Ships & Boats
No need to fight what is better – a monohull or catamaran, sailboat or motorboat, rowing dinghy or luxurious superyacht, submarine or tanker, Kon-Tiki or Santa Maria. Let’s not argue about passenger liner Titanic, battleship Potemkin, H.M.S. Bounty, or warship Vasa! Choose yours from our hand-drawn Ships & Boats collection. Whatever floats your boat!
Our Ships & Boats collection is very special. All boats and ships were hand-drawn by the coolest Dad ever, later scanned, and now they can be printed or embroidered directly to a garment of your choice.
Meet the author of all Ships & Boats designs - photo by @tamedwinds
There are many stories of Odysseus, a legendary Greek king of Ithaca and the hero of Homer's epic poems The Odyssey and Iliad, and his ship. Actually, the ship was the main character of The Odyssey, some say (e.g., us at Tamed Winds). After all, the ship spent the whole 10 years on a journey after the Trojan War back home to Ithaca. Probably the most famous story is about Odysseus tying himself to a mast to avoid being tempted by sirens, and shipwreck on Calypso’s island, where Odysseus was held captive for seven years, and meanwhile, he managed to build another ship to replace the old one.
Although there are numerous ancient Greek artwork and descriptions of Homer himself, no-one really knows how the first ship of Odysseus looked like. However, in 2018 the world's oldest intact shipwreck was discovered 1.3 miles down at the bottom of the Black Sea: a 2,400-year-old “Odysseus” Greek trading vessel, which was almost perfectly preserved due to the lack of oxygen in the Black Sea's “dead zone”.
So now we may find out the whole truth about that legendary ship, but until then – we can have our own interpretation.
Ancient Greek Odysseus Ship from Ships & Boats Collection - photo by @tamedwinds
Despite the sad fact that Aztecs, Mayan, Native Americans, and other ancient civilizations (almost) disappeared thanks to European explorers and conquistadors, their ships were magnificent.
Caravel, in particular. This light sailing ship of the 15th - 17th centuries was a real masterpiece of shipbuilding. Originally, she was developed by the Portuguese for exploring the coast of Africa. She earned her fame for the capacity for sailing to windward and develop remarkable speed.
Two of the three ships in which Christopher Columbus made his historic voyage were caravels, the Niña and the Pinta. La Santa Gallega (Santa Maria), Columbus’s flagship, was a larger, heavier cargo ship.
Columbus hadn’t found a western route to India, but his success in crossing the Atlantic was due in large part to the ships he chose for the voyage, particularly the diminutive Niña and Pinta, two speedy caravels. They were tiny by today’s standards - only 50 to 70 feet from bow to stern - but famous for their speed, maneuverability, lightweight hull and their uncanny ability to sail into the wind.
We like this small, agile and speedy boat so much we’ve printed it on our t-shirt.
Explorer’s Caravel from Ships & Boats Collection - photo by @tamedwinds
The old tradition to fly a courtesy flag – a little flag of a foreign nation, flown as a token of respect at the visiting boat's starboard spreader of the most forward mast before entering foreign waters – is a part of flag etiquette.
The pirates had their own etiquette, including the flag one. The Jolly Roger, white skull and crossbones symbol on a black flag, became the most commonly used pirate flag during the 1720s. Pirates did not fly the Jolly Roger at all times; pirate ships usually stocked a variety of flags, and would normally fly false colors. When the pirates' intended victim was within a shooting range, the Jolly Roger would be raised, often simultaneously with a warning shot. Boom!
It’s up to you what flag your boat wears. But since it’s not completely illegal to fly Jolly Roger, we choose it, just sometimes, just for some fun. If you wish to find out more about this flag - hit to one of our previous posts.
Courtesy Flag from Ships & Boats Collection - photo by @tamedwinds
The term “dinghy” is a loanword from the Bengali ḍiṅgi, Urdu ḍīngī & Hindi ḍieṁgī. Is anyone out there who knows any of those languages?
There are numerous types of dinghies, from rowing whaleboats and inflatables to solar ones. We are fond of sailing dinghies, racing ones in particular. Look at that badass 420, the popular Laser, little Optimist, Finn, or 49er straight from the Olympics!
