Editing Barque (section)

==Barque rig==
{{more citations needed section|date=February 2013}}
[[File:Barkskibs staende rigning2.png|thumb|Rigging of a three-masted barque]]
By the end of the 18th century,{{citation needed|date=February 2013}} the term barque (sometimes, particularly in the US, spelled bark) came to refer to any vessel with a particular type of [[sail plan]]. This comprises three (or more) [[mast (sailing)|masts]], [[fore-and-aft sails]] on the [[aft]]ermost mast and [[square rig|square sails]] on all other masts. Barques were the workhorse of the [[golden age of sail]] in the mid-19th century as they attained passages that nearly matched full-rigged ships, but could operate with smaller crews.

The advantage of these rigs was that they needed smaller (therefore cheaper) crews than a comparable [[full-rigged ship]] or [[brig]]-rigged vessel, as fewer of the labour-intensive square sails were used, and the rig itself is cheaper.{{citation needed|date=February 2013}} Conversely, the ship rig tended to be retained for training vessels where the larger the crew, the more seamen were trained.

Another advantage is that, downwind, a barque can outperform a [[schooner]] or [[barkentine]], and is both easier to handle and better at going to windward than a full-rigged ship. While a full-rigged ship is the best runner available, and while fore-and-aft rigged vessels are the best at going to windward, the barque and the barquentine, are compromises,{{citation needed|date=February 2013}} which combine, in different proportions, the best elements of these two.

Whether square-rig, barque, barquentine or schooner is optimal depends on the degree to which the sailing-route and season can be chosen to achieve following-wind. Square-riggers predominated for intercontinental sailing on routes chosen for following-winds.

Most ocean-going [[windjammer]]s were four-masted barques, due to the above-described considerations and compromises. Usually the main mast was the tallest; that of ''[[Moshulu]]'' extends to 58&nbsp;m off the deck. The four-masted barque can be handled with a surprisingly small crew—at minimum, 10—and while the usual crew was around 30, almost half of them could be apprentices.

[[File:Potosi - SLV H99.220-2488.jpg|thumb|Five-masted barque ''[[Potosi (ship)|Potosi]]'' ({{circa|1895–1920}})]]
Today many sailing-[[school ship]]s are barques.{{citation needed|date=February 2013}}

A well-preserved example of a commercial barque is the ''[[Pommern (ship)|Pommern]]'', the only windjammer in original condition. Its home is in [[Mariehamn]] outside the [[Åland]] maritime museum. The wooden barque ''[[Sigyn (ship)|Sigyn]]'', built in [[Gothenburg]] 1887, is now a [[museum ship]] in [[Turku]]. The wooden [[whaling]] barque ''[[Charles W. Morgan (ship)|Charles W. Morgan]]'', launched 1841, taken out of service 1921,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://sailing-ships.oktett.net/728.html |title=Sailing Ships |publisher=Sailing-ships.oktett.net |access-date=2013-02-11 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120219064200/http://sailing-ships.oktett.net/728.html |archive-date=2012-02-19 }}</ref> is now a museum ship at [[Mystic Seaport]]<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.mysticseaport.org/index.cfm?fuseaction=home.viewPage&page_id=2103ED05-65B8-D398-7609445B7A947310 |title=Mystic Seaport homepage |publisher=MysticSeaport.org |access-date=2013-02-11 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130204164124/http://www.mysticseaport.org/index.cfm?fuseaction=home.viewPage&page_id=2103ED05-65B8-D398-7609445B7A947310 |archive-date=2013-02-04 }}</ref> in [[Connecticut]]. The ''Charles W. Morgan'' has recently been refit and is (as of summer, 2014) sailing the New England coast. The [[United States Coast Guard]] still has an operational barque, built in Germany in 1936 and captured as a [[war prize]], the [[USCGC Eagle (WIX-327)|USCGC ''Eagle'']], which the [[United States Coast Guard Academy]] in [[New London, Connecticut|New London]] uses as a training vessel. The [[Sydney Heritage Fleet]] restored an iron-hulled three-masted barque, the [[James Craig (barque)|''James Craig'']], originally constructed as ''Clan Macleod'' in 1874 and sailing at sea fortnightly. The oldest active sailing vessel in the world, the [[Star of India (ship)|''Star of India'']], was built in 1863 as a full-rigged ship, then converted into a barque in 1901.

This type of ship inspired the French composer [[Maurice Ravel]] to write his famous piece, [[Miroirs|''Une Barque sur l'ocean'']], originally composed for piano, in 1905, then orchestrated in 1906.

''[[Statsraad Lehmkuhl]]'' is in active operation in its barque form, stripped down without most of its winches and later improvements more aligned to the upbringing of future sailors both as a schoolship, training operations for the Norwegian Navy and generally available for interested volunteers. During the summer of 2021, it hosted "NRK Sommarskuta" with live TV everyday sailing all of the Norwegian coast from north to south and crossing the North Sea to Shetland. After this it will perform its first full sailing trip around world, estimated to take 19 months with many promotional events along the way. Scientific equipment has been installed in support of ongoing university studies{{which|date=August 2021}} to monitor and log environmental data.