The Ballad of the James Craig
Or perhaps a Sea Shanty
A large tall ship in Hobart Town
Its masts did reach the sky
A white cloud upon the ocean
When it goes sailing by.
The James Craig is the vessel’s name
A large three masted barque
One of four tall ships still on the sea
A grand old patriarch
Launched in Eighteen Seventy-Four
Its port was in U.K.
Twenty-six times It passed Cape Horn
A greyhound of its day,
James sailed out of New Zealand
Made three Tasman trips a year
But steam ships were gaining ground
The end was drawing near
James had a stint in Hobart Town
With jam man Henry Jones
Then criss-crossing the Pacific
With stores in World War One
A coal hulk in Recherche Bay
James lost the will to live,
It was scuttled in Recherche Bay,
It had no more to give.
For fifty years old James sat there
Slowly rusting on the sand,
When the Maritime Museum
From Sydney lent a hand.
They patched Old James with plywood
So that the ship would float,
Then towed James up to Sydney
Where they rebuilt the boat.
After thirty years of careful work
James Craig would sail once more
Each two years we see the barque
Sail into Hobart’s shore
For fifteen decades and counting
This ship survived it all,
Once more at sea for twenty years
So beautiful and tall.
A large tall ship in Hobart Town
Its masts did reach the sky
A white cloud upon the ocean
When it goes sailing by.
The James Craig is the vessel’s name
A large three masted barque
One of four tall ships still on the sea
A grand old patriarch
Bill Edmunds
Wooden Boat Festival
February 2025
billedmunds.com
Bill Edmunds 