RV Vema
Encyclopedia
The research vessel
Vema was a three-masted schooner
of the Lamont Geological Observatory (now the Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory
[LDEO]), a research unit of Columbia University
. The 202 ft (61.6 m). vessel, with her almost indestructible Swedish steel hull, became renowned as one of the world’s most productive oceanographic research vessels. The ship had been first sailed for pleasure under the name Hussar, and after its career as a research vessel entered a new career as the cruising yacht
Mandalay.
and built in 1923 by Burmeister & Wain
in Copenhagen
for E. F. Hutton
and his wife Marjorie Merriweather Post
, the 585-ton luxury yacht
Hussar had an iron-hull
and was at its time the epitome of maritime luxus and glamour in its class. In 1934 Hutton had built the Hussar (II) (later Sea Cloud), an even larger yacht than his first Hussar. In 1935, the Hussar was sold to Norwegian shipping magnate, G. Unger Vetlesen
and his wife Maude Monell and renamed Vema. The Vetlesens spent many pleasurable days at sea.
. Assigned to the US Maritime Service Training Station on Hoffman Island
, her sailing area was listed as 14,000 sqf. After the war she was abandoned off Staten Island
until "a captain from Nova Scotia" salvaged the vessel. LDEO leased the vessel in 1953 and soon bought it for $ 100,000.
. During the seafloor explorations the Vema Seamount was discovered in 1959; the seamount is located in the South Atlantic about 1,000 km west-north-west of Cape Town, at 31° 38' S., 8° 20' E. The Vema Channel is a deep trough in the Rio Grande Rise of the South Atlantic at 31.3°S, 39.4°W. Discovered during one of Vema's journeys, it has a depth of 4,646 m and a width of 18 km, serving as a conduit for the Antarctic
bottom water and Weddell Sea
bottom water. The work on the ship helped to confirm the continental drift
theory. By the time of her retirement in 1981, the Vema had collected data on a record track of 1225000 nautical miles (2,268,700 km). Notable scientists who worked aboard the Vema include Maurice Ewing
, Bruce C. Heezen
, Ralph (Ralphy) Roessler, J. Lamar Worzel
, Jack Nafe, and Walter Pitman
, all of whose work was greatly facilitated by Marine Technical Coordinator Robert Gerard, who was responsible for the fitting and refitting of LDEO marine research vessels from the Vema through its successors, the Conrad, Eltanin, and Ewing, including the design and installation of numerous pieces of customized scientific measurement equipment critical to their research.
for the Caribbean
under the name SV Mandalay (also Mandalay of Tortola) with a sail area of > 20000 square feet (1,858.1 m²). The ship was operated by Windjammer Barefoot Cruises
from 1982 until the operator went out of business in 2008.
Research vessel
A research vessel is a ship designed and equipped to carry out research at sea. Research vessels carry out a number of roles. Some of these roles can be combined into a single vessel, others require a dedicated vessel...
Vema was a three-masted schooner
Schooner
A schooner is a type of sailing vessel characterized by the use of fore-and-aft sails on two or more masts with the forward mast being no taller than the rear masts....
of the Lamont Geological Observatory (now the Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory
Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory
The Lamont–Doherty Earth Observatory is a research unit of Columbia University located on a campus in Palisades, N.Y., north of Manhattan on the Hudson River.- History :...
[LDEO]), a research unit of Columbia University
Columbia University
Columbia University in the City of New York is a private, Ivy League university in Manhattan, New York City. Columbia is the oldest institution of higher learning in the state of New York, the fifth oldest in the United States, and one of the country's nine Colonial Colleges founded before the...
. The 202 ft (61.6 m). vessel, with her almost indestructible Swedish steel hull, became renowned as one of the world’s most productive oceanographic research vessels. The ship had been first sailed for pleasure under the name Hussar, and after its career as a research vessel entered a new career as the cruising yacht
Yacht
A yacht is a recreational boat or ship. The term originated from the Dutch Jacht meaning "hunt". It was originally defined as a light fast sailing vessel used by the Dutch navy to pursue pirates and other transgressors around and into the shallow waters of the Low Countries...
Mandalay.
