Qualla: Star of India

Star of India: Introduction

Sat, 28 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Unknown author, Public domain. She departed Liverpool for Calcutta on January 9, 1864, under the name Euterpe — after the Greek muse of music — and within days, chaos. A collision with an unlit Spanish brig off the coast of Wales damaged her rigging. Her crew mutinied, refusing to continue. She turned back to Anglesey for repairs, and seventeen of the crew were confined to Beaumaris Gaol at hard labor. This was her first voyage. The ship that would eventually be called Star of India was not easily discouraged.

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Image: Unknown author | Public domain

Star of India: Around the World, Twenty-One Times

Sat, 28 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit CC BY-SA 2.0. After her disastrous start, Euterpe settled into a long career in the New Zealand emigrant trade. Between 1871 and 1897, she made 21 round-the-world voyages, each time sailing eastward around the globe before returning to England — the fastest passage taking 100 days, the longest...

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Image: CC BY-SA 2.0

Star of India: From Euterpe to Star of India

Sat, 28 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Jonathunder, Public domain. In 1901, the Alaska Packers' Association of San Francisco purchased Euterpe and re-rigged her as a barque — converting her square-rigged aftermost mast to fore-and-aft, making her easier to handle with smaller crews. Starting in 1902, she carried fishermen, cannery workers, coal,...

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Image: Jonathunder | Public domain

Star of India: Rescue and Return

Sat, 28 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit User:RufusTeleStrat, CC BY 2.5. In 1926, the Zoological Society of San Diego bought Star of India with plans to make her the centerpiece of a museum and aquarium. The Great Depression and World War II cancelled those plans. She sat in San Diego harbor, slowly decaying, for decades. In 1957, restoration efforts ...

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Image: User:RufusTeleStrat | CC BY 2.5

Star of India: The World's Oldest Active Sailing Ship

Sat, 28 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit BrokenSphere, CC BY-SA 3.0. Star of India is the oldest ship in the world that still sails regularly, and the oldest iron-hulled merchant ship still afloat. Her hull, cabins, and equipment are nearly 100% original — not a reconstruction or replica, but the actual ship launched in Ramsey, Isle of Man, in Nov...

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Image: BrokenSphere | CC BY-SA 3.0