Alma is an 1891-built scow schooner, which is now preserved as a National Historic Landmark at the San Francisco Maritime National Historical Park in San Francisco, California.
Alma under sail, c. 1900
Starboard view of scow schooner Alma Hyde Street Pier, San Francisco Maritime National Historic Park
A scow is a smaller type of barge. Some scows are rigged as sailing scows. In the 19th and early 20th centuries, scows carried cargo in coastal waters and inland waterways, having an advantage for navigating shallow water or small harbours. Scows were in common use in the American Great Lakes and other parts of the U.S., Canada, southern England, and New Zealand. In modern times their main purpose is for recreation and racing; there are also garbage scows for aquatic transport of refuse.
A New Zealand scow around 1900
A scow on the Adour in Bayonne in 1843 by Eugène de Malbos.
Jane Gifford Re-rigged, Manukau Harbour 1993. Photo: Subritzky Collection.