E.F. Hutton's luxury yacht, Hussar
Designed by Cox & StevensCox & Stevens
Cox & Stevens began in 1905 as a yacht design and commercial brokerage in New York City. The original principal partners were Daniel H. Cox, Irving Cox, and marine engineer Colonel Edwin Augustus Stevens Jr., son of renowned designer Edwin Augustus Stevens....
and built in 1923 by Burmeister & Wain
Burmeister & Wain
Burmeister & Wain was a large established Danish shipyard and leading diesel engine producer headquartered in Copenhagen, Denmark. Founded by two Danes and an Englishman, its earliest roots stretch back to 1846. Over its 150-year history, it grew successfully into a strong company through the end...
in Copenhagen
Copenhagen
Copenhagen is the capital and largest city of Denmark, with an urban population of 1,199,224 and a metropolitan population of 1,930,260 . With the completion of the transnational Øresund Bridge in 2000, Copenhagen has become the centre of the increasingly integrating Øresund Region...
for E. F. Hutton
Edward Francis Hutton
Edward Francis Hutton was an American financier and co-founder of E. F. Hutton & Co....
and his wife Marjorie Merriweather Post
Marjorie Merriweather Post
-External links:******...
, the 585-ton luxury yacht
Luxury yacht
The term luxury yacht, “Superyacht” and "Large Yacht" refers to very expensive, privately owned yachts which are professionally crewed. Also known as a Super Yacht, a luxury yacht may be either a sailing or motor yacht.-History:...
Hussar had an iron-hull
Hull (watercraft)
A hull is the watertight body of a ship or boat. Above the hull is the superstructure and/or deckhouse, where present. The line where the hull meets the water surface is called the waterline.The structure of the hull varies depending on the vessel type...
and was at its time the epitome of maritime luxus and glamour in its class. In 1934 Hutton had built the Hussar (II) (later Sea Cloud), an even larger yacht than his first Hussar. In 1935, the Hussar was sold to Norwegian shipping magnate, G. Unger Vetlesen
G. Unger Vetlesen
Georg Unger Vetlesen was a Norwegian shipbuilder and naturalized American philanthropist.-Background:Vetlesen was born in Oslo, Norway, the son of a well-known Norwegian surgeon. At age eleven, he became a crew member on a ship bound for Copenhagen...
and his wife Maude Monell and renamed Vema. The Vetlesens spent many pleasurable days at sea.
Vema during WW II
During World War II, Maude Monell donated Vema to the American war effort. The vessel was put into service as a merchant marine cadet training ship. The Vema was first put to use patrolling coastal waters for the US Coast Guard. Having lost her glitter the vessel patrolled coastal waters. Later served as a barrack and a training ship for the United States Merchant MarineUnited States Merchant Marine
The United States Merchant Marine refers to the fleet of U.S. civilian-owned merchant vessels, operated by either the government or the private sector, that engage in commerce or transportation of goods and services in and out of the navigable waters of the United States. The Merchant Marine is...
. Assigned to the US Maritime Service Training Station on Hoffman Island
Hoffman Island
Hoffman Island is one of two small artificial islands in the Lower New York Bay, off South Beach, Staten Island. A smaller island, known as Swinburne Island, lies immediately to the south....
, her sailing area was listed as 14,000 sqf. After the war she was abandoned off Staten Island
Staten Island
Staten Island is a borough of New York City, New York, United States, located in the southwest part of the city. Staten Island is separated from New Jersey by the Arthur Kill and the Kill Van Kull, and from the rest of New York by New York Bay...
until "a captain from Nova Scotia" salvaged the vessel. LDEO leased the vessel in 1953 and soon bought it for $ 100,000.
Research Vessel Vema
Vema started circling the globe as the first of the Lamont Geological Observatory's research vessels. Displaying a black hull, it was used to collect samples of seawater and sediment cores, measure currents and heat flows, perform underwater photography and seismic studies, and map out ocean floors. The Vema was instrumental in the exploration of the Mid-Atlantic RidgeMid-Atlantic Ridge
The Mid-Atlantic Ridge is a mid-ocean ridge, a divergent tectonic plate boundary located along the floor of the Atlantic Ocean, and part of the longest mountain range in the world. It separates the Eurasian Plate and North American Plate in the North Atlantic, and the African Plate from the South...
