Bark Marques
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Marques was a British-registered barque that sank during the Tall Ships' Races in 1984.
History | |
---|---|
Spain | |
Name | Marques |
Completed | 1917 |
In service | 1917-?, 1947-1971 |
Reclassified | Barquentine |
Fate | Sold to Robin Cecil-Wright in 1971 |
Civilian, United Kingdom | |
Acquired | By Robin Cecil-Wright in 1971 |
Renamed | Bark Marques |
Fate | Lost during Tall Ship Races on 3 June 1984 |
General characteristics | |
Type | Built as a polacca-rigged brig, re-rigged as a barque in 1977 |
Displacement | 300 Tons |
Length | 120 ft (37 m) |
Beam | 24.7 ft (7.5 m) |
Complement | 28 |
The Marques was built in Valencia, Spain, in 1917, as a polacca-rigged brig. She was used to carry fruit from the Canary Islands to northern Europe. Damaged during World War II, she was repaired in 1947 and subsequently used in the Mediterranean. She was badly maintained and, by 1971, she was in poor condition.
In 1971, Englishman Robin Cecil-Wright bought the Marques and had her extensively repaired and re-rigged in Southampton, England. She saw use in films, most notably Dracula, and in television shows such as The Onedin Line and Poldark. In 1977, Mark Litchfield bought a one-half share in the ship. She was again re-rigged, this time as a barque, largely so that she could play a part in the BBC series The Voyage of Charles Darwin, in which she doubled for Darwin's ship, HMS Beagle. At that time she was renamed the Bark Marques.