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The
Soul Of A Ship
The figurehead.... as ancient as sailing itself, and a deciding factor of many
ancient vessels.
The first to utilize the figurehead were the Egyptians, sometime before
1000B.C., in the form of a carved eye.
Later Romans used the beauty of animals (Horses and swans) to enplace upon the
bow.
The figurehead was usually bolted to the bowsprit, and was carved and painted to
be true to life.
Figureheads were symbols of luck .... but in some cases, not good luck.
There are more legends than one can shake a hook at, showing the various
beliefs the sailors had about their figureheads.
In some cases a small, clipped woodchip would be taken ashore by
the sailors to protect from accidents and other misfortunes.
Others would rub the hand of a female figurehead in hopes of finding a
love.
In other cases, the figurehead showed misfortune, or worse.
In one case a rope ensnared the figurehead, and upon their return it was
told that the captain's wife had died.
Great lengths were taken to safeguard and repair the figurehead.
This was the soul of the ship, and if damaged immediate repairs were done.
This symbol of the ship was it's life-source.
Another case shows where a mutinous crew was about to do in their captain, when
he acquired a bucket of black paint. They
pressured him to the bow, but when they saw his plans to dump the paint of their
figurehead they retreated. He
regained control, and they agreed to obey as long as he promised not to chance a
turn in the ship's luck by defacing the figurehead.
The most famous of all figureheads is of course, the "Cutty Sark".
Scottish dialect of "cutty sark" translates to mean "short
chemise."
This is what the figurehead was.... a beautiful witch, clad only in a "Cutty
sark."
The Scottish legend of "cutty sark" is from ancient times.
Supposedly a farmer named Tam O'Shanter was riding his mare through the
countryside, but this eve there was a formidable storm and he had been drinking
a tad too much.
At a churchyard, a lightning flash illuminated a group of witches dancing.
There was one beauty among the old crones. Stopping to admire her he
called out, "Weel done, Cutty Sark!" for what she wore.
At that instance it stopped lightning, and all grew dark.
Tam fled with the witches hot on his heels.
At one point Cutty Sark came so close she grabbed the horse's tail.
The horse bolted faster, leaving her holding the tail.
Within moments Tam road across the bridge at the River Doon. The witches refused to cross the running water, and he was
safe.
Amongst it's various honors, it has been used as a training ship and was one of
the fastest ships in her day.
To that ship we give the salute, " Weel done, "Cutty Sark"!"
Past the soul of the ship, the heart was in its sails. Many nautical people have learned the bow from the stern, and
various others parts... but the sails have remained a reenactor's nightmare.
It was not until Scotland that I found the answer to the various sails.
The three-masted, full-rigged ships have sailed the seven seas for most of the
years. Below are two images of
ships, with one detailing the various sails.
To those of you who do reenacting, here is where you will find the
differences between them.
Until next time, may you feel the salty breeze in your face!
1.
Flying jib
2. Outer jib
3. Inner jib
4. Fore topmost staysail
5. Foresail, or fore course
6. Lower foresil topsail
7. Upper foresail topsail
8. Lower foresail topgallant sail
9. Upper foresail topgallant sail
10. Fore royal
11. Mainsail, or main course
12. Lower main topsail
13. Upper main topsail
14. Lower main topgallant sail
15. Upper main topgallant sail
16. Main royal
17. Main skysail
18. Crossjack (Brailed up)<:f>
19. Lower mizzen topsail
20. Upper mizzen topsail
21. Mizzen topgallant sail
22. Mizzen royal
23. Spanker or driver
24. Main topmast staysail
25. Main topgallant staysail
26. Main royal staysail
27. Mizzen topmast
staysail
28. Mizzen topgallant
staysail
Special
thanks to the shipyards along the River Clyde, and to the various sailors who
shared their lore (Which was well paid for may I add... boy those folks can drink!)
Scrimshaw
The art-form of etching beautiful designs on whale bone or ivory, was practiced
by sailors on their long whaling journeys.
This became a call sign of a safe return from a voyage, especially to the loved
ones of sailors in New England. However, it also shows the history of the
periods by pictogram. Protect your pieces of history,
The
Mary Celeste
Of
the various ships in history "The Mary Celeste" was thought to have
been born unlucky, per se.
The British sailing ship built in 1861 was originally called the
"Amazon". At 103 feet
long and weighing 282 tons, she was a proud ship. However on her maiden voyage,
she damaged her hull and while being repaired a fire broke out!
In 1867, she had the misfortune of running aground in Nova Scotia.
By the time she had gone through four captains, she had already collided with
another ship in an Atlantic crossing amongst numerous other catastrophes.
She was bought and renamed by an American, by the name of Benjamin Briggs.
He was captain and part owner of the vessel.
In November 1872, the ship set sail from New York to Genoa, Italy.
Her cargo was Cpt. Briggs and his family,
crew, and 1700 barrels of alcohol to be used as fuel.
On December 5, 1872 she was discovered 60 miles from Portugal in the
mid-Atlantic, with some sails torn, and listing out of control.
The final days of "The Mary Celeste" were in 1884, when she was
wrecked deliberately for the insurance money.
Though the wreck happened on a coral reef near Haiti under
"optimum" circumstances, the money was never paid.
So the mystery remains. The clues have been presented, yet never has a real
ending come of this story. The only
plausible answer which could be given was Mayhap the barrels gave off fumes and
all feared that it would explode. Abandoning ship, the wind blew them away from
the doomed ship... thus they were lost at sea.
So crew, wife and baby daughter, and the Captain are lost to the journals of
time... yet immortal in the words of history.
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