. During the seafloor explorations the Vema Seamount was discovered in 1959; the seamount is located in the South Atlantic about 1,000 km west-north-west of Cape Town, at 31° 38' S., 8° 20' E. The Vema Channel is a deep trough in the Rio Grande Rise of the South Atlantic at 31.3°S, 39.4°W. Discovered during one of Vema's journeys, it has a depth of 4,646 m and a width of 18 km, serving as a conduit for the Antarctic
Antarctic
The Antarctic is the region around the Earth's South Pole, opposite the Arctic region around the North Pole. The Antarctic comprises the continent of Antarctica and the ice shelves, waters and island territories in the Southern Ocean situated south of the Antarctic Convergence...
bottom water and Weddell Sea
Weddell Sea
The Weddell Sea is part of the Southern Ocean and contains the Weddell Gyre. Its land boundaries are defined by the bay formed from the coasts of Coats Land and the Antarctic Peninsula. The easternmost point is Cape Norvegia at Princess Martha Coast, Queen Maud Land. To the east of Cape Norvegia is...
bottom water. The work on the ship helped to confirm the continental drift
Continental drift
Continental drift is the movement of the Earth's continents relative to each other. The hypothesis that continents 'drift' was first put forward by Abraham Ortelius in 1596 and was fully developed by Alfred Wegener in 1912...
theory. By the time of her retirement in 1981, the Vema had collected data on a record track of 1225000 nautical miles (2,268,700 km). Notable scientists who worked aboard the Vema include Maurice Ewing
Maurice Ewing
William Maurice "Doc" Ewing was an American geophysicist and oceanographer.Ewing has been described as a pioneering geophysicist who worked on the research of seismic reflection and refraction in ocean basins, ocean bottom photography, submarine sound transmission , deep sea coring of the ocean...
, Bruce C. Heezen
Bruce C. Heezen
Bruce Charles Heezen was an American geologist. He is most famous as being the leader of a team from Columbia University which mapped the Mid-Atlantic Ridge during the 1950s....
, Ralph (Ralphy) Roessler, J. Lamar Worzel
J. Lamar Worzel
J. Lamar Worzel , American geophysicist known for his important contributions to underwater acoustics, underwater photography, and gravity measurements at sea.-Life:...
, Jack Nafe, and Walter Pitman
Walter C. Pitman, III
Walter Clarkson Pitman, III is a geophysicist and a professor emeritus at Columbia University. His measurements of magnetic anomalies on the ocean floor supported the Morley–Vine–Matthews hypothesis explaining seafloor spreading. With William Ryan, he developed the Black Sea deluge theory...
, all of whose work was greatly facilitated by Marine Technical Coordinator Robert Gerard, who was responsible for the fitting and refitting of LDEO marine research vessels from the Vema through its successors, the Conrad, Eltanin, and Ewing, including the design and installation of numerous pieces of customized scientific measurement equipment critical to their research.
Cruising yacht Mandalay
The ship was refitted again as a cruising yachtCruise ship
A cruise ship or cruise liner is a passenger ship used for pleasure voyages, where the voyage itself and the ship's amenities are part of the experience, as well as the different destinations along the way...
for the Caribbean
Caribbean
The Caribbean is a crescent-shaped group of islands more than 2,000 miles long separating the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea, to the west and south, from the Atlantic Ocean, to the east and north...
under the name SV Mandalay (also Mandalay of Tortola) with a sail area of > 20000 square feet (1,858.1 m²). The ship was operated by Windjammer Barefoot Cruises
Windjammer Barefoot Cruises
Windjammer Barefoot Cruises was a leisure cruise line based in Miami Beach, Florida. Founded in 1947, the company scheduled one and two week cruises in the Caribbean and Central America, using a fleet of sailing ships. The ships were former yachts and commercial vessels that were refurbished as...
from 1982 until the operator went out of business in 2008.
Other research vessels of the LDEO
- RV Conrad, 1953–1981
- RV Eltanin, 1962–1975
- RV Ewing, 1988–2005
- RV Langseth, 2006