However, our favorite dinghy is named “Diamond Ring”. So if you ever spot it somewhere moored on the shore - please come to say hi to us!
A Dinghy from Ships & Boats Collection - photo by @tamedwinds
Pirates gave their preference to ships with the greatest speed as it would do no good to spot a potential target only to have it out-sail you.
Because she was a small-sized with average tonnage around 100 tons, and fast thanks to a narrow hull - therefore, easy to maneuver - a schooner was the most famous ship in the Caribbean and, along with a sloop, caravel and few other classes of ships, definitely one of pirate's favorite. The shallow draft of the schooner enabled pirates to hide in relative safety of shallow coastal waters and to hide in remote coves where larger warships could not enter. The schooner could also reach 11 knots in a good wind. Therefore, hit-and-run type piracy tactics were commonly practiced with the schooners.
We definitely want a schooner for ourselves!
Pirate Schooner from Ships & Boats Collection - photo by @tamedwinds
Despite being one of the greatest warriors of all times, unlike their neighbors, ancient Romans were not traditionally seafaring people. They have learned to build ships from the nations that they conquered. Besides, sailing the seas was often considered un-Roman and even the Roman navy never acquired the status of a fully autonomous branch of the Roman military.
Roman Galleon was depicted on a Roman Coin around the 1st century AC. Few other ships were honored that way, too. However, in most cases, only a part of the ship was visible. Why did that happen? Was it bad luck to depict the entire ship? Probably not, as vase paintings of this era often show complete vessels; also, Roman galleons and other ships can be found in wall frescoes in ancient Pompeii.
The thing is that even a small warship (the penteconter) had 25 oars per side, while the standard war vessel (the trireme) had 85 oars per side, packed in three tiers. Most probably it was too difficult to engrave so many oars. That’s why our galleon has only 4, so it’s easier for us to embroider this design on your new backpack.
Roman Galleon from Ships & Boats Collection - photo by @tamedwinds
Vikings were skilled shipbuilders, their craft and innovation enabled them to discover North America in around 1,000 - 500 years before Christopher Columbus crossed the Atlantic Ocean with his fleet of caravels and set foot on the New World.
Viking boats came in many shapes and sizes, the most iconic and effective Viking vessel was undoubtedly narrow and flat longship, which, in favorable conditions, could achieve speeds of up to 17 knots. Fast and durable longships were light enough to be carried by land, and that was the key to the success of many of Vikings’ exploits, from fishing to raiding different lands. A shallow draft allowed navigation both in choppy seas and rivers as shallow as one meter, which also made beach landings possible.
Interesting fact: the symmetrical bow and stern design allowed longships to quickly reverse without having to turn around. This was particularly handy in many situations, whether it was an unexpected escape or navigation in icy conditions.
In case you’ve watched all six seasons of Vikings just as we did, no wonder this design from our new Boats & Ships Collection can become your favorite.
Viking Longship from Ships & Boats Collection - photo by @tamedwinds
There are just too many things to talk about a yacht. Too many manufactures, designs, types and lengths, hull shapes and colors, riggings, keels, cabins, galleys, cockpits, masts… you name it. So let’s not argue what is better – a monohull or catamaran, sailboat or motorboat :) They are all made for certain conditions and a certain type of boaties.
We will only tell you a little something: something we believe that the boat we hope to call our home soon is: “Wherever we want to go, we go. That’s what a ship is, you know. It’s not just a keel and hull and a deck and sails. That’s what a ship needs. But what a ship [...] really is, is freedom”. Cheers to the smarty-pants Captain Jack Sparrow, our favorite imaginary pirate!
Yacht from Ships & Boats Collection - photo by @tamedwinds
If you like what you have just read - don't be shy, scroll down and subscribe for new blog post updates!
All images and photos featured on this www.tamedwinds.com blog and indicated as “photo by @tamedwinds” are items of Intellectual Property. If you are publishing photographs or other images that you don’t own the right to, you must give credit to our website www.tamedwinds.com or ask for our consent!
Some links above (but not all of them!) are affiliate links, meaning that we earn a small commission from qualifying purchases at no extra expenses for you. Learn more.