🍏

#ship #sail #history

Parts of a Sailing Vessel

Diptych dial with compass for latitude 49° North, by David Asselinne, Dieppe, 1650-1700

Isla de Muerta - Graveyard of Lost Ships

Cutting out is an attack with small boats, preferably at night and against an unsuspecting ship at anchor, which could not be larger than a frigate with 28 guns - because anything else would be almost impossible with such an attack and would be more like a suicide command.

Cutting out La Chevrette, 21 July 1801, by John Christian Schetky (x)

Now this tactic became popular in the late 18th century and was used extensively during the Napoleonic Wars. This heralded the emphasis on stealth and surprise that would dominate boarding tactics in the future.

Ahoy there! I hope this will help!

First things first, a ship’s speed is measured in knots, or nautical miles per hour (about 1.15 miles, or 1.852 kilometers.) The name comes from the use of a device called a common or chip log, which was a piece of wood attached to a  length of rope that had knots at uniform intervals across it. The intervals became the nautical mile after it was introduced as a more standard unit of measure in the 15th century. 

The sailors would lower the log off the stern of the ship, and let it float freely after it for a prescribed amount of time before retrieving it and marking how many knots had unwound. This method had some errors in its accuracy due to currents, or the stretch of the line, so measurements were often taken frequently and the speeds averaged out. 

I’ve said all of this to say, I’m going to be using the word “knot” a lot through the following answer. I’ll cover a few of the most popular ships among pirates, and our understandings of their speeds. 

Sloops

(Image: A historical postcard painted by Francis Holman depicting a sloop called the U.S.S. Providence.)

The sloop,  was one of the more popular vessels among pirates, despite its smaller size, due to the speeds at which they could travel, many averaging 10 to 11 knots (12.65 mph/20.37 kmph on the high end) It had only one mast, could be crewed both minimally or with many, and had the most agility out of the ships of the age. These vessels were perfect for getting in and out in a hurry, and were easily adapted from naval purposes to piratical ones. They were also well-built for hiding in shallower waters, where larger ships, especially warships, could not follow. 

Schooners

Schooners were double-masted vessels, also known for their shallow hulls and maneuverability. While they lost some popularity over time, in a good wind, they could also reach top speeds close to 10 knots (11.5 mph/18.52 kmph.) However, it often couldn’t hold as much in the way of crew or goods, so it was often passed over in favor of sloops or….

Brigs/Brigantines

(Image: A photograph of the replica brig, Lady Washington, photo credit to Miso Beno.) 

Brigs came about as a variant of the brigantine, a bit larger than both the sloops and schooners that helped make up its sailing class, but incredibly fast nonetheless, while also capable of carrying more firepower. They tended to be a bit slower due to their size, usually averaging about 9 knots (10.37 mph/16.69 kmph), but were also reported to travel up to 11 knots in stronger winds. Brigs and brigantines were originally from the Mediterranean, and were not used as frequently by American or Caribbean pirates, but have indelibly made their place in history. (If this ship looks familiar to you, it probably should! She was used in both the Pirates of the Caribbean films as the H.M.S Interceptor, and as the namesake of the first Enterprise on the holodeck in Star Trek: Generations.)  

Galleons

(Image : “Black Isle” by Sarel Theron)

Naturally, our discussions of ships from this era would not be complete without the galleon. The galleon was designed by the Spanish as a large, well-armed cargo ship. Due to this, especially when laden with cargo, they tended to be much more sluggish, often traveling between 4 to 5 knots (5.75 mph/9.26 kmph on the high end.) When pressed however, they could attain speeds of up to 8 knots (9.2 mph/14.83 kmph), an impressive feat for a ship of its size. These ships were more often the targets of pirate attacks than crewed by them, but were nevertheless desirable due to their firepower (and the cargo or treasure waiting for them inside!)

Masterpost of Free Seafaring Literature & Theory (Gothic Literature) (Romantic Literature)

Pre-1600s The Argonautica by Rhodius Apollonius The Odyssey by Homer The Seafarer The Libelle Of Englyshe Polycye  Sir Mortimer by Mary Johnston Westward Ho! by Charles Kingsley The Sea-Hawk by Rafael Sabatini 1600s The Life and Adventures of Robinson Crusoe & A General History of the Pyrates  by Daniel Defoe Captain Blood by Rafael Sabatini

1700s Fanny Campbell, The Female Pirate Captain: A Tale of The Revolution by Maturin Murray Ballou Childe Harold’s Pilgrimage by Baron George Gordon Byron The Rime of the Ancient Mariner by Samuel Taylor Coleridge The Boats of the “Glen Carrig” by William Hope Hodgson The Pirate by Walter Scott Frankenstein; Or, The Modern Prometheus by Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley Treasure Island & Kidnapped by Robert Louis Stevenson Gulliver’s Travels into Several Remote Nations of the World by Jonathan Swift

1800s The Lighthouse by R. M. Ballantyne The Pathfinder, Or The Inland Sea; The Pilot; The Two Admirals & Afloat ad Ashore by James Fenimore Cooper Toilers of the Sea by Victor Hugo Captains Courageous by Rudyard Kipling The Sea-Wolf by Jack London The King’s Own; The Phantom Ship; Mr. Midshipman Easy & Poor Jack by Frederick Marryat Moby-Dick by Herman Melville The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym of Nantucket by Edgar Allan Poe The Wreck of the Grosvenor & An Ocean Tragedy by William Clark Russell Twenty Thousand Leagues under the Sea by Jules Verne

1900s The Shadow Line: A Confession & Lord Jim by Joseph Conrad The Riddle of the Sands by Erskine Childers Great Sea Stories, ed. Joseph Lewis French (anthology)

Non-Fiction Under the Southern Cross by Maturin Murray Ballou A Voyage to the South Sea & Mutiny on the Bounty by William Bligh Two Years Before the Mast by Richard Henry Dana White Jacket; Or, The World on a Man-of-War by Herman Melville Pincher Martin, O.D.: A Story of the Inner Life of the Royal Navy by H. Taprell Dorling

Of all the ways to travel in fantasy and historical novels, there are two favoured ones: horses and ships. But I covered the horses already so here we have some ship terminology and kinds of ships.

