I must down to the Sea again to the rolling sea and sky. And all I ask is a tall ship and a star to steer her by. And the wheel’s kick and the wind’s song And the white sails shaking And a gray mist on the sea’s face And a gray dawn breaking I must down to the sea again for the call of the running tide Is a wild call and a clear call that may not be denied And all I ask is a windy day with white clouds flying And the flung spray and the blown spume And the seagulls crying I must down to the sea again to the vagrant gypsy life It’s the gull’s way and the whale’s way Where the winds like a whetted knife. And all I ask is a merry yarn from a laughing fellow rover And a quiet sleep and a sweet dream When the long trick’s over. Sea Fever John Masefield
Transcript
I must down to the Sea again to the rolling sea and sky.
And all I ask is a tall ship and a star to steer her by.
And the wheel’s kick and the wind’s song
And the white sails shaking
And a gray mist on the sea’s face
And a gray dawn breaking
I must down to the sea again for the call of the running tide
Is a wild call and a clear call that may not be denied
And all I ask is a windy day with white clouds flying
And the flung spray and the blown spume
And the seagulls crying
I must down to the sea again to the vagrant gypsy life
It’s the gull’s way and the whale’s way
Where the winds like a whetted knife.
And all I ask is a merry yarn from a laughing fellow rover
Belaying A Line........................................................................................................................................ 16
Line Safety................................................................................................................................................ 20
Parts of the Ship....................................................................................................................................... 21
Fore and Aft Sails...............................................................................................................................................25
Commands for Setting Sails .................................................................................................................... 29
Tacking the Ship ...................................................................................................................................... 33
Wearing the Ship...................................................................................................................................... 35
Man Overboard..................................................................................................................................................38
Points of Sail ............................................................................................................................................ 40
Close Reach.........................................................................................................................................................41
Running Before the Wind..................................................................................................................................41
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Welcome
ELISSA first set sail from Galveston as a restored square-rigger in 1982. Since then, countless volunteers have gone through the training classes and have earned their spot on the crew. Some have been there from the beginning. Many were on the crew for a year or two then moved on to other things in their lives.
ELISSA’s crew is made up of all kinds of people. There are people who started as children and those who started in their eighties. Some are doctors, some lawyers, and some are airline pilots. ELISSA has had teachers, priests, and astronauts at her wheel – people of all professions and walks of life.
In every one of them, ELISSA has left her mark. Her best attribute is that she changes people. It is hoped that you too will benefit from what ELISSA has to offer. There is much to learn. Those who have served her for many years claim that there is always so much more to learn.
This booklet does not contain all the things you will be learning in this class. It will not take the place of attendance in class. Rather, this booklet is designed to assist you in learning all of the skills you will need to pass your first test. If you study this material, pay attention in the classes, and practice what you’ve learned, you should do well on your first test.
We hope you enjoy seamanship training and look forward to sailing with you in March.
– The Youth Seamanship Training Committee
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Youth Crew Rules
1. Obey all orders immediately 2. Remain in public areas only unless sent by an adult instructor. 3. Keep your feet on the deck at all times 4. Do not run anywhere on the ship or on the site 5. No rough play or fighting 6. You must wear closed toed shoes at all times. No sandals or flip-flops. 7. Electronic devices are not permitted. 8. Do not feed any of the wildlife on site. 9. Keep up good grades in school 10. Stay alert and be mindful of potential dangers.
There will be 12 classes. All youth seamanship crewmembers must attend at least 9 classes to be eligible to sail in March. It is highly recommended that you not miss any, as we will not go over missed items. Late arrivals will be counted off for half of that day.
Youth crew members will be required to purchase two uniform shirts. There will be an everyday T-Shirt for sale at the orientation and later in the year orders will be taken for the Navy Blue sailing day uniform. In addition, pet ropes will be handed out at class time. They should be kept on one’s person at all times.
In general, Youth Crewmembers are not allowed to climb in the ship’s rigging. The Youth Crew does, however offer a climbing program to crewmembers 16 and older, provided a parent or legal guardian attends the climbing safety class with them (the parent is not required to climb) and provides their written consent. Only Youth Crewmembers that have completed the previous year’s sail training are eligible to participate in the Youth Crew climbing program. See an adult advisor for more information.
Youth Crew is open to anyone from the ages of 11 to 17. Under current TSM guidelines, anyone ages 12 through 15 are eligible to join the adult crew only if accompanied by a parent, and anyone ages 16 and 17 may join the adult crew if a parent comes down the first time and gives their written consent. (See the TSM Volunteer handbook for more details.) The Adult program however, is considered a college level course and the youth program is designed with the specific learning needs of the youth in mind. Parents should carefully consider whether they believe their child capable of passing the grueling tests and physical requirements of the adult crew before allowing them to join that program. Crewmembers must choose between one and the other. They will not be permitted to switch between the two halfway through, nor will they be allowed to attempt to participate in both. In any case, a parent or legal guardian must accompany their child the first time they attend in order to complete enrollment and legal release paperwork for their child.
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Training Schedule 2009-2010
Orientation August 15, 2009 AM only
Class I September 12, 2009
Class II September 26, 2009
Class III October 10, 2009
Work Day October 17, 2009
Class IV October 24, 2009
Class V November 7, 2009
Dickens Bake Sale December 5, 2009 Not Mandatory
Class VI December 12, 2009
Class VII January 23, 2010
Class VIII February 6, 2010
Class IX February 20, 2010
Class X February 27, 2010 Mentors Assigned
Class XI March 6, 2010 With Mentors
Class XII March 13, 2010 Graduation Probably Late Dismissal
Overnight TBD Crew sleeps over at TSM Crew to arrive at 17:00
Sailing Day TBD Wakeup 06:00 sail 08:00 Lunch ashore around 12:30ish
Unless otherwise noted, all classes begin at 9:00AM and end at 4:00PM. Youth crew members will not be allowed to leave the site during this time. Youth Crew members should plan to bring lunches as they will not be allowed off site for lunch. Sail date will be determined in late January or early February and is likely to be on a school day. Letters will be provided by the museum asking school administrators to excuse the youth crew members for the day.
A parent’s meeting will be held as part of the orientation on August 15th. Parents are encouraged to attend this meeting as there will be a great deal of useful information provided. There will also be an opportunity to have questions answered.
