Alan Olson shows off his tall ship under construction known as the “Matthew Turner.” Olson believes the ship will be launched next year. (Photo by Donna beth Weilenman/Martinez News Gazette)

By Donna Beth Weilenman
Martinez News Gazette

During the California Gold Rush, wooden sailing vessels arrived in San Francisco to the point that from the docks, bay waters looked like a forest of leafless trees had risen up above the waves.
Many were abandoned, and others were dismantled and recycled.
After gold rush mania subsided, sailing vessels remained important. They brought merchandise from around Cape Horn or east from South Sea islands or from Asia. They needed to be swift, particularly if their cargo was fragile produce.
One name became known, not just in California, for design and construction of speedy sailing ships. That man was Matthew Turner, who eventually built a shipyard on the coastline of Benicia. One of his ships still holds the speed record for traveling from Tahiti to California under sail.
Turner’s story doesn’t begin in California. He first began designing ships for his father on Lake Erie, Ohio. Like many, Turner got gold rush fever, and he joined optimistic prospectors who hoped to strike it rich.
But it wasn’t gold that made him prosperous. It was wood.
Turner started a lumber business when he didn’t find gold. Then he became frustrated that he couldn’t find vessels to move his products. Going back to the lessons he learned in Ohio, Turner began designing and building ships that suited his needs.
He built his first ocean-going ship in Eureka, then moved his operation to Hunter’s Point, San Francisco. When he realized he needed to expand again, he moved to Benicia, at the foot of West Twelfth Street. Later, author Jack London would describe the shipyard in his book, “John Barleycorn.”
Those needing fast ships began to take notice, and Turner became the most prolific builder in history, produced at least 154 wood-hulled ships in Benicia alone.
Spreckles Sugar and C&H sugar had fleets of his ships that traveled from Hawaii to California.
He designed what became called the “Turner model” of rigging that not only made his ships fast, they also were more maneuverable in rough Pacific storms.
His “Equator,” which rests in Everett, Wash., inspired one passenger, Robert Louis Stevenson, to write “The Wrecker.” His barquentine “Benicia” could start in Newcastle in New South Wales, and arrive at Maui in 35 days. Another barquentine, “Amaranth,” broke the record for the miles between Astorea, Ore., and Shanghai, China, by making the trip in 23 days.
His vessels weren’t just speedy work horses. He also built racing ships that slipped past their competition.
Perhaps his best-known ship is “Galilee,” the 1891 vessel that still holds the Tahiti to San Francisco speed record for a wood-hulled sailing ship. The craft could the trip in 22 days, and once covered the distance in 19 days. No ship of this design has beaten its time. Tahitian fruit could be loaded on the ship and arrive fresh in California.
The legendary sailing ship does not survive – it was beached in 1936, although portions of the ship are at Fort Mason, San Francisco, and in an office building in Sausalito that houses the partners Call of the Sea and Educational Tall Ships.
Turner’s name is remembered at the municipal park at the site of his former shipyard and in a Benicia elementary school.
Soon, the shipbuilder will have another namesake, courtesy of the partners that have a piece of “Galilee” in that Sausalito office building. Through their efforts, the San Francisco Bay Area will once again have a tall ship to call its own.
At one time, the Hawaiian Chieftain called this area home. Built in 1988 by Drake Thomas in Lahaina, Maui, using designs by Raymond H. Richards, that sailing ship was patterned after shallow-draft packet ships.
Those vessels sailed along the Sacramento River and the Carquinez Strait out to the ocean, delivering trade merchandise and mail to coastal towns. After a trip to Tahiti, the Hawaiian Chieftain came to San Francisco and was bought by Capt. Ian MacIntyre, of Central Coast Charters in Sausalito.
From that base, the Hawaiian Chieftain because the Bay Area’s tall ship. But in 2004, it was sold to Wolverine Motorworks, Fall River, Mass.
After the vessel left California, its new owner died. Bought by Grays Harbor Historical Seaport, the ship returned to sail along the West Coast, but now is based in Washington.
That left a vacuum that Alan Olson hoped to fill. He not only wanted the Bay Area to have its own tall ship again, he wanted the ship to honor its most famous shipbuilder.
Olson is a longtime sailor who in 1984 founded Call of the Sea, a ship-based educational program for Bay Area school children. He also is supervising the construction of the first wooden ship of its size that has been built in this area in a century.
His dream of building “Matthew Turner” began in 2003, and he began researching designs.
Captivated by “Galilee” and Turner’s historic significance to this area and to shipbuilding, Olson decided to incorporate Turner’s designs, especially that of “Galilee.” He admired the narrowed bow hull design as well as the rigging.
“It’s a two-mast square rigged on the fore,” he said, explaining that the ship has large, square sails catching the wind perpendicularly to the most forward mast, “and fore-and-aft on the main,” referring to the taller mast that will support sails that run parallel to the lengthwise lines of the ship.
The ship would be 100 feet on deck, even longer at the water line, with a 25-foot beam. It would carry 7,100 square feet of sail.
Unlike the visitor ships from Washington, the Lady Washington and Hawaiian Chieftain, “Matthew Turner” wouldn’t have cannons. Olson was firm about that. It’s patterned after a historic speedy merchant vessel, not a pirate ship, he decided.
