Content can be downloaded for non-commercial purposes, such as for personal use or in educational resources.
For commercial purposes please contact the copyright holder directly.
Read more about the The Creative Archive Licence.

Description

This image shows a page from journal of Rev Scoresby who undertook a voyage to Australia on the ROYAL CHARTER. It recalls an incident when part of the running rigging failed and the topsail yard dropped onto the deck.  All the able crewmembers were called deck to clear the mass of ropes, tackles, yards and sails away.

For a square rigged ship, such as the ROYAL CHARTER, the rigging system was complex. Each mast consisted of at least three separate parts. Each part had its own support of wire ropes attaching it to the hull and thus transferring the thrust of the wind into power to move the ship through the water. This network of supporting ropes is usually known as 'Standing Rigging'. The main driving sails (square in shape) are attached to yards. These are attached horizontally to the masts. These yards had a system of rigging which would allow them to be lowered to the deck to be repaired or replaced. ‘Running Rigging’ is the name often used to describe all the ropes and tackle associated with the yards and with the hoisting, lowering and setting of the sails. The task of maintaining all the vital parts (and engine) fell to specialists amongst the crew.

The ROYAL CHARTER’s regular crew is believed to have numbered some 85 in total. There were times when discipline and team work were all that stood between the ship and disaster. The southern Atlantic provided many of the most testing moments:

‘6 April 1855… when scudding before this hurricane of wind and tremendously high and cross sea… under the best application of watchful and intelligent seamanship on the part of the Captain supported by an active mate or two, and a selection of able and effective seaman on board, we passed… the ordeal of many hours of perilous scudding, subjected to many hard blows from heavy breaking cross sea – in safety,  - and without damage (except to one of the quarterboats) to ship, sail or spar’.

The clothing the crew wore to protect them from the biting cold had attracted comment from the Rev Scoresby a week earlier:

‘…I was somewhat surprised to see the sailors, men and officers, in regular costume of our Greenland crews. Caps with protection for the ears with the helmsman; mittens, strong water and wind proof dresses from head to foot, and still more characteristically, large drawn-up fisherman’s boots of the strongest leather and ample dimensions’.

Henry Nelson 0'Neil created a painting called 'A Volunteer' showing the courageous Joe Rodgers about  try and swim ashore with a line when the ROYAL CHARTER was lost some 4 years later. Joe Rodgers is shown in the centre having a last word with the Chief Engineer, William Stevens. Stevens is shown wearing the large seaboots that Scoresby described.

http://goldenagepaintings.blogspot.co.uk/2010/05/henry-nelson-oneil-volu...

Do you have information to add to this item? Please leave a comment

Comments (0)

You must be logged in to leave a comment