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Youth Leadership Council
The structure of ELISSA’s Youth Crew is designed to make the best use of experienced crewmembers. The concept is to have the program entirely youth planned, youth taught and youth led under careful adult supervision. The body of youth crew members that are picked to run the program are called the Youth Leadership Council and they are made up of one Master Watch Captain, one Chief Petty Officer, three Watch Captains and three Petty Officers, whose roles are discussed below. There are several reasons for this type of structure.
The crew structure is designed to divide the workload among multiple people so that no one person is burdened with all of the planning and all of the teaching. It gives the members of the Youth Leadership Council (YLC) a sense of ownership in the outcome of the training program. It gives the crew goals to work toward and it teaches leadership, self-reliance, self-confidence and a degree of discipline. It is also well known that the best way for someone to learn difficult tasks is for them to have to teach those tasks.
Each leadership position comes with one adult advisor, who is someone experienced in the position they are advising for. Each adult advisor can advise multiple officer positions.
ELISSA’s youth crew is divided up in three watches each assigned to one mast of the ship. Each watch is led by a Watch Captain and a Petty Officer. The Watch Captains are in turn led by a Master Watch Captain and the Petty Officers are led by a Chief Petty Officer.
Youth Seamanship Committee
The Youth Seamanship Committee is a sub-committee of the Texas Seaport Museum Committee, which is the steering committee. Its membership is made up mostly of the adult advisors but the crew themselves are represented on the committee by the Master Watch Captain.
Master Watch Captain
The Master Watch Captain has final training responsibility. This person is responsible for designing and executing the lesson plans, assigning teaching roles to members of his team. This person is also responsible for leading whole ship activities and calls maneuvers and sails to be set. The Master Watch Captain is the sole youth member of the Youth Seamanship Committee and participates in the decisions that affect the program.
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Chief Petty Officer
The Chief Petty Officer is the second in command and assists in whole ship activities. At the pleasure of the Master Watch Captain and with the permission of the Youth Seamanship Committee, the Chief Petty Officer may be delegated any of the Master Watch Captain’s tasks. The Chief Petty Officer reviews and makes certain that the tasks of the Petty Officers are being performed satisfactorily. The Chief Petty Officer also serves as a liaison between Youth Crew and the adult crew.
Watch Captain
There is a Watch Captain for each mast. The Watch Captains are responsible for teaching. In the early classes, the crew will rotate in round-robin fashion from Watch Captain to Watch Captain. During these round-robin training events, the Watch Captains teach tasks that are universal to all masts such as knots, belaying and coiling, line handling, heaving line etc. When the crew is assigned to watches, they are given time to learn from their Watch Captains tasks that are specific to their masts.
Petty Officers
There are 3 Petty officers on the crew. The Petty Officers serve on their masts as assistant Watch Captains and will take over the training of their crew in the event the Watch Captain cannot perform their duties. Each Petty Officer also has whole-ship duties that will occasionally take them away from their watches.
Ships Clerk
• Responsible for maintaining crew records
• Takes the daily roll
• Collects required forms
• Maintains the crew roster, keeping track of: o Who is on each mast o Who has passed various advancement levels o Who has been assigned to each watch
• Is assigned as the Fore Mast Watch’s Petty Officer
Ship’s Stores Keeper
• Sets up all training aids
• Designs new training aids with the assistance of their Adult Advisor
• Collects funds for Crew Shirts and Work Shirts and hands the shirts out
• Serves as Youth Crew Foreman on volunteer work days
• Sees to it that the ship is in good order before the crew leaves for the day
• Is assigned to the Main Mast Watch as their Petty Officer
Safety Officer
• Assists their adult advisor in enforcing Youth Crew rules and safety procedures
• Teaches all safety classes
• Teaches emergency procedures o Fire Drill o Man Overboard o Abandon Ship Drill o Sea Sickness
• Is the Mizzen Mast Watch’s Petty Officer
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Basic Skills
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ELISSA's History
ELISSA's construction was commissioned by Henry Fowler Watt, a ship owner from Liverpool England. She was built in Aberdeen Scotland by the renowned shipbuilding company Alexander Hall & Sons. She was a small ship for her time and she was designed for the South American Timber trade. Because she was shallow drafted (meaning she wasn't very deep in the water) she could go into the unimproved South American ports that the bigger steam ships couldn't go and carry timber from South America to England. ELISSA was launched on October 27, 1877 and undertook her first voyage under the command of Captain Wheaton.
Many ships of ELISSA's era belonged to sailing lines that had regular schedules and would call on pre-determined ports on pre-determined dates. Not ELISSA, whose first 20 years as a sailing ship saw her serving as a tramp vessel. This meant that whatever cargo the captain could find in the port she was currently in, would determine ELISSA's next port of call. ELISSA's first trip to Galveston on December 26th 1883 had her bringing a load of bananas. She left early in 1884 bound for her homeport of Liverpool carrying a load of cotton. On her second voyage to Galveston, ELISSA brought a load of coal and left in ballast because the captain couldn't find any cargoes leaving Galveston that trip.
In 1897, ELISSA was caught in a terrible storm in the North Sea and was severely damaged. Captain Watt was determined to restore her to sailing condition and went broke doing so. He sold her to the Norwegian company Bugge and Olsen and retired from the sea.
Bugge and Olsen renamed her FJELD and sailed her for another 20 years until just before World War I under her full rig. Her next owners renamed her GUSTAV and in 1918 reduced her rig to a barquentine (a ship with square sails on her fore mast but fore and aft rigged on her mizzen) and installed a diesel engine. Over the years and from owner to owner, ELISSA's rig was gradually reduced until finally in the 1960s she was owned by a band of Greek smugglers and carrying untaxed cigarettes between Yugoslavia and Italy, carrying the name CHRISTOPHOROS. Her sailing rig was completely gone and her beautiful sailing ship bow had been broken in a series of collisions and attempts at disguising her by the Smugglers. By 1966, disagreements between the smuggler crew caused ELISSA to be up for sale. Because of her age, there was really one place for her to go... the scrapyard.