The ship would draw 10 feet of water, capable of visiting most Bay Area ports, but would be certified to travel to ports around the world. Using modern computers instead of Turner’s hand-drawn methods, Olson got his designs complete.
But sometimes worthwhile dreams have to be set aside, especially if those dreams depend on sponsors and donations.
The deep recession hit, and contribution sources dried up. That forced Olson to reconsider his plans for the larger Bay Area tall ship that would provide educational programs to children and voyage opportunities to families and adults.
Instead, Call of the Sea used the smaller schooner Seaward, a 65-foot on deck staysail vessel as a daytrip classroom that teaches children about sailing operations, navigation, maritime history and the ecology and environment of the seas.
About 5,000 children, ranging from fourth to 12th grade students, participate every year. The program teach them STEAM initiative lessons – science, technology, engineering, arts and mathematics. They’re not just from the Bay Area. Some come from other states and from Mexico.
That program became so popular that Seaward was nearing capacity. In addition, the economy had started improving.
So Olson decided in 2011 to revive his dream of building “Matthew Turner.” He found a Sausalito shipyard near the Bay Model Visitor Center and the Aquarium of the Bay. Owner Skip Berg agreed the project would be a perfect fit.
The keel was laid about three years ago. Last year, the ship had its “blessing of the bones” ceremony – celebrating the completion of its “skeleton.” In June, the “whisky plank,” the last plank on the ship’s hull, was put in place. That was another cause for celebration.
Through the years, school children visiting the under-construction vessel could help build the ship, getting a very special assignment.
Hundreds of wooden plugs are needed in the ship’s construction. As bolts are added, the plugs are used to cover them. Not only does this make “Matthew Turner” look more authentic, the wood plugs will protect the metal bolts from salt water damage.
Volunteers pre-drilled planks to create disks the right size. But they did not force them free. Instead, children have been allowed to do that, struggling with prying tools, occasionally with a little help from grownups to separate the plugs from the boards. Visiting adults could do the same, for a dollar a pop.
Then the children wrote their names on their plugs before putting them in a collection container. One by one, their names have become part of “Matthew Turner.”
Adults have been able to write their names on the ship, too. Major donors have climbed aboard ladders to paint their names on hull planks. Eventually, those names will be painted over as the ship nears completion.
While some have given money, other adults have donated time. A crew of about 150 volunteers have been working on the vessel, performing labors of love.
Some are experienced building or repairing their own ships, and others began as rank rookies, learning to steam boards so they can be shaped, or to assemble sections of boards to make a strong, laminated surface.
They’re using modern methods, but some of the tools they are using are pure vintage, such as a 1938 ship saw that still cuts as well as it did when it was new.
While “Matthew Turner” was inspired by the lines of “Galilee,” it is not a replica. First, it must meet U.S. Coast Guard safety standards. Next, it will have propellers, turned by large batteries that will recharge when the ship is under sail.
That recharging system is something in which Olson takes great pride. Other elements of the ship also is expected to gain “Matthew Turner” recognition for being an environmentally-conscientious project.
Recycled vegetable oil, induction cooking, light-emitting diodes and other low-energy equipment may earn it the “Living Ship” certification for being carbon-neutral. That designation is similar to Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certification for fixed buildings.
The ship’s paint, glues and coatings also are environmentally friendly, and its sails and lines will be made of materials that can be recycled as they become worn.
“We’re combining the best of the 19th century with the best of the 21st century,” he said.
Lest anyone worry about the consumption of lumber in making “Matthew Turner,” Olson has thought that through as well.
Most of the ship is made of Douglas fir from the Big River Watershed in Mendocino, although some white oak from Oregon also is being used. All the lumber is coming from sources that are Forest Stewardship certified.
Beyond that, Olson’s organization will have 10,000 Douglas firs planted to replenish the wood that was used in making his ship.
“Matthew Turner” should be launched next year, Olson said.
When it starts welcoming students aboard for their lessons, it will expand to 15,000 those he will be able to teach every year.
The students will learn about the significance of the San Francisco Bay and the Golden Gate to maritime trade and history, about why the ship carries the name “Matthew Turner,” and how teamwork is essential in the operation of such a large vessel.
Beyond that, “Matthew Turner” will be able to represent the San Francisco Bay Area at tall ship festivals, and it will be available for other voyages and celebrations as well.
“We can go anyplace in the world,” Olson said.
Some of Turner’s family have come by to see the ship’s progress, Olson said. So have some related to his Tahiti partners. They’ve expressed admiration for the ship, which warms Olson’s heart.
“It’s a real, simple beauty,” he said. “There’s no real reason to add a lot of ornamentation. That’s not how Matthew Turner built a ship.”
Volunteers are welcome to help complete the project. Donations are tax-deductible. Those interested may visit the Educational Tall Ship website, educationaltallship.org. Those interested in the educational program may visit the website www.callofthesea.org.

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