Pride of Baltimore II, July 2021

Video courtesy of Chief Mate Jeff Crosby

The Pericles at high speed, by Johannes Holst, 1937

H.M.S. Victorious taking the Rivoli, 22 February 1812, by Thomas Luny (1759–1837)

The two oldest commissioned ships in the world - USS Constitution (227 years old) and HMS Victory (259 years old) welcome you today on the 24th door.

It's getting cold again today in door no. 23. But Schooner Opal is well prepared for it.

More about her:

Andrew Wyeth.

"Light Station", 1983

She's not old - she's in her prime - our Lady HMS Surprise

More about her:

The Clipper’s Home was in South Street,” frontspiece for “The Clipper-Ship and Her Seamen,” by W. J. Aylward, 1917

A Portuguese azimuth Mariner's compass, by Manoel Ferreira, 1755

The Clipper’s Home was in South Street,” frontspiece for “The Clipper-Ship and Her Seamen,” by W. J. Aylward, 1917

Duties of the men in different parts of the ship - Part 1

As some of you may have noticed, I have been working for some years on explaining in more detail the different positions and their tasks on a ship. So far, this has mostly been about officers. Many of the men on board also often served as mates to support an officer. The Sailors themselves were assigned to positions by the First Lieutenant in a Station Bill based on their experience and skills. Here is a rough list of their respective posts and duties. I will deal with some of them in more detail in a separate post.

A station bill by Henry Powlett 1788 (x)

Boatswains mates, working with the watch, relay all orders from the officer of the deck and signal by whistle to tack, haul or moor in accordance with those orders. They are stationed at a mast or in the gangway to pass on the orders of the officer on duty by whistle. They assist the boatswain who could not be on deck at all times or at every position.

Carpenter’s Mate and Carpenter’s Gang assemble and disassemble capstans and pumps, clean pumps and skylights. And assisted the Carpenter with basic work on board.

Master’s Mates are experienced Sailors and later Midshipmen who were waiting for their examination or commission. They served as deputies to the Lieutenant of the Watch.

The quartermaster’s mates were more skilled and less gruff than the boatswain’s mates, these were often older Sailors who conn, or direct the steerage of the ship. Other duties included the stowage of ballast and provisions, coiling of the cables, turning the hour glasses and supervising the purser’s steward.

Station Bill of USS Constitution lists the nearly 100 sailors assigned to handling sails on the mainmast, by  Lt. Peter Turner 1839 (x)

Gunner’s Mates they helped the Gunner keep the guns and carts in line, maintain and clean the exterior of the guns and carts, put powder in the cartridges, align the guns and make sure the guns were always ready.

Forecastle men ( mostly older sailors) were too constantly responsible for the operations in the forecastle.This meant that they looked after the sails on the bowsprit, the jib boom, the flying jib boom, the foremast and the foresail, the head-sails, fore-sail, lower fore sail, and topmast studding-sails as the lower part of the foremast to put it simply. Stowing the anchors was also part of their job, as was keeping the upper deck clean from the head to the foremast.

Fore-top men, took care of the foremast sails that came above the lower headsail. This meant they took care of the fore top sails, top gallant sails and royal; main top mast and top gallant staysail, set and furled fore top gallant staysail and hooked the burton for top mast staysail. Keep foreship and fore channels clean and in order and clean port gangway.

The duties of the main- and main-topmen are much, the same, so I will not list them again here.  

Songs of naval impressment.

Cover is a caricature by Thomas Rowlandson in the RMG NMM collections.

15 tracks; 54 mins. [Spotify]

[my other playlists]

Votive ship in the Kakskerta Church, Finland. Date unknown, photo by ast2009

How we caught the Pilchards, Charles Napier Hemy, 1885

Harper Goff “20,000 Leagues Under the Sea” "lighting and mood" concept paintings (1954) Source

"USS CONSTITUTION, under the command of Captain Isaac Hull, sailed from Boston on August 2, 1812 to off the coast of Halifax, Nova Scotia. On the afternoon of August 19, 1812 Hull and his crew sighted the British frigate HMS GUERRIERE, under the command of Captain James Richard Dacres.

As GUERRIERE closed to within a mile of the CONSTITUTION, the British hoisted their colors the two ships engaged in a fire fight. The CONSTITUTION’s thick hull, composed of white oak planking and live oak frames, proved resilient to enemy cannonballs. During the engagement, an American sailor was heard exclaiming, 'Huzza! Her sides are made of iron! See where the shot fell out!'. After intense combat, the severely damaged Guerriere was forced to surrender.

The next morning, Hull made the difficult decision to scuttle GUERRIERE. CONSTITUTION sailed for Boston and arrived on August 30. News of Constitution‘s victory quickly spread through town and throngs of cheering Bostonians greeted Hull and his crew. A militia company escorted Hull to a reception at the Exchange Coffee House and more dinners, presentations and awards followed in the ensuing weeks, months, and years. USS CONSTITUTION, for her impressive strength in battle, earned the nickname 'Old Ironsides.'"

Date: August 19, 1812

U.S. Naval History and Heritage Command: NH 64419-KN, 66-335-L, 66-335-M, 54-017-A, 66-193-A, 07-763-A, 60-362-C

thinking about it again (saturday night at sea by george cruikshank)

saturday night at sea saturday night