Jewel of Muscat Sets Sail

Jewel of Muscat, a replica of a 9th century sewn-plank dhow, has begun its planned 3,000-mile voyage from Oman to Singapore by way of India, Sri Lanka, and Malaysia. Jewel's website provides the details (including plenty of photos, illustrations, and videos), and one of our previous posts explains the archaeological find upon which the vessel is based: a shipwreck of what was evidently a trading voyage between the Persian Gulf and China, discovered in Indonesian waters.

Jewel is 18 meters LOA, and her rig consists of two square-rigged masts, set up ketch-fashion. The photo, from Jewel's website, shows her being towed from the harbor in Port Sultan Qaboos, Oman, accompanied by a fleet of well-wishers and celebratory fireboat plumes. (The schooner-like appearance of the rig is merely a trick of the camera angle -- the forward mast is indeed the taller of the two.)