucket list is that one written by Sterling Hayden n his wild adventure of Life on this exact schooner. Try the book “Cochrane “ by David Cordingly, the real Master and Commander maritime hero upon whom Jack Aubrey and Horatio Hornblower are based. Fascinating read. Napoleon called him “le loop des mers”, the Sea Wolf. Enjoy! 👍👏🏻😁

[@jacquesbrouyer8687]

thanks for this fantastic DocumentJB Dieppe Normandie France

[@InGratiaDei]

Like everybody else, I'm impressed by the children, too. Bowsprit, climbing the rigging, pistol practice, etc. Maybe we should make more opportunities for adventure.

[@3rdFloorblog]

Videos such as this can show perfect examples of how fast we have progressed in traveling this great planet. Imagine the next 88yrs...

[@boathemian7694]

I raised my son on our ketch and schooner. He is now 28 and is working on a schooner in Maine.

[@estebanmorales6568]

I watch this and think how sad it is that this type of thing is gone forever.

[@davidcox8961]

Why do you say it's gone? Just build a boat and do it. Plans are available for the old classic boats and a few people are building or rebuilding old ships for just such a voyage.

[@davidcox8961]

@Mark Everson Ha ha. Actually I am a old man living in poverty on SS. I'm just saying that boats are still being sailed around the world.

[@davidcox8961]

@Mark Everson Do it. Ya ain't getting any younger. I lived on a sailboat half my life. Now I'm in an old motor home in a forest. Check out what this 30 something lad is rebuilding. kzbin.info

[@ladydi4runner]

Outstanding snippet of a film depicting that round the Horn voyage. Really stokes my nautical history/fiction fascination! Watched w genuine consternation his 2 little children scamper around, up and down all over that sailing schooner. Wow. Back before parents were “helicoptering” and raising mollycoddled keyboard warriors.

[@coyoteshark]

I got a chance years ago to see the Wanderbird in Sausalito was awesome.

[@davidn8759]

Coyoteshark , Me too ! , later the boat was bought by Sterling Hayden , his mate was Spike Africa along with his wife ( iirc ) meet Spike several times as he took care of Santana ( H. Borgart's boat ) and Yankee , got a friend of mine a job taking care of Santana and he did for 25 years

[@cindyreid6404]

I'm sending this video to my son so he'll stop turning my grandchildren into cupcakes. 😂

[@russcooke5671]

Exactly right mate. Kids today only know computers. And joining useless gangs world is not nice to grow up in now.

[@catnewsheller6859]

Better kids (who are tough by the way) experience an adventure like this than sit at home being "safe" playing on their electronic devices experiencing nothing. What are we keeping them so safe for?

[@lindanewland9502]

Absolutely. Commodore Tompkins is still sailing the South Pacific and he'd be the first to defend his father's decision to allow them as children to explore their world and develop self-sufficiency...a sad lacking in more recent generations because of over-protective parents.

[@norml.hugh-mann]

Mortality rate was astronomic compared to today due to these activities, a much higher percentage of accidents and premature deaths then

[@dapawaz8310]

To die, having never truly lived, is surely the worst fate.

[@kevinrod1635]

Wish I had that opportunity when I was young

[@perceivingacting]

Great version with different footage from the other film available online! Privileged to have met and known Commodore (only a little guy in the film!) during his years sailing in the South Pacific.

[@denisiwaszczuk1176]

As a child growing up at sea . Its the best teacher . Bloody todays young need learn to look up and see real adventure Not on a Screen Full of Bullshit with no hope

[@beachside1]

Now these were real sailors. Can you imagine sailing this huge ship/boat from outside?

[@Ronin4614]

Very nicely done film. The worst the Horn has to really offer would hav been out of place in this Castle film. Still, I it is pretty well done👍🙄

[@gapper3]

Interesting how most comments here are about the kids being treated like small human beings back in the day, rather than the fragile snowflakes of today. I had the same thoughts before seeing the comments. This is why Western Civilization is rapidly going the way of the Dodo. Everything has to be safe, insulated, secured, insured. Nothing that can cause harm or offense is permitted anymore. My generation (born 1964) is perhaps the last that went through childhood unfettered by these malignant modern obsessions. I count myself lucky.

