Suitably pulpy ships.

[Andy in Germany]

I'm edging towards a ship project; after all, Ascension is on an island, so ships are going to be an important part of the story.

The classic seems to be the tramp steamer, and I've been collecting pictures of these, but I notice that bootleggers in the 1920's also used schooners with auxiliary motors, presumably because they had high value cargoes so didn't need as much space, and could travel a long way without needing fuel.

Any thoughts? How feasible is a schooner beyond rum running?

[Aethelflaeda was framed]

Ya can always fish from it.

[Andy in Germany]

True, but can they cross large bodies of water like the Atlantic?

(Schooners, not fish).

[Aethelflaeda was framed]

They went from Portugal to the cod fisheries off Newfoundland, alt they way up to the mid 20th century.

[anevilgiraffe]

I think they were more up and down the coast affairs. Africa to Britain would be easy enough, but you'd want something bigger for South America to Britain...

[anevilgiraffe]

They went from Portugal to the cod fisheries off Newfoundland, alt they way up to the mid 20th century.

following coasts or straight across?

[Andy in Germany]

I've found references to Schooners travelling from the Azores to the UK carrying perishables, and larger schooners called "Baltimore" which were slave ships, so they crossed from Africa to the US, but of course that was a century and more before our era.

From this, it seems a schooner could reach Ascension, and would possibly be a good vessel to transport perishables to and from the island, in fact theoretically, as all European and S. American cargoes have to be transferred, I could imagine a schooner travelling to the island with supplies for the hotels, then re-loading with fruit from S. America to carry to Europe. Maybe.

The question is, how realistic is this in practice? And would they be common enough not to raise comment if a smuggler decided to use them?

[Andy in Germany]

I think they were more up and down the coast affairs. Africa to Britain would be easy enough, but you'd want something bigger for South America to Britain...

Apparently six and more masted schooners were not unknown, not that I'd be able to build one...

[anevilgiraffe]

Apparently six and more masted schooners were not unknown, not that I'd be able to build one...

quitter... Akkie might still have his 28mm WW1 aircraft carrier if you want tips... 

[fastolfrus]

quitter... Akkie might still have his 28mm WW1 aircraft carrier if you want tips... 

you can't put masts on the carrier - how will the planes land?

[voltan]

You could go for a local tugboat, or two, that have been commandeered by this faction or that. Could easily be made pulpy without being as big a project.

[Aethelflaeda was framed]

following coasts or straight across?

See any coasts to follow on the map from Lisbon to Newfoundland?  The best you can hope for is a stop over in Iceland.

IIrc, these were usually two masted schooners, quite oceangoing and they stayed at sea to fish for long periods.

[tin shed gamer]

https://www.diffordsguide.com/encyclopedia/417/people/rum-runners

[tin shed gamer]

A proper Pulpy character and sails to boot.

[carlos marighela]

My forebears carried Welsh slate and other trade goods as far away as Valparaiso in Chile on small to medium sized barques and brigs. One of them never made it back and ended up in the old British cemetary in Santos (Brazil).

The word 'schooner' merely describes the rigging pattern of a vessel. They could be small or quite large. As they were a feature of fishing fleets of various nations on the Grand Banks and some of the most storm laden parts of the North Atlantic, there's no reason why a vessel of that type shouldn't pop up in the South Atlantic.

Sailing vessels remained a staple of maritime trade well into the first half of the 20thC although in ever decreasing numbers and usually filling the less profitable routes.

I suppose the question for me would be what seems most 'pulpy'. I think most of us would associate the interwar period with  tramp steamers, typically older coal fired boiler types on the lesser routes.
These were the predominant type for the era and whilst a 'schooner' is in no way an anachronism, most people will think steam powered.