''Marques'' was a British-registered

barque A barque, barc, or bark is a type of sailing ship, sailing vessel with three or more mast (sailing), masts of which the fore mast, mainmast, and any additional masts are Square rig, rigged square, and only the aftmost mast (mizzen in three-maste ...

that sank during the

Tall Ships' Races The Tall Ships Races are races for sail training "tall ships" (sailing ships). The races are designed to encourage international friendship and training for young people in the art of sailing. The races are held annually in European waters and co ...

in 1984. The ''Marques'' was built in

Valencia, Spain Valencia ( , ), formally València (), is the capital of the Province of Valencia, province and Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Valencian Community, the same name in Spain. It is located on the banks of the Turia (r ...

, in 1917, as a

polacca A polacca (or ''polacre'') is a type of seventeenth- to nineteenth-century sailing vessel, similar to the xebec. The name is the feminine of "Polish" in the Italian language. The polacca was frequently seen in the Mediterranean. It had two or th ...

-rigged

brig A brig is a type of sailing vessel defined by its rig: two masts which are both square rig, square-rigged. Brigs originated in the second half of the 18th century and were a common type of smaller merchant vessel or warship from then until the l ...

. She was used to carry fruit from the

Canary Islands The Canary Islands (; ) or Canaries are an archipelago in the Atlantic Ocean and the southernmost Autonomous communities of Spain, Autonomous Community of Spain. They are located in the northwest of Africa, with the closest point to the cont ...

to northern Europe. Damaged during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, she was repaired in 1947 and subsequently used in the

Mediterranean The Mediterranean Sea ( ) is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the east by the Levant in West Asia, on the north by Anatolia in West Asia and Southern ...

. 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 Southampton is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Hampshire, England. It is located approximately southwest of London, west of Portsmouth, and southeast of Salisbury. Southampton had a population of 253, ...

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

. She saw use in films, most notably ''

Dracula ''Dracula'' is an 1897 Gothic fiction, Gothic horror fiction, horror novel by Irish author Bram Stoker. The narrative is Epistolary novel, related through letters, diary entries, and newspaper articles. It has no single protagonist and opens ...

'', and in television shows such as ''

The Onedin Line ''The Onedin Line'' is a BBC television drama series that ran from 1971 to 1980. The series was created by Cyril Abraham. The series is set in Liverpool from 1860 to 1886 and covers the rise of a fictional shipping company, the Onedin Line, nam ...

'' and ''

Poldark ''Poldark'' is a series of historical novels by Winston Graham, initially published from 1945 to 1953 and continuing from 1973 to 2002. The first novel, '' Ross Poldark'', was named for the protagonist of the series. The novel series was ada ...

''. In 1977, Mark Litchfield bought a one-half share in the ship. She was again re-rigged, this time as a

, largely so that she could play a part in the BBC series ''

The Voyage of Charles Darwin ''The Voyage of Charles Darwin'' was a 1978 BBC television serial depicting the life of Charles Darwin, focusing largely on his voyage on . The series encompasses his university days to the 1859 publication of his book ''On the Origin of Specie ...

'', in which she doubled for Darwin's ship, . At that time she was renamed the ''Bark Marques''.

Last voyage

In 1983, the ''Marques'' sailed from

Bristol Bristol () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city, unitary authority area and ceremonial county in South West England, the most populous city in the region. Built around the River Avon, Bristol, River Avon, it is bordered by t ...

, England, to

Antigua Antigua ( ; ), also known as Waladli or Wadadli by the local population, is an island in the Lesser Antilles. It is one of the Leeward Islands in the Caribbean region and the most populous island of the country of Antigua and Barbuda. Antigua ...

in the

Caribbean The Caribbean ( , ; ; ; ) is a region in the middle of the Americas centered around the Caribbean Sea in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, mostly overlapping with the West Indies. Bordered by North America to the north, Central America ...

for use in charter tours during the northern winter. In the summer of 1984, she sailed to

San Juan San Juan, Spanish for Saint John (disambiguation), Saint John, most commonly refers to: * San Juan, Puerto Rico * San Juan, Argentina * San Juan, Metro Manila, a highly urbanized city in the Philippines San Juan may also refer to: Places Arge ...

Puerto Rico ; abbreviated PR), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, is a Government of Puerto Rico, self-governing Caribbean Geography of Puerto Rico, archipelago and island organized as an Territories of the United States, unincorporated territo ...

, to compete in the Cutty Sark Tall Ships' Races. The ''Marques'' won the first tall ships' race, from Puerto Rico to

Bermuda Bermuda is a British Overseas Territories, British Overseas Territory in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean. The closest land outside the territory is in the American state of North Carolina, about to the west-northwest. Bermuda is an ...

. On 2 June 1984, the ship left

Hamilton Hamilton may refer to: * Alexander Hamilton (1755/1757–1804), first U.S. Secretary of the Treasury and one of the Founding Fathers of the United States * ''Hamilton'' (musical), a 2015 Broadway musical by Lin-Manuel Miranda ** ''Hamilton'' (al ...

on the second race, bound for Halifax,

Nova Scotia Nova Scotia is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada, located on its east coast. It is one of the three Maritime Canada, Maritime provinces and Population of Canada by province and territory, most populous province in Atlan ...

. On the night of 2 June, the ship ran into a gale. In the early hours of 3 June, she was hit by a sudden squall and a large wave, possibly a

rogue wave A rogue wave is an abnormally large ocean wave. Rogue wave may also refer to: * Optical rogue waves, are rare pulses of light analogous to rogue or freak ocean waves. * Rogue Wave Software, a software company * Rogue Wave (band), an American in ...

, and was knocked down onto her starboard side. Although the ship had been converted to a sail training and charter cruise ship, she had retained the main cargo hatch from her days as a commercial vessel. When she was knocked down, the main hatch was breached and water flooded into the interior of the ship. The vessel sank in less than a minute, with the loss of 19 of her 28 crew members. Based on documentation of the ship, tallship sailor Daniel Parrott suggested that insufficient

stability Stability may refer to: Mathematics *Stability theory, the study of the stability of solutions to differential equations and dynamical systems ** Asymptotic stability ** Exponential stability ** Linear stability **Lyapunov stability ** Marginal s ...

(resistance of a ship to capsizing) could have added to or caused the knock-down. Over the years, the rigging of the ''Marques'' had been changed and the sail surface probably increased, which inevitably decreased the vessel's stability, although it was not necessarily dangerous. The previous owner had repeatedly avoided a routine safety check of the ship that had been requested by British authorities. Therefore, it is unclear if the ship's stability was problematic and, if so, whether the check would have detected it.Parrott, Daniel (2003). ''Tall Ships Down: The Last Voyages of the Pamir, Albatross, Marques, Pride of Baltimore and the Maria Asumpta''. McGraw Hill. .

References

Sources

*Parrott, Daniel. ''Tall Ships Down: The Last Voyages of the Pamir, Albatross, Marques, Pride of Baltimore and the Maria Asumpta''. McGraw Hill, 2003. .
Mystic Seaport Website: History of the bark Marques
* Stengel, Richard & Stevenson, Kevin (June 18, 1984)
"It Meant to Kill Us"
''

Time Time is the continuous progression of existence that occurs in an apparently irreversible process, irreversible succession from the past, through the present, and into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequ ...

''.
Scale Reproductions: Marques - Barque-Rigged Sail-Training Ship (history and sinking)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Marques Tall ships of Spain Tall ships of the United Kingdom Individual sailing vessels Shipwrecks in the Atlantic Ocean 1917 ships Maritime incidents in 1984 Lost sailing vessels Rogue wave incidents