Common Boat Terms

Aft/Stern - The back of a ship.

Bow - The bow is the front part of the ship, the pointy part or the place where Kate Winslet stood on in Titanic.

Port - The left side of the ship

Starboard - The right side of the ship

Windward - The wind the direction is blowing.

Hull- outside of the ship

Leeward - Or sometimes called the lee. This is the opposite direction of the wind is blowing

Boom - A horizontal pole extending from the base of the main mast. It adjusted toward the wind direction in order to harness the wind for the sails.

Rudder - The rudder is a flat piece of wood below the ship, used to steer the ship. It is connected to the wheel of the ship.

Tacking - A common sailing maneuver that involves turning the bow through the wind, to change the wind direction from one side of the ship to the other, making the boom move.

Underway- This is when the ship is moving

Astern- The ship is moving backwards

Amidships- Middle of the boat

Topside- when you move from the lower decks to the upper deck

Compartments of the ship

Most ships would have compartments inside the hull and underneath the deck.

Cabins- most war ships and merchant ships would only have one or two main cabin occupied by the captain and higher crew.

Galley- The kitchen on board the ship. The galley would be fitted with tables and cabinets. Galleys were built in such a way that they were more resistant to the heaving of the ship. Most galleys were built with special stoves to stop people from colliding with them and things from spilling out of pots and pans.

Wardroom- some ships are built with a common room for the crew. The wardroom acted as a common room as well as a dining room. It would usually be conjoined with the galley.

Sick Bay- is the compartment of the ship that is given over to the injured and sick. The sick bay would hold the medicines and medical devices and would often be under lock and key.

Hold- This will be the largest compartment in the ship were the cargo or the ship's weapons.

Crew and Positions aboard the Ship

Captain

When we think of captains we imagine them as blackhearted slave drivers (something akin to managers in the customer service industry) but on further research you will find that is not true. There are two kinds of Captains you find in history. Pirate captains and Legitimate Captains. Pirate captains were elected by their merit in battle and dedication to the crew. They were considered equal to the crew, only taking full charge during raids and battles. In the Navy or any legal-bound ship, captains were selected by rank and wealth. There was no equality between captain and crew as in pirate ships. Legal ships were Capitalists and the Pirates were Democratic.

First Mate

First Mate is the captain's deputy. They act as captain when the captain cannot. This was mainly seen in Navies and merchant ships as Pirates usually placed their quartermaster as their deputies.

Quartermaster

The Quartermaster was in charge of ensuring that the ship ran smoothly, rather like the ship's HR manager. The Quartermaster was in charge of supplies and had certain powers such as being able to punish the crew for minor infractions.

Sailing Master

These were officers in charge of piloting the ship. They would have to be educated enough to read a map and was a much desired position because it was a fair paying job. Pirates usually kidnapped sailing masters from ships they attacked to use aboard their own ships.

Gunner

Gunners were the overseers of any many qualified to load and fire guns. They were in charge of aiming cannons and making sure the crew were safely using guns. Most the guns were loaded by young boys called powder monkeys.

Boatswain

Boatswains or junior officers would act as supervisors, watching over the crew as they did their duties. If things were not going well they reported to the captain or quartermaster to punish the crew.

Surgeons

Surgeons handled any diseases and wounds. Since being at sea limited the amount of medicine available. Most ship's surgeons were forced to cut off limbs to avoid infection pike gangrene. Surgeons may not always be found on ships. Cooks or carpenters were often pressed to do amputations: meat was meat and cutting was cutting.

Cooks

All ships needed somebody to cook. Navies and merchant ships would often have trained cooks while on pirate ships it was just a crewmember who was handy in the kitchen.

Kinds of Ship

(Not a complete list, may post more later.)

Brig- A brig is the ship that one most thinks of when you think of a ship. The brig is a large vessel, set with a pair of square-rigged masts. Brigs were fast ships and highly maneuverable. They were used as merchant ships and warships.

Galley- The galley is propelled via oars. The hull is long and slender and most of them featured larger sails. Galleys often were rowed by slaves and used in war.

Galleon- Galleons were large ships, built with multiple decks, carrying three or more masts with square raised stern. The Galleon was usually rigged with square sails on the fore-mast and main-masts.

Caravel- The caravel was a small ship with triangular sails, famed for its manoeuvrability and speed.

Longship- The longships were the ships of the Vikings. They were slender ships, narrow. They were able to keep afloat in shallow waters as well as the deep sea. Longships were able to reverse quickly, a very important skill. The longship was a warship, a raider's ship propelled by oars.

Carrack- the carrack was a large ship, often built with mass cargo holds making the most popular ship to go on long voyages on. The carrack had three or four masts.

Cog- This ship was a large vessel, the hull wide and large. The ship is propelled by a great single sail flown from a tall mast.

Junk- The junk or Chinese junk was a kind of coastal or river ship used as merchant ships, pleasure ships and sometimes houseboats. They are small ships and made with battened sails rather resembling wings.

Trireme- the trireme was a slender ship set with three banks of oars pulled by one man each. The trireme had a concave hull and usually had an underwater ram at the prow of the ship.