But it happened that a man named Peter Throckmorton, an amateur Marine Archaeologist was delivering a motor launch in the port of Piraeus Greece (Piraeus is the port city serving Athens) and noticed ELISSA. Although she looked for all the world to the untrained eye like any other old motor ship, Throckmorton recognized in her the graceful lines and remnants of the rigging of an old sailing ship. Being of the kind of man that would fit in with smugglers, Throckmorton talked his way on board and was given a tour of the ship. On his tour he saw the builders plate attached to what was left of the Mizzen Mast in the aft accommodations. It declared that ELISSA was built in 1877 by Alexander Hall & CO with a hull number 294. Throckmorton contacted the Hall Shipyards, still in business at the time, inquired about hull number 294 and was told that her name was ELISSA.
Meanwhile, the San Francisco Maritime museum under the leadership of Karl Kortum had embarked on a project of tracking the last remaining sailing ships. Records showed the existence of ELISSA and no insurance claims had been filed declaring that she had been lost at sea, so Kortum knew that ELISSA had to still be out there somewhere. The problem was that a ship being owned by smugglers isn't easy to track. Smugglers don't want people to know where they are and what they are doing so they do not keep a ship insured and they do not maintain any public records. So ELISSA's trail in history had gone cold. When Throckmorton found her, the Hall Shipyard put Throckmorton in contact with Kortum and the two began to devise a scheme to purchase her from the smugglers.
In November of 1970, Throckmorton acting as an agent for the San Francisco Maritime museum purchased ELISSA from the smugglers for $14,000. There was a great deal of secrecy in the deal. Both Throckmorton and Kortum knew that if the smugglers knew that ELISSA had been a sailing ship or that an American Museum was the organization working on purchasing her, the price would increase immediately to the point that purchasing her would be impossible. So great pains were went to to hide the true nature of the purchase. Throckmorton even had a story ready that he was purchasing ELISSA to be a gravel barge in South America. But some of the secrecy was unnecessary. As soon as the documents had been signed one of the smugglers told Throckmorton, "by the way, did you know she used to be a sailing ship?"
From that moment on, with ELISSA still sitting in Piraeus, Kortum and Throckmorton embarked on a 5 year effort to find an organization with the will and means to restore ELISSA to sailing condition.
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Meanwhile in Galveston, efforts were underway to restore the Historic Strand District, spearheaded by the Galveston Historical Foundation. It was recognized that in order to better display the historic buildings of Galveston, there should be a display of the sailing ships that built Galveston. Originally a reproduction of Jean LaFitte's pirate ship was considered, but it was decided that there would be until the end of time to build replicas, a sailing ship should be found and restored while there were still some around. The Foundation's only stipulation was that any ship found and restored had to have ties to Galveston. ELISSA, having called on Galveston in 1883 and in 1886 met that requirement. So in October of 1975 almost exactly 98 years after she had been launched, Galveston Historical Foundation purchased ELISSA from Karl Kortum and Peter Throckmorton for $40,000.00.
Galveston Historical Foundation sent a team of volunteers to Piraeus with $500,000 and orders to restore ELISSA and sail her triumphantly home. After several years and one million dollars had been spent, ELISSA was no where ready to be sailed. Her clipper bow had been restored and 25% of her hull plating had been replaced due to neglect and old age. But there was still much that needed to be done and the Foundation recognized that the only way to continue to receive support for the project was to bring her home. ELISSA was towed to Galveston and arrived on July 20, 1979 amidst much fanfare. But because of ELISSA's condition, many people quietly called it "the emperor’s new clothes." But Galveston Historical Foundation's reputation was at stake so they launched a 2 year do-or-die effort to completely restore ELISSA.
GHF's effort paid off because on July 4th, 1982 ELISSA opened to the public as a newly restored square rigger. But this wasn't the end of it. GHF's philosophy of the restoration was that it did no good to simply preserve the ship without preserving the skills associated with sailing the ship. So in August of 1982, ELISSA began the first of her annual series of daysails. Each year since then, volunteers from all walks of life and some even from other parts of the country have come to help maintain this proud ship and learn to sail her.
In 1986 ELISSA undertook a daring voyage for an historical vessel. The volunteers sailed her from Galveston to New York City to participate in the parade of sail celebrating the centennial of the Statue of Liberty. ELISSA was the oldest of the 23 Class A square riggers in that fleet.
ELISSA lives at her berth at the Texas Seaport Museum in Galveston, Tx and continues each year to meet her annual day sails commitment as well as serving as a sailing ambassador to other cities on occasion.
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Sailing Vocabulary
Port The left side of the ship
Starboard The right side of the ship
Bow The front end of the ship
Stern The back end of the ship
Forward Direction; toward the bow
Aft Direction; toward the stern of the ship
Inboard Direction; toward the center of the ship
Outboard Direction; toward the outside of the ship
Windward Direction; the side of the ship the wind is coming from.
Lee Direction; the side of the ship the wind is blowing away from.
Aloft Above deck or in the rigging.
Below Beneath the weather decks, in the cabins, hold, or foc’sle.
Deck Any floor section of the ship. The Weather Decks are the outside floors and Below Decks are the inside floors.
Head Sailor’s term for restroom
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Commands
Man the…
(Name of line)
Lay the coil of the named line down and get ready to work it. If it is not under strain, take the line off of the belaying pin and look at the mast captain to let them know you are ready. If the line is under strain, take the hitch or first turn off and look at the mast captain.
Haul Away
(Aka) Heave
Around Pull on a line or march around the capstan.
Avast STOP!!! Stop what you are doing and hold what you have. (Never drop a line you’ve been pulling on.)
That’s Well Stop and hold the line. Wait for additional orders.
Ease Up Give a little slack slowly – DON’T let go of the line!
Up Behind Drop the line and throw it toward the pin so the person in front can belay it.
Belay Secure the line to its belaying pin or bitts.
Take a Strain Continue to hold on to the line or pull a little.
Ease Away Pay out line, keeping at least one turn on the pin.
Cast Off Take the line completely off a pin.
Strike the…
(Name of sail) Douse the sail as quickly as is safel
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Knots
A good knot must be able to be tied quickly, hold tightly and untied quickly. Tying the wrong knot in the wrong place will result in taking too long to tie, the knot might come undone under the strain or it might bind up and be impossible to be untied when the work is done.
While you are learning about sailing ELISSA, you will usually be told which knots to use most of the time. There will be times, however that you will have to figure it out on your own.
In class, you will be given a “pet rope.” Keep this rope in your bedroom or somewhere you will be every day and use it every day to practice your knots. You will be taught the knots in class but here are some diagrams to help jog your memory as you practice your knots at home. You will also need to bring your pet rope to class with you so that you can learn new ones. Knots are extremely hard to learn from a book or online, so the more you do them, the easier they will become.
