Gunilda

Key takeaways

Gunilda belongs to science; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Gunilda to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Gunilda from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Gunilda was a steel-hulled Scottish-built steam yacht in service between her construction in 1897 and her sinking in Lake Superior in 1911. Built in 1897 in Leith, Scotland by Ramage & Ferguson for J. M. or A. R. & J. M. Sladen, and became owned by F. W. Sykes in 1898; her first and second owners were all from England. In 1901, Gunilda was chartered by a member of the New York Yacht Club, sailing across the Atlantic Ocean with a complement of 25 crewmen. In 1903, she was purchased by oil baron William L. Harkness of Cleveland, Ohio, a member of the New York Yacht Club; she ended up becoming the club's flagship. Under Harkness' ownership, Gunilda visited many parts of the world, including the Caribbean, and beginning in 1910, the Great Lakes. In the summer of 1911, Gunilda's owner, William L. Harkness, his family and friends were on an extended tour of northern Lake Superior. They were headed to Rossport, Ontario and then planned to head into Lake Nipigon to do some fishing for speckled trout. As she was about 5 miles (8.0 km) away from Rossport, Gunilda ran hard aground onto McGarvey Shoal on the north side of Copper Island. Most of the passengers were taken to Rossport. Harkness stayed behind to supervise the salvage, hiring the tug James Whalen and a barge to tow Gunilda off the shoal. On August 11, 1911, after she was pulled free, she suddenly rolled over to starboard, filled with water, and sank. Harkness and his family were picked up by James Whalen. Her wreck was rediscovered in 1967 resting in 270 feet (82 m) of water, completely intact, with even the gilding on the hull surviving. Gunilda's wreck was the subject of multiple failed salvage attempts. In the late 1960s, Ed and Harold Flatt made multiple unsuccessful attempts to salvage her. Throughout the 1970s, Fred Broennle also made several unsuccessful attempts to raise Gunilda. In 1980, Jacques Cousteau and the Cousteau Society used the research vessel Calypso and the diving saucer SP-350 Denise to dive and film the wreck. The Cousteau Society called Gunilda the "best-preserved, most prestigious shipwreck in the world" and "the most beautiful shipwreck in the world".

History

Design and construction

Gunilda (UK official number 104928) was built in 1897 by Ramage & Ferguson in Leith, Scotland. Her hull number was 149. She was designed by Joseph Edwin Wilkins, a naval architect who worked for Cox & King of Pall Mall, London, England. She cost about $200,000 to build. Her name is a variant of Gunhild, an old Germanic feminine name meaning "war". She was launched on April 1, 1897. Her steel hull was 195 feet (59 m) long; one source states she had a length of 177 feet (54 m), another source states she had an overall length of 177.6 feet (54.1 m) and a below waterline length of 166.5 feet (50.7 m), her beam was 24.7 feet (7.5 m) (one source states 24.58 feet (7.49 m). Several sources state she had a draft of 12 feet (3.7 m), several other sources state her draft was 14.2 feet (4.3 m), and one source states she had a draft of 14.16 feet (4.32 m). She had a gross register tonnage of 385 and a net register tonnage of 158. She had a Thames Tonnage of 492 or 499 tons. She was equipped by a triple expansion steam engine with pistons that had bores of 15 inches (38 cm), 24 inches (61 cm), and 37 inches (94 cm) and a stroke of 27 inches (69 cm). The engine was powered by steam produced by two 160 psi turbine boilers. Gunilda was driven by a single propeller and had a top speed of 14 knots (16 mph) (some sources state 12 knots (14 mph)).

Service history

Between 1897 and 1898 Gunilda was owned by either J. M. Sladen or by A. R. and J. M. Sladen; her home port was Wivenhoe in England. Her second owner was F. W. Sykes, who owned her between 1898 and 1903, during which time her home port was Leith. Her first and second owners were from England. In 1901, Gunilda was chartered by a member of the New York Yacht Club of New York City, sailing over the Atlantic Ocean with 25 crewmen on board. American press reports at the time of her arrival described her as a schooner, rigged with 4,620 square feet (429 m2) of canvas. In 1903, Gunilda was purchased by oil baron William L. Harkness of Cleveland, Ohio. Harkness was a member of the New York Yacht Club. When he purchased Gunilda, she was officially registered in New York City and became the new flagship of the New York Yacht Club. In 1903, Gunilda's home port was Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, however, in 1904, it became New York City. Under the ownership of Harkness, Gunilda visited several parts of the world, making multiple trips around the Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean. In 1910, Harkness brought Gunilda to the Great Lakes to perform an extended cruise.

Final voyage

… excerpt ends here. Continue reading the full article.

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Gunilda

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Gunilda claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Gunilda before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Gunilda ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Gunilda

In research: Gunilda appears in science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Gunilda in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Gunilda is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics 1897 ships, Maritime incidents in 1911, Ships built in Scotland, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Gunilda outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

How to study Gunilda in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Gunilda means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Gunilda out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Gunilda in simple terms?

Gunilda was a steel-hulled Scottish-built steam yacht in service between her construction in 1897 and her sinking in Lake Superior in 1911. Built in 1897 in Leith, Scotland by Ramage & Ferguson for J.

Why does Gunilda matter?

Because it connects several science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Gunilda?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Gunilda.