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Old 10-26-2021, 11:45 AM
Olefin Olefin is offline
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Join Date: Mar 2012
Location: Greencastle, PA
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there are multiple sail powered cruise ships that definitely would be impressed into service with the various navies as transports or by pirates

Example would be the Sea Cloud - https://www.seacloud.de/en/

Sea Cloud was rebuilt in 1978 to be a 64 person sailing cruise ship but during WWII she was an armed US Coast Guard weather ship - she has a diesel engine but she can cruise with sails only

You also have the Wind Star, Wind Song and Wind Spirit sail powered cruise ships (also with diesel engines but capable of cruising with the sails alone) and the Club Med 1 (which became the Wind Surf in 1998)

From the 3rd volume of the Fanzine

In November of 2000 the Wind Song, a 5300-ton sailing cruise ship sailed into Pago Pago for vitally needed repairs. The territorial governor saw an opportunity and seized the ship from its previous owners. The repairs have finally been completed in April 2001 and he intends to use the ship to sail to Hawaii to bring the two Samoan infantry companies based there home, along with ammunition and weapons to be able to defend the territory. He is planning to send a cache of vitally needed working computers and electrical parts along with it for trading for the weapons and if need be the men themselves.

The Wind Song depends on her sails for propulsion and is only being provided enough alcohol fuel to operate the galleys and a few lights. The governor has armed her with two recoilless rifles and two heavy machine guns and a single 20mm gun from the Buttonwood. Her interior furnishings have been stripped out to make room for bringing he two infantry companies back to American Samoa and to haul enough food and water for the trip which will take at least eighteen days round trip. The computers which work her sails are still functional, allowing a minimal crew to man her, with most of her complement being soldiers to man her defenses.
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