Square Knot
(aka Reef
Knot)
Left over right then right over left.
Granny Knot
This is what you get if you tie a square knot incorrectly. You will never need to tie a Granny knot.
Figure 8
Knot
Make a bight, pass the bitter end behind the bight, around in front of the bight, then through the bight from back to front.
Bowline
On ELISSA, we don’t use the silly old story about the rabbit, the hole and the tree. We start with a mast stepped from below decks (in other words a small loop with the standing end under the working end,) the sailor (the bitter end) comes out of the hatch, around the mast then back down the hatch.
The Bowline is used whenever you need
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a loop that will not shrink and tighten up, such as in mooring lines.
Sheet Bend
Tied with two lines. Make a bight (half loop) in one line. Pass the end of the other line through the bight, then around the bight, and tuck it under itself on top of the bight.
A Sheet Bend is for tying two lines of different sizes or types together. If the lines differ in size, the larger diameter line should be made into the bight and the smaller or more slippery line should be the one used to make the knot.
Both Bitter ends MUST end up on the same side of the knot.
Rolling Hitch
(Slippery is shown.)
For pulling or holding one line with another. Working away from the load, make two turns around the line being held toward the load. Then, cross over both turns and make one turn away from the load and tuck the bitter end under that one last turn.
Make sure you keep going the same direction on each turn.
Cow Hitch
Take the bitter end around the pole and cross in front of the standing end. Then double back going under the pole then over it. Tuck the bitter end in the resulting loop.
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Constrictor
Hold the standing end in your left hand and pass the bitter end around the pole at an angle to the right. Make a second pass around the pole, this time angling to the left, forming an X. Pass the bitter end outside of your hand (to it’s left) and tuck it under both parts of the X across the pole.
The end result is an overhand knot trapped by part of the line.
Knot Anecdote
One never knows when knowledge of knots will be important.
Clayton Kirkland is a long time ELISSA volunteer and is also a stunt pilot. On one particular day, he was in his plane practicing his tricks when one of the cables that control the rudder came loose. Because of the cramped quarters, he couldn’t reach to re-connect the cable to the rudder pedal but he was able to slip a piece of tarred marlin (what we call small stuff) around the pedal and secure it with a bowline. He then tied the other end of the marlin to the rudder cable with a rolling hitch. This gave him just enough control over his airplane that he could return to the airport, safely land and reconnect the rudder cable properly.
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Belaying A Line
The best way to remember how to belay a line is to think of a belaying pin as having two sides, a fair side and a foul side. The fair side might be the left side of the pin or it might be the right side of the pin. Which side is fair depends on which side the line is coming from. If the line is coming from the right, then fair is on the right side and vice versa. You always start on the fair side, then you stay on the foul side. If you are coming from above the belaying pin, you should start your turns on the fair side below the belaying pin. If you are coming from below the belaying pin, you should start your turns on the fair side on the top of the belaying pin.
In this case, the fair side is on the left because the line is coming from the left. You will start on the bottom of the belaying pin because the line is coming from above.
You will start on the fair side, but all of your turns afterward will go on the foul side.
Fair Side Foul Side
This picture is wrong. The line starts on the fair side, but then goes back up on the fair side. You should always start on the fair side, but then always go on the foul side until the belay is complete.
Fair Side Foul Side
This picture is also wrong. This is called a foul lead. Notice that it crosses in front of the pin to the foul side before it goes under.
Fair Side Foul Side
A completed belay has three (and only three) passes of the line around the top of the belaying pin. Lines that hold a sail set get a weather hitch, which means that the third pass on top is twisted. Lines that do not hold a sail set just have a third pass around the top as normal. It is important that you learn this difference
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Coiling
On occasion, things happen so fast aboard ship that the crew has little time for neatness. These times are few and far between and the crew should always strive to keep the deck clean. After a belay is called and if no other order has been given, the crew must get in the habit of immediately coiling all lines without being told to do so and almost without thinking. Coiling is simple to do but will take a great deal of practice to do it well. That's ok, you will get lots and lots of practice.
You begin a coil going from the belaying pin directly to deck and begin making clockwise circles with the line. It is important to always go clockwise, otherwise you are untwisting the rope that the line is made out of and making it weaker.
Make a clockwise circle on deck. Most of the time, as a rule of thumb you will make the coil 4 planks wide. As you gain experience, you will learn that some coils need to be a little larger and some may need to be a little smaller, but for now, make all of your coils 4 planks wide.
18
Keep making neat clockwise circles piling the line on top of itself. If the line wants to kink, work that kink out toward the end. That's why you began your coil from the belaying pin... so that you can work your kinks toward the bitter end of the line.
When you run out of line, simply lay the bitter end on the coil as part of the coil. Pay attention to where it is, though because it will make a difference where you grab to pick up the coil.
Pick up the coil with your left hand. The bitter end should be toward you and between 3 o'clock and 5 o'clock on the coil. Never let the bitter end hang down below the coil. Bring the coil bitter end toward you close to the rail. With your right hand, reach through the center of the coil and grab the standing end coming from the belaying pin. Flip the line in your right hand so it forms a loop. Do not pull the loop through the coil, but lay the coil on top of the loop so that the part of the loop that crosses on top of the part going to the pin is trapped between the pin and the coil. bring the loop over the top of the coil and over the top of the pin to hold the coil in place.
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When you are done, the coil should look something like this. Ideally, the line should be one "bosun's foot" off the deck. This means that if you put your heel on deck, the coil should just come to the tip of your feet. If all coils are the right size, the bottoms of all the coils will form a perfectly straight line down the deck.
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Line Safety
Before you sail in March, you will have to memorize a lot of things. But the most important thing for you to memorize are the 5 laws of line handling.
We want you to finish this class with all of your fingers and both of your hands. If you do not follow the 5 laws of line handling, you will get hurt. Very few ELISSA crewmembers have ever been hurt falling from the rigging. There have been many ELISSA crewmembers that have been hurt from improperly handling their lines.
The important thing about line safety
The 5 Laws of Line Handling
1) Never let a line slide through your hands 2) Never wrap a line around any part of your body 3) Never stand in a coil or on a line 4) Never let your hands come closer than 12 inches from a block, a bitt or a belaying pin 5) Treat every line as if it’s under heavy load
Memorize these laws in order.
