Tole_Mour Knowpia

	SSV Tole Mour (2004)
History
Saint Kitts and Nevis
Name	Vela
Owner	Island Windjammers
Builder	Nichols Brothers, Whidbey Island, WA
Launched	1988
Renamed	formerly SSV Tole Mour (1988-2014)
Homeport	Rodney Bay, Saint Lucia
Identification	MMSI number: 366822140; Callsign: WDA5625;
Status	Active
General characteristics
Displacement	229 tons
Length	156 ft (48 m)
Beam	31 ft (9 m)
Height	13.5 ft (4.1 m)
Draft	13 ft 6 in (4 m)
Sail plan	Sail Area: 8,500 sq ft (790 m2). Three Masts, 15 Sails
Notes	Design by: Ewbank, Brooke and Associates

The SSV Tole Mour is a 156 ft (48 m) schooner^[1] and sail training vessel operating in the Channel Islands of California, off the West Coast of the United States.

Designed by Ewbank, Brooke and Associates, she was built by the Nichols Bros. Boat Builders^[2] on Whidbey Island in Washington's Puget Sound to withstand the extreme conditions of the South Pacific, she is extremely seaworthy and meets or exceeds all of the United States Coast Guard's regulations as a Sailing School Vessel, while offering luxurious accommodations in comparison to other tall ships. At 229 gross registered tons she is the largest active tall ship on the West Coast.

The Tole Mour was originally commissioned by the Marimed Foundation of Hawai’i in 1988 as a self-contained primary health care support vessel, operating in the US trust territory protectorate of the Marshall Islands.^[3] The name of the ship was selected by a competition of Marshall Islands school children, and means 'A Gift of Life and Health' in the Marshallese language.^[4] With onboard medical, dental and ophthalmological offices, the Tole Mour provided medical services to over 15,000 islanders over a period of 4 years, until the Marshallese government commissioned their own fleet of medical delivery vessels and the Tole Mour returned to Hawai’i to serve other purposes.

In 2001, she was acquired Guided Discoveries' Catalina Island Marine Institute, offering sail training, oceanography and marine biology education to hundreds of school-aged participants a year. The professional crew was housed in up into 6 double cabins and 2 master rooms within her 123 feet on deck and 31-foot (9 m) beam. Up to 36 youth participants could be accommodated in cabins housing 4, 8 and 10 berths. Her previous medical requirements provided areas for laboratory equipment, touch tanks, and aquariums.^[5]

In 2014, the Tole Mour was sold to Island Windjammers, a charter cruise company operating in the Caribbean Sea. She underwent a refitting, as well as a name change, and is now known as Vela.^[6]^[7]

References edit

^ see its description as a schooner by its builders on [1] (pdf file)
^ Diesel progress engines & drives. Diesel & Gas Turbine Publications. 1 January 1989. p. 28. Retrieved 10 October 2010.
^ American Sail Training Association; Dickinson, Jonathan; Wood, David V V (10 April 2000). Sail Tall Ships!: A Directory of Sail Training and Adventure at Sea. American Sail Training Association. p. 251. ISBN 978-0-9636483-5-8. Retrieved 10 October 2010.
^ Schäuffelen, Otmar (1 May 2005). Chapman Great Sailing Ships of the World. Hearst Books. p. 394. ISBN 978-1-58816-384-4. Retrieved 10 October 2010.
^ Cooke, Kelly (December 2001). "Under a Cloud of Sail". Sea Classics: 30–33.
^ "Catalina Island tall ship sold to Caribbean company". www.thecatalinaislander.com. Retrieved 22 January 2017.
^ "Island Windjammers". islandwindjammers.com. Retrieved 22 January 2017.