[@richgouette]

same(68)

[@russcooke5671]

So true mate. I was born in east London in 1957. So I remember most of London as a bomb site. Most of the city was still in ruins. We all used to play on bomb site’s. Greagg TV childhood. Didn’t realise it at the time it’s only when you look back. I would not want my childhood in this day and age. Especially with all the gangs killing each other.

[@7.62fullmetal9]

did I see that kid with an iphone7 taking footage from the cross trees and instagraming it ? looked like it to me.

Cape Horn is at about 5:35.

[@rogerstone3068]

"Our course is ever southwards..." as the plot shows they made a 360 degree circle off the Argentine coast. We know what you mean, though. Great footage.

[@PeriscopeFilm]

Thanks for the comment! Subscribe and consider becoming a channel member kzbin.info/www/bejne/hXWliGami8abi6c

[@martyspargur5281]

...and another one off Chile LOL Looks like a typical delivery!

[@warjacare]

BRAVE OLD STYLE AMERICANS. LONG GONE...😢

[@terrywilliams6923]

The only way children will experience that today is via virtual reality goggles but will the experience the thrill ,taste the salt air or feel the wind and the freedom.I pity the young of today.

[@guillermoluisespinasse3667]

Extraordinary film. The child protection services and similar agencies have put into the world a breed of piti ful cowards. BRAVO CAPTAIN TOMPKINS.

[@atomisum6445]

Those kids are more manly than some of the guys I work with.

[@norml.hugh-mann]

Omg...they had those kids on deck with no PFDs, one wave away from certain death as turning around and pucking up two small kids from Freezing water would take longer than it would take for the cold or waves to kill them at cape horn.......ddifferent times

[@martyspargur5281]

...frolicking in the scuppers during a storm off Cape Horn, that's Living!

[@russcooke5671]

@@martyspargur5281I would love if and be terrified in equal measures 👌👌

[@nessuno1948]

Today those parents would be put in jail,, deprived of parental authprity, the kids in custody of some institution. So much for the evolution of menthality.

[@associatedblacksheepandmisfits]

Baggywrinkles!!!!

[@holokaisail]

So sad to hear of her demise this morning.

[@PeriscopeFilm]

What?!

[@catmate8358]

Beautiful film. They got one thing wrong though, the sharks are completely harmless.

[@catnewsheller6859]

Any chance his book will be re-published? I have been searching for it in our library system but to no avail. Also searched on Amazon but the cheapest versions are around $80.

[@vincent7520]

As of today (06/25/16) there are copies of the book new for $24.75 at Amazon.com (i.e.. USA) Plus numerous second hand copies from $3.00 or so …

[@laserbeam002]

These kids in 1936...sailing around cape horn with their parents and crew.... Kids today....sitting on their butts all day playing video games....watching TV....and scrolling on their phones Question....Which do you think had a better life????????

[@melvinwren]

3:38 hmmm so i guess thats how sailors drank fresh water in the ocean?...drinking the rain water? does that work? (i guess if its working here....) i just assumed they drink Bumbo all the time...

[@tickingawaytoo]

one of the first guy to sail around the world, non-stop, alone, was a guy names Sir Robin Knox. It was in a race that someone had sponsored & set up. Anyway, his fresh water became contaminated with salt water very early in the race. he captured rain water & used that for the remainder of the trip.

[@ushoys]

Robin Knox Johnson, 1968

[@user-rk2nz4oz3q]

Fresh water is an important part of the provisions you take - rain-water is a great perk, but is not reliable, so fresh water stores are carefully rationed & the rain-water (captured exactly as in the film) is used for extras like doing laundry...