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Parts of the Ship
Weather Decks
Elissa's weather decks are just what they sound like. Decks that get the weather... decks that the sun shines on and it rains on. If you are on the weather decks you feel the wind.
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Below Decks
If you are in a house you might need to go downstairs. On a ship, you go "below." There are a number of spaces "below" that you need to know about. You should familiarize yourself with these spaces so that if you are sent to get something, no-one will need to describe where it is. They just tell you where to go, and you can go there.
The Foc’sle is the cabin where Elissa’s crew slept. There are 8 bunks in the Foc’sle. Originally, Elissa’s crew would be divided into port and starboard watches. Port watch would have their bunks on the port side and Starboard would have theirs on the starboard side. Port and starboard watches would take 4 hour turns (watches) running the ship, since the ship has to be run around the clock. The watches slept on opposite sides of the ship so that if you needed to get something during your watch, you weren’t rummaging around next to someone who was trying to sleep.
In the center of the Foc’sle, in the deck is a grate covered hatch. Down this hatch are two more spaces. These are called the Fore Peak and the Lower Fore Peak. Both spaces are used for storage while we are out at sea but the important thing to know about the Fore Peak is that it has the chain lockers where the ship’s anchor chains are stored.
Just aft of the Foc’sle is the Fore Hatch. The Fore Hatch has a ladder leading down into the Wet Area. In the Wet Area, there are two heads and a shower compartment for the crew. The heads are only to be used when the ship is out at sea. The Wet Area is a space designed for keeping wet rain suits (known as foul weather gear) so that they aren't brought into the Lower Foc’sle. Down another ladder is the Fore Lower Hold where there is a work bench, refrigerators and the blackwater (sewage from the heads) and greywater (sewage from the galley) tanks. Aft of the wet area is the Lower Foc’sle. This is a space where there are additional bunks for the crew when the ship goes offshore.
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Leaving the Lower Foc’sle through the aft hatch in the cabin, you should know that sealing the hatch closes off two of the five watertight compartments. The idea is that if one compartment fills with water, the others can keep the ship afloat until help can arrive. When sailing, these hatches are always kept closed. Walking aft, we go through another watertight hatch into the mid hold where the stairs that is the access for the general public comes down through the main hatch. When sailing, this main hatch is sealed and these stairs are inaccessible. We then walk through the Aft Hold where the Engineer’s Shop is. The Mid Hold and the Aft Hold are primarily used for display decks, but under them are water tanks, ballast trunks and a space called Bilge Wings, which is where we store mooring lines and fenders.
Down a small stairway and through yet another watertight hatch we go through the Engine Room. There is another small stairway going up through a watertight hatch into the Officer's Quarters called the Aft Accomodations. This is where the Captain and Officers lived and worked.
You leave the Aft Accomodations through a narrow spiral staircase known as the Companionway. The Companionway is purposefully narrow. Originally, this was the only way in our out of the officer's quarters and if there were a mutiny on the ship, it would be an easy place for the officers to defend themselves from the mutineers.
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Types of Sails
On ELISSA
Square Sails
Sails that hang from a yard and are set by being pulled down to the yard below or to the deck. Square doesn't refer to the shape of the sail (square sails are actually trapezoid in shape) but to the angle the sail rests, that is perpindicular (aka square) to the center line of the ship. The name of the sail is the same as the name of the yard it hangs from. ELISSA carries 10 square sails
Hoisting
Yards
There are 3 hoisting sails each on the fore and main masts. They are the highest 3. A hoisting square sail is set in two basic steps: first the clews need to be brought down to the yard below, and then the entire yard is hoisted by a halyard, to stretch out the sail.
Fixed
Yards
The fore and main masts have two fixed square sails each: The lower topsail and the course. There is only one step in setting the lower topsail, which is to haul the clew of the sail down to the yard below.
Courses This is the name given to the lowest of ELISSA’s square sails on each mast. They are also known as Foresail and Mainsail, but if you are speaking of both sails, you generally call them “courses.”
Fore-and-Aft
Sails This is the name of a group of sails that are set along the length of the ship… from fore to aft. ELISSA carries 9 fore-and-aft sails. There are a number of types of fore-and-aft sails:
Staysails
Staysails are attached by metal loops called hanks on a piece of standing rigging called a stay. The name of the sail comes from the name of the stay from which it hangs. The stay, in turn, is named for the part of the mast it is responsible for holding up. ELISSA carries 5 staysails. (Including one that is also considered a headsail.)
Headsails Headsails are similar to staysails as they also are attached to stays by hanks. Headsails are set before (in front of) the foremast and are used in part for steering. They are sometimes called jibs but of ELISSA’S 3 headsails, only two can properly be called jibs.
Spanker
ELISSA carries one spanker on her mizzenmast. A spanker is what is known as gaff rigged, meaning that it is set from a spar that angles up as it goes aft, and the foot is more or less flat.
ELISSA’S spanker is used to help steer the ship.
Gaff
Topsail Like the Spanker, ELISSA only carries one Gaff Topsail on her mizzenmast. The Gaff Topsail is ELISSA’S strangest looking sail and helps the Spanker in steering.
Parts of Square Sails Parts of Stay Sails Parts of the Spanker
also Main Topmast Staysail
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ELISSA's Sail Plan
Fore and Aft Sails
1. Outer Jib 2. Inner Jib 3. Fore Topmast Staysail 4. Main T’gallantmast Staysail 5. Main Topmast Staysail
There are over 182 line positions aboard ELISSA. It can be a little scary in learning the names, positions, and functions of that many lines, but it is helpful to just learn the types of lines first, then it will be much easier to memorize the pin-rail for your advanced skills test. In the opposing lines lists, the line that is most directly opposite is listed first. In your basic skills test, you will be asked to identify one of each type of line and you will have to tell what line most directly opposes it.
Halyard
Lines for hauling things into the rigging. A Halyard is pulled to set most sails, hauling the top (head) of the sail up. It is eased to douse the sail. Flag halyards haul flags into the rigging as well.
Opposing Lines – (Fore-and-Aft Sails) Downhauls and Sheets (Square Sails) Clewlines, Buntlines, Leeches and Braces
Downhaul
Lines for dousing staysails. Downhauls haul the sail down but also pick the clew of the sail up so that it doesn’t crash onto the deck. Downhauls are eased to set the sail and hauled on to bring the sail in.
