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02-09-2010, 06:25 AM
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preparing for rough weather
What steps were taken to prepare a ship for a strong gale at sea? For example what sails were taken in what lines secured. I was reading through the Young Sea Officer's Sheet Anchor and found a few entries of what was done but I thought it might be an interesting thread to explore what was actually done.
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02-10-2010, 01:50 AM
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Re: preparing for rough weather
Don
You've posed an interesting question but also, I fear not a simple one. I'm not a sailor at all, but in my readings some of what I've gleaned includes: Preparations to face a gale varied widely with factors including: The amount of time to prepare. The skill of the captain and experience of the crew. The type and rig of the ship. The nature of the storm. With the resultant actions ranging from just taking the pounding, changing heading, striking sail, to at the extreme, even pulling down topmasts and perhaps yards. Failure to act promptly and appropriately clearly cost more than one vessel and many hands. There's a good story about a gale caused "knock down" that very nearly capsized and caused the loss of the whale ship Essex in a fast approaching gale. This on the outbound voyage to the encounter with a whale that did, Moby Dick style, cause the loss of the ship. A great source on this topic is Harland's "Seamanship in the Age of Sail." ...so let's see if any real sailors want to chime in and add to the tale or perhaps to correct my misapprehensions. Regards Jim
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Fair - and in scale - seas to all.
Jim
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02-10-2010, 11:31 AM
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Re: preparing for rough weather
Jim’s right, it depends on the severity of the gale. But it is really just a simple matter of taking in sail as the wind builds, either by reefing and/or furling sails. You just keep reducing sail area until the boat handles well and you can hold your course without fighting the helm. The feel of the helm is the key. If the boat wants to continually round up into the wind, and the helmsman is always fighting the tiller or wheel, and it’s hard to keep on course, it’s time to take in sail.
There comes a time however when you have no more sail to take in, which usually happens when the sustained wind is 50 or 60 knots plus. At this point you can just fly a small head sail of heavy sail cloth called a storm jib, and head down wind. Unfortunately the seas continue to build and they can become very impressive. Picture lines of waves the size of 2 story condominiums coming down on you from your stern. As the size of the waves continue to build, their faces get steeper and your boat has a tendency to start surfing. This is dangerous in a heavy displacement boat because the pressure of the storm jib is no longer enough to keep the bow down wind and the boat wants to round up, present her beam to the waves, broach, and over you go. At this point, you throw out a drogue from the stern, which can be anything from a fancy canvas cone type of affair to a keg of nails. I used an old tire secured with a chain and 50’ of ¾” nylon line tied to the stern mooring cleats. This acts like a “sea anchor” and slows the boat down and keeps the stern to the wind and waves. We encountered such conditions in our 42’ ketch about 300 miles west of Bora Bora and had a wild ride down to Aitutaki in the Cook islands, which was not where we wanted to go, but was down wind. Any port in a storm, as they say. If the wind continues to increase to hurricane force, say 80 to 100 knots or more, the seas become confused and mountainous and break heavily from different directions with flying spray and foam. Under these conditions you repeat the following words, “Our Father, who Art In Heaven….., or whatever words that might suit your religious persuasion. As for securing things like anchors, life boats and cargo stowed below, these things should be well secured in anticipation of any conditions of wind or weather, at least they should be on a vessel that is "ship shape" as they say. Larger vessels rigged life lines fore and aft and port and starboard so the sailors had something to grab and not be washed overboard. Regards, Bob
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02-10-2010, 04:51 PM
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Re: preparing for rough weather
See, I knew this would be an interesting thread, thanks guys! I was wondering how sailors classified the storms in the days of sail, for example a gale. What about hurricane or other types of foul weather?
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02-10-2010, 07:41 PM
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Re: preparing for rough weather
Wind speed, and more importantly the effects of wind speed on sea conditions were first quantified, categorized and described by Admiral Sir Francis Beaufort in 1805 for the British navy. He divided his scale into 13 different conditions from 0, a dead calm, to 13, a hurricane. The scale is still used today and appears on nautical charts to inform mariners about prevailing and potential conditions around the world.
For a history of Admiral Beaufort and development of the Beaufort Scale go to: http://www.gi.alaska.edu/ScienceForum/ASF9/911.html For the actual scale and descriptions, go to: http://www.btinternet.com/~fourthgi...ts/beauhist.htm http://wiki.answers.com/Q/What_is_the_Beaufort_scale Regards, Bob PS: The btinternet site is interesting because it actually makes reference to a man of war “that to which a well-conditioned man-of-war could just carry in chase, full and by.” Notice that in force 6 (22-27 knots) a man of war would show single reefed topsail and topgallants. I always thought it would be really interesting to model a ship with reefed sail, but hesitated because I had no idea of how much sail a 17th century warship could carry in different wind conditions. Well, here it is!
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02-10-2010, 10:09 PM
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Re: preparing for rough weather
Aye matey, go below and break out the grog.
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