Stad Amsterdam Leaving Fort Lauderdale

I caught Stad Amsterdam leaving Pier 66 this afternoon on the portevergladeswebcam.

It was amazing to me that she backed down through the 17th Street Causeway Bridge rather than turning and going through head first. But she executed the maneuver flawlessly!

Here are some more shots.

Here are the last shots of her leaving Port Everglades into the Atlantic Ocean where she will be heading North to Jacksonville the next stop on her tour.











Here is a bit of her history from the stadamsterdam website:

In 2000 the Clipper Stad Amsterdam is completed. Rita Kok, wife of the then prime minister Wim Kok, christens the ship and the Clipper is presented to the audience for the first tim during the Sail Amsterdam 2000 event. Press and public are enthusiastic: at last, Holland had its own historic flagship.

From that point on, things started to happen fast:

In 2001 Stad Amsterdam won the Cutty Sark Tall Ships Race.

In 2005 she sailed the river IJ as flagship of the Sail Amsterdam event, with Crown Prince Willem Alexander at the helm.

In 2009 the Stad Amsterdam was commissioned by the VPRO national TV network to depart from Plymouth for an eight month voyage commemorating the two hundredth birthday of Charles Darwin, world famous biologist, natural scientist and geologist. From 1831 to 1836 he sailed around the world on board of the Beagle, a journey replicated by the Stad Amsterdam. His theory regarding the evolution of species driven by natural selection was extensively developed during this legendary journey.

As a training vessel and passenger ship Stad Amsterdam takes guests across the world’s seas each year. Additionally, she frequently participates in Tall Ships Races and sailing events and is rented for business events.

Length 76 metres

Length across deck 60,5 metres

Greatest width 10,5 metres

Depth 4,8 metres

Sailing speed 16,5 knots

Motor speed 11 knots

Rigging 3 mast square rig

Mast height 46,5 metres

Number of sails 29 square

Sail area 2.200 m2

Number of cabins 14

Motor power 749 kW

Tonnage 723 BRT

Weight 1.038 MT

Hull Steel

Building period 1997 - 2000

Classification Lloyd's Register of Shipping, de Nederlandse Scheepsvaart Inspectie, Safety Of Life At Sea Certificate, Passenger Safety Certificate, US Coast Guard Certificate

Ontwerp Gerard Dykstra & Partners, Naval Architects and Marine Engineers NBJA, Amsterdam

Building Damen Oranjewerf, Amsterdam

Interior Pieter Beeldsnijder, PB Design, Edam

I asked Stad Amsterdam why they did this maneuver on their website and got this reply:

It has to do with maneuver space. She probably hadn't had the room to turn before going through the bridges or it would just take more time…

So I have asked them to elaborate since they had lots of maneuvering room in the Port. Hopefully we will get a more detailed answer.