Opposing Lines – Halyards and Sheets
Sheets
Control the bottom or aft-most corners (clews) of sails. On fore-and-aft sails, they are tightened or eased to control the shape of the sail. On square sails, they are hauled on to stretch the bottom of the sail to the yard or deck below.
Opposing Lines – (Fore-and-Aft Sails) Halyards and Downhauls (Square Sails) Clewlines, Buntlines and Leeches.
Buntlines
Only exist on square sails. They pick the bottom (foot) of the sail up to the yard when taking the sail in. They must be eased to set the sail.
Opposing Lines – Halyards and Sheets
Clewlines
Only exist on square sails. Clewlines (or Clew Garnets on course sails) pick up the bottom corners (clews) of square sails when taking the sail in. They must be eased to set the sail.
Opposing Lines – Halyards, Sheets, and Tacks.
Leechlines
Only exist on square sails. Leech Lines run to the sides (leeches) of the sail and pull the sail inboard to spill the wind when dousing the sail. Leech Lines must be eased to set the sail.
Opposing Lines – Halyards, Sheets, and Tacks.
Braces
Only exist on yards for square sails. Braces control the angle of square yards to the ship and the wind, to catch the wind from the best direction possible.
Opposing Lines – Opposite Braces, Lifts
Peak Outhaul
Only exists on the spanker. The peak outhaul hauls the top aft corner (the peak) of the spanker up and aft, along the Gaff Boom to set the sail. The peak outhaul is eased to douse the spanker.
Opposing Lines – Peak Inhaul, Brails, Clew Inhaul
Peak Inhaul
Only exists on the spanker. The peak inhaul brings the top aft corner of the spanker (the peak) toward the mast to douse the spanker. It must be eased to set the spanker.
Opposing Lines – Peak Outhaul and Clew Outhaul
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Intermediate Skills
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Sailing Vocabulary
Standing Rigging Lines that hold the masts and spars in place. These lines do not move and are usually coated with black pine tar..
Running Rigging Lines that do tasks on the ship such as setting and dowsing sails. These lines move.
Stay Standing rigging that runs from the top of the mast to the deck and holds the mast in place.
Backstay A stay that runs from the top of the mast aft and down to the deck and keeps the mast from falling forward.
Forestay
A stay that runs from the top of the mast forward and down and keeps the mast from falling toward the stern. Staysails are flown from forestays and get their names from those stays.
Shroud Standing rigging that runs from the top of a mast from inboard to outboard on both sides of the ship to keep the mast from falling to the side.
Ratlines Lines that run between shrouds and form a ladder that allow crew to climb to perform various tasks.
Cranelines Lines that run across the ship from the shrouds, are attached to the mast and continue to run to the shrouds on the other side.
Futtock Shrouds Shrouds that go from the upper part of the mast to the outside of the Crosstrees or Tops
Tops A platform at the top of the main and fore masts that is vaguely wing shaped. It is used as a base for the topmast shrouds.
Crosstrees A platform at the top of the main topmast and the fore topmast that is used as a base for the T'Gallant mast Shrouds.
Foot Ropes Standing Rigging that hangs from the bottom of a yard allowing crew to stand while working on the sail.
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Commands for Setting Sails
As far as setting, there are 6 basic types of sails on ELISSA. Hoisting Square Yards, Non-Hoisting Square Yards, Loose Footed Yards, Staysails, The Spanker and the Gaff Topsail. Each type of sail has it’s own setting and dowsing commands that are given by the mast captain. It is important for each of Elissa’s Crewmembers to know each of the steps so that they can help the mast captain ensure that each line that is necessary is covered.
Action Sails Affected Crew Actions
Setting Hoisting Square Sails
Both Upper Topsails
Both T’Gallants
Both Royals
1. Man the … Gear a. Lay down coils to all lines for that sail. b. Lines that will be hauled on (Sheets) should be
removed completely from the pins and ready to be hauled
c. Lines that will be eased (bunts, leeches & clews) are taken down to where they can be controlled.
2. Sheet Home a. Port and Starboard sheets are hauled on at the
same pace. b. Bunts and leeches are cast off. c. Clews are tended under the pin.
3. Man the … Halyard a. Bunts clews and leeches are cast off. b. The sheets for the next higher sail are cast off. c. Braces for that sail are manned. d. The Halyard is cast off and lead for hauling.
4. Heave around the Halyard a. The halyard is hauled on. b. The Braces are rounded in.
5. That’s well the Halyard, Stopper and Belay a. Halyard stops hauling.
i. Stopper is tied ii. Halyard is belayed
Dowsing Hoisting Square Sails
Both Upper Topsails
Both T’Gallants
Both Royals
1. Man the … Gear a. Halyard is taken down to one full turn around the
pin. b. Clews, bunts and leeches are manned. c. Braces are manned.
2. Clew Down a. The halyard is taken to a half turn and eased
quickly. b. Braces are rounded in. c. Clews bunts and leeches have all slack taken out
but are not hauled on. d. When yard is all the way down, the person easing
the halyard should sing out “Halyard Slack.” 3. Clew Up
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a. Sheets are cast off. b. Bunts, clews and leeches are hauled on until the
sail is hanging in its gear. c. Bunts and leeches should then give one foot of
slack.
Setting Non-Hoisting Square Sails
Both Lower Topsails
1. Man the Lower Topsail Gear. a. Sheets are cast off and led out for hauling. b. Bunts, clews and leeches are taken down to one
turn. c. Course lifts are both cast off.
2. Sheet Home. a. Sheets are hauled on with the sheet blocks coming
down together. b. Bunts and leeches are cast off. c. Clews are tended until the sail is set.
Dousing Non-Hoisting Square Sails
Both Lower Topsails
1. Man the Lower Topsail Gear. a. Bunts, clews and leeches cast off and readied for
hauling. b. Sheets taken to one turn.
2. Clew Up. a. Bunts, clews and leeches hauled on. b. Sheets are cast off.
Setting Loose-Footed Square Sails
Both Courses 1. Man the Course Gear a. Lee sheet is cast off and ready to be hauled on. b. Weather Tack is rigged onto the capstan. c. Bunts, leeches and clew garnets are manned for
easing. 2. Ease the Weather Clew one Fathom.
a. The Weather Clew Garnett eases about 6 feet. b. The Capstan crew takes up the slack.
