Skomvær (barque)
An early photograph of Skomvær at sea | |
| History | |
|---|---|
| Norway | |
| Name | Skomvær |
| Namesake | Skomvær Lighthouse |
| Owner |
|
| Builder | Laxevaags Maskin- og Jernskibsbyggeri, Bergen |
| Cost | 284,995 kroner |
| Yard number | 31 |
| Launched | 23 April 1890 |
| Sponsored by | Augusta Rafn |
| In service | September 1890 |
| Out of service | 9 November 1922 |
| Identification | Call sign HPVD |
| Fate | Sold for scrap in 1924 |
| General characteristics | |
| Type | Steel-hulled barque |
| Tonnage |
|
| Length | 257.4 feet (78.5 m) |
| Beam | 38.2 feet (11.6 m) |
| Draft | 22.4 feet (6.8 m) |
| Crew | 23 |
Skomvær was the name of a steel-hulled barque built in 1890 for J. C. & G. Knudsen in Porsgrunn, Telemark, Norway. The ship, which was designed by naval architect Randulf Hansen and constructed at Laxevaags Maskin- og Jernskibsbyggeri in Bergen, was the first sailing ship constructed with steel in Norway and for a time the largest Norwegian sailing vessel ever built. However, the ship struggled to compete in the 20th century with the advent of the steamship, and in 1924 she was decommissioned and sold for scrap.
Skomvær entered the public eye once again in 1960, when musician Erik Bye wrote the song "Skomværsvalsen" as a tribute to the ship and her crew. A fundraising effort by the artist led to the construction of the Norwegian Society for Sea Rescue boat Skomvær II that same year, and in 1986 the organization named another of its boats, Skomvær III, after the ship.