[@martyspargur5281]

YES we drank rainwater as a matter of course. And we LIKED IT! lol Lower the main a foot or two, let the salt wash off the sail, and use the foot of the main to funnel it right into the tank!

[@santallum]

Dad was in the navy .. I am glad we could run a-muck as kids .. and enjoy a bit of "danger" I would hate to have been brought up like today's molly-coddled, texting, TV addicts

[@user-rk2nz4oz3q]

"and our thrilling voyage 'round Cape Horn ends at the Golden Gate" - show a picture of the Bay Bridge... lol

[@davidn8759]

Sterling P. Cox , Yerba buena , iirc

[@ladydi4runner]

Actually the approach to the SF Bay shows the GG bridge from afar momentarily. Then, the film closes with 2 closer shots of the Bay Bridge! 👍😁

[@RickDrift]

I just want to point out that this is 1936, the black chef at 9:01

[@geoffrogers8920]

Take another look lubber.

[@RickDrift]

Geoff Rogers are you implying that racists in 1936 were too racist to shake black peoples hands, or have no sense of humor?

[@geoffrogers8920]

I was replying to the incorrect comment "They drop anchor without an anchor at 9:19." I don't know why Ben inserted that after your astute observation.

[@RickDrift]

ah ok. makes sense

[@Bruin4Life]

If a Gaff rigged yacht is properly set up for its size, is it as fast as a Bermuda rigged yacht? Would it be as fast as a Bermuda rigged yacht sailing the Trade Winds West to East across the Atlantic or following the Trade Winds West to East across the Atlantic?

[@sethother8012]

Dude! Why didn’t ya just take the Panama canal!?

[@PacificExpressions]

Or the Bay Bridge but those are only details

[@triumphmanful]

Is this the same schooner named Wanderer that Sterling Hayden sailed with his 4 kids ?

[@martyspargur5281]

No, but he was aboard Wander Bird many times.

[@EricLawrence-y5t]

And every SQUARE INCH must be 1000% functional or you might die or worse,the whole ship and crew Now we coddle the Jonahs

[@norml.hugh-mann]

Killing sharks.......who really are the mindless killers?

[@paysontom1]

Aborting children by the millions? Who are the mindless killers!

[@evolveausevolveaus]

Lucky kids

[@СашаСусоев-ж3с]

Я что то не понял? Ребёнок один без страховки по реям лазит?!?

[@ukdodger]

Insane taking a chance like that with kids.

[@tprdfh51]

Sure Fred, sure...get those kids seat belted behind their keyboards - don't forget the rose colored glasses while you are at it. :-(

[@nessuno1948]

I think those kids were most happy and self confident.. Kids todays are only scratching their thumbs on screens and know nothing of real life. Also their parents are ignorant of the world. Happy with social media.

[@ukdodger]

I agree with that but there are risks and there are risks. The risks these children are taking is ridiculous. Under developed little bodies trying to do what adult sailors with experience would find risky. One slip and any of those kids would be gone for good. It would take far too long to turn a boat like that about and return to the position where it happened even supposing they knew where that was and by which time the kid would have disappeared or fell victim to sharks.

[@ukdodger]

True but they have to survive first.

[@ChimeraActual]

Look, there parents knew it could be dangerous, that's why they taught them how to be safe by knowing the dangerous situations and how to avoid them. Every sailor on that boat had an eye out for the kids and had their hearts in their mouths watching every move they made. Their parents weren't callously ignoring the dangers, they were guiding the children on how to avoid them.

[@CornellD.Cavendish]

The amount of complaining about technoloy despite the fact you are watching this on a phone or computer...

[@GamingAmbienceLive]

*_child services would only take those kids if you posted it on facebook where society warriors hide behind their computer screens in furious envy that people have lives and fun, and that they shouldn't, all in spite of despicable jealousy, gay lesbian perversion is praised and okay, but anything that actually puts you above "normal" would be criticized, shamed, so do yourselves a favor and stop sharing your lives on the internet_*