3. Haul aft the sheet a. The lee sheet is hauled on. b. The lee Clew Garnet, bunts and leech give slack
as needed by the sheet. 4. Board the tack
a. Capstan crew marches around the capstan to haul on the tack.
b. All bunts, leeches and clew garnets are eased.
Dousing Loose-Footed Square Sails
Both Courses 1. Man the Course Gear. a. Tugboat hitch is taken off of the capstan. b. Lee sheet is taken down to two turns. c. Bunts, clew garnets and leeches are cast off and
ready to be hauled on. 2. Rise Tacks and Sheets.
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a. All bunts, clew garnets and leeches are hauled on. b. Capstan eases then casts off the tack. c. Sheet eases then casts off the sheet.
1. Man the … Gear a. Cast off the downhaul and ready to haul. b. Take the Halyard and Lee Sheet down to one turn
and ready to ease. 2. Ease away the halyard.
a. Halyard and sheets ease away. b. Downhaul hauls.
Setting the Spanker.
Spanker 1. Man the Spanker Gear. a. Brailes cast off and rigged for running. b. Peak and Clew outhauls cast off and ready for
hauling. c. Peak and Clew inhauls taken down to one turn
and ready for easing. d. Jigger tackle is run out.
2. Heave around the peak. a. Peak outhaul is hauled on. b. Peak inhaul is eased on.
3. Heave around the clew. a. Clew outhaul is hauled on. b. Clew inhaul is eased away. c. When the Clew Eye is within reach, the jigger
tackle is hooked on and hauls with the Clew outhaul.
Dowsing the Spanker
Spanker 1. Man the Spanker Gear. a. Brailes cast off and ready for hauling. (Lee brailes
are more important than weather.) b. Peak and Clew outhauls taken down to one turn
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and ready for easing. c. Peak and Clew inhauls cast off and ready for
hauling. 2. Ease away the clew.
a. The clew inhaul is hauled on. b. The clew outhaul is eased. c. The brailes are hauled on. d. Peak inhaul and outhaul stay where they are.
3. Ease away the peak. a. The peak inhaul is hauled on. b. The peak outhaul is eased. c. All brailes continue to be hauled on until sail is
dowsed.
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Tacking the Ship
No matter how hard you try, a sailing ship cannot sail into the wind. So what happens when your destination is directly upwind? Give up and wait for the wind to change? Actually because of the way a ship sails, it can sail at an angle to the wind, so sailing in a zigzag pattern (called beating to windward) can allow the ship to end up at a place directly upwind from where it started.
But this means we have to steer the ship so that its bow is pointing directly into the wind. If this isn’t done properly, the ship will be caught in irons, which means it can neither steer toward the wind nor away from it. So a sailing ship has a complex set of steps that have to be taken to steer her through the wind. These come in the form of commands given by the Captain or one of the mates.
Here is a list of the commands that are given and what should be done when you hear each command. It is important to remember that you take your commands from the mast captain, not the officer. So wait to hear from your mast captain before you do any pulling on lines.
Command What Happens Mast Action For Each Mast
Ready About All masts should get ready to tack
Foremast Mainmast Mizzenmast
Man the course gear Man the course gear Shift the preventer
Helm’s A lee The ships Wheel is slowly turned toward the wind
Foremast Mainmast Mizzenmast
Stands by to take in the Fore Sail Stands by to take in the Main Sail Stands by to haul on the sheet & preventer
Haul Spanker Amidships
The spanker is hauled toward the weather side to put pressure on the stern.
Foremast Mainmast Mizzenmast
Stands by to take in the Fore Sail Stands by to take in the Main Sail Haul spanker sheet & preventer
Ease Headsail Sheets
All headsail sheets are eased to take pressure away from the bow.
Foremast Mainmast Mizzenmast
Eases the sheets on all 3 headsails Stands by to take in the Main Sail Keeps hauling on the sheet & preventer
Rise tack and sheet on the fore
The Fore Course is taken in
Foremast Mainmast Mizzenmast
Takes in the Fore Sail Stands by to take in the Main Sail Is still hauling on the sheet & preventer
Rise tack and sheet on the main
The Main Course is taken in.
Foremast Mainmast Mizzenmast
Goes back to the braces Takes in the Main Sail Don’t stop hauling on the sheet & preventer
Back the headsails The headsails are set backwards so the bow is pushed through the wind.
Foremast Mainmast Mizzenmast
Hauls on the old weather sheets Goes quickly back to the braces Aren’t you amidships yet?
Mainsail Haul All of the main yards are hauled to
Foremast Mainmast
Gets ready to haul on the braces Hauls on the old weather braces
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the opposite tack. Mizzenmast Helps Mainmast
Slack away the spanker sheet
The Spanker is eased out as far as it will go.
Foremast Mainmast Mizzenmast
Stands by at the braces Keeps hauling on those braces Eases the sheet & takes up slack on the preventer.
Shift Headsail sheets
The headsails are shifted onto their new tack.
Foremast Mainmast Mizzenmast
Shifts the headsails to the new tack Stands by to shift staysails Stands by to shift staysails
Shift Staysail Sheets
All of the ship’s staysails are shifted onto their new tack.
Foremast Mainmast Mizzenmast
Stands by to Let Go and Haul Shifts both main staysails Shifts both mizzen staysails
Let Go and Haul The Fore Yards are hauled onto their new tack.
Foremast Mainmast Mizzenmast
Hauls on weather braces and eases on lee Stands by to set the Main Belays and coils down
Rudder Amidships The wheel begins stopping the turning of the ship.
Foremast Mainmast Mizzenmast
Keeps hauling Stands by to set the Main Stands by
Set the Main Sail The Main Course is set.
Foremast Mainmast Mizzenmast
Finishes hauling Sets the Main Sail Keeps coiling
Helm Full and By The wheel sets the new course.
Foremast Mainmast Mizzenmast
Stands by to set the Fore Sail Belays and coils down Keeps coiling
Set the Fore Sail The Fore Course is set.
Foremast Mainmast Mizzenmast
Sets the Fore Sail then belays and coils down Finishes coiling Finishes coiling
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Wearing the Ship
There is another maneuver called Wearing Ship. Basically it is like tacking, except that the wind moves around the stern instead of over the bow. It is a much slower and easier maneuver but you lose ground to the wind and it takes up a lot of room. This is ok when you are out at sea where there are no other ships, but in a crowded harbor or with nearby rocks, it isn’t ok.
