In this BLINK I have added some old footage I used to help with writing the ASHMORE. There were a lot of commands I had to learn that the captain and crew would have used. It also gave me a better picture of how the crew worked the rigging.
SV Ashmore
Photo: Angela Curtis
Ashmore's Specifications.
Built: 1878
Rigging: Barque. The foremast & mainmast had square sails, the mizzenmast had a triangle sail called a spanker. From the jibboom, the beam out front of the bow, and between the three masts, are the jibs (triangle sails), as will see in the diagram below.
Hull: Norwegian Iron Clipper. (Her sharp bow made her very fast. She was one of the first iron-hulls to sail on the ocean).
Registered: London on the 9th May, 1978.
Registration Office: 2 East India Avenue, London.
Managing Owner: Mr. I. Stewart
Net Tonnage: 1099
Gross Tonnage: 1178
Seamen accommodated: 50 (45 were hired for the 1882 voyage to New Zealand). The Ashmore was built with an extra long forecastle for housing crew and second-class passengers.
Fully-Rigged Sails
Square-rigged sails took more manpower. They needed sailors to climb the rigging and walk along footropes under the yard to furl and unfurl the sails. In a modern square-rigged ship, the sailors can furl and unfurl sails by remote control down on deck. Therefore they don't need the large number of the crew the Ashmore had.
Change of Rigging
The Ashmore's rigging was apparently changed, but I have been unable to find a photo to prove the fact. She did, however, change from a passenger ship to a cargo ship when the influx of immigrants slowed. Captain James Whitmore was the captain from the day she was launched until the day she ran aground on an island off Canada. He was a fearless sailor who took risks. Unfortunately, they didn't all pay off. He ran the Ashmore aground just off Australia but was rescued with no loss of life.
Ashmore's Rigging
Below you will find an instruction video on how to sail tall ships. Everything from the commands given by the captain, to how all the rigging worked. I hope you enjoy it too.
The Sorlandet
Video: Fullriggeren Sørlandet
When sailing architects create ship plans, they balanced the force of the sails against the drag of the underwater keel. This made the vessel point naturally into the wind. It's clever because if control is lost, the ship will avoid turning edge-to-the wind and being beaten by breaking waves. This is called broaching and can destroy boats in storms. It also caused an uncomfortable motion.
Architects also tried to balance the wind force on each sail against a range of ballast and loads. This calculation ensured the ship wouldn't be knocked sideways and end up with its mast in the water. That's called capsizing and likely to end in the sinking of the vessel.
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