Command What Happens Mast Action For Each Mast
Stand by To Wear Ship
The Spanker is dowsed
Foremast Mainmast Mizzenmast
Goes to the braces Gets ready to take in the course Dowses the Spanker & Gaff Topsail
Rise Tacks and Sheets on the Main
Main Course is taken in
Foremast Mainmast Mizzenmast
Stands by on the Braces Takes in the main sail Finishes taking in the Spanker & Gaff Topsail
Ware-O Wheel starts turning the ship slowly away from the wind.
Foremast Mainmast Mizzenmast
Stands by on the braces Goes back to the braces Stands by to help the main mast
Brace Yards Square to the wind.
Braces are hauled on to keep the wind in the sails
Foremast Mainmast Mizzenmast
Hauls on fore braces and Fore Sail sheet Hauls on main braces Helps Main Mast with braces
Shift all Fore and aft sails
All Fore-And-Aft sails are shifted to the new tack
Foremast Mainmast Mizzenmast
Shifts the headsails (braces don’t stop hauling) Shifts the staysails (don’t stop hauling either!) Shifts the staysails and Spanker Boom
Set the Spanker The Spanker and Gaff Topsail are set.
Foremast Mainmast Mizzenmast
Keeps hauling Keeps hauling Sets the Spanker and Gaff Topsail
Helm Full and By The wheel sets the new course.
Foremast Mainmast Mizzenmast
Hauls on the old weather sheets Goes quickly back to the braces Aren’t you amidships yet?
Mainsail Haul All of the main yards are hauled to the opposite tack.
Foremast Mainmast Mizzenmast
Finishes hauling and begins to coil Finishes hauling and stands by the Main Sail Stands by to set the spanker
Slack away the spanker sheet
The Spanker is eased out as far as it will go.
Foremast Mainmast Mizzenmast
Stands by at the braces Keeps hauling on those braces Eases the sheet & takes up slack on the preventer.
Set the Main The Mainsail is set Foremast Mainmast Mizzenmast
Finishes Coiling Sets the Main Sail, belays and coils Belays and coils all lines
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ELISSA's Pinrail
ELISSA's sails are all controlled from on deck. Once a sail is loose and hanging in its gear, the crew does not have to do any climbing to set or maneuver the sails. It is all done from the deck by hauling on some lines and easing on others. It is important that you know your types of lines there are but it is also extremely important to know where each line is that specifically controls the sail you are being assigned to work at a particular moment.
All ELISSA crew members should at least learn the pinrail associated with the mast they are currently assigned to. So put a copy on you bathroom mirror, look at a copy before you go to sleep. Study the names of the lines and where they are.
One way to help you remember is to try to recognize patterns. A tried and true rule that has a few exceptions is the rule of "up and aft." This rule states that the further aft you go on the pinrail, the higher in the rig you are going. Below is a drawing of a section of the starboard Foremast pinrail. You might notice that the lines for each sail are each separated by a shroud. Forward is to the left of the picture and aft is to the right. So as you go from left to right in the picture, you go higher up in the stack... Fore Course Gear, Fore Lower Topsail Gear, Fore Upper Topsail Gear, Fore T'Gallant Gear then Fore Royal Gear. There is a similar section of pinrail (minus the Clew Garnett) on the Starboard side at the main mast that controls the same sails for the main mast sails and an identical mirror image on the port side of the ship. There are quite a few repeating patterns like this on ELISSA. It will help you to memorize the entire pinrail if you learn to look for these patterns.
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Emergency Procedures
ELISSA’s crew practice regularly for emergencies to happen. There has never been a serious emergency on ELISSA while sailing, but it is important to always be prepared for the worst. It is important for you as Youth Crew to know what you need to do in each situation. The most important thing to remember is to stay out of the way. ELISSA’s adult crew spend a good deal of their training practicing emergency procedures, where as youth crew spend very little of our training for it. There may be opportunities to help, but remember that the most dangerous jobs will be reserved for adults and even the professional sailors, such as the officers and the bosun.
Man Overboard
If you think about it, one of the scariest things a sailor can see is their ship sailing away from them after they’ve fallen overboard. Many sailors in the age of sail refused to learn how to swim because that would only prolong their agony if they were to fall overboard and weren’t missed. Even today, sailors at sea stand a one in four chance of getting recovered if they fall overboard at sea. Considering that we won’t be sailing in heavy weather or very far from the land, chances of someone being recovered from ELISSA are considerably greater, but it is important for each of ELISSA’s crew members to know exactly what to do if someone falls in.
If you see someone fall in, you need to shout. Let everyone on board know that someone has fallen in by shouting “Man Overboard” three times and pointing at the person in the water. Whatever you do, don’t take your eyes off of that person. The only thing you will be able to see above the water is their head, and that head gets really small, as the ship continues to sail away from them.
If you didn’t see the person fall in, but you’ve heard the call of “Man Overboard,” repeat the call, make sure the officers heard it and are taking action then head straight for the main hatch and report to the cook. Take note of any youth crewmember who might be pointing and remember to tell the cook who they are. It is the cook’s job to make sure that all of the youth crew members and the ship’s guests are counted to find out who might be the person in the water. The adult crewmembers have to report to their mast captains for the same purpose.
Once the cook knows you are safe, you may watch the adult crew launch the rescue boat and rescue the person in the water. Whatever you do though, don’t get in their way.
If you are the person who falls in don’t panic, but do make as much noise as you can until you are sure someone on the ship has seen you and are pointing at you. When you are spotted, the crew will throw you a floatation device. Swim to it and stay there until you are rescued.
In a man overboard situation each of the adult crew has an assigned position. It is the responsibility of the Mizzen mast crew to send spotters into the rig to point at the person who fell overboard. The Foremast crew picks the rescue boat, a small rubber motor boat that is stored on the main hatch when ELISSA is sailing, and carries to the waist of the ship. There, the Mainmast crew attaches a line called a gantline to the boat, hoists the boat over the rail and into the water. Two crewmembers then climb down into the motorboat, detach the gantline and motor off to rescue the person who fell in. Two members of the Mainmast crew then attach a ladder to the ship and lower it for the rescue crew to have a means of returning to the ship.
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Fire
If you are in your house and you see a fire, you call the fire department, right? But if you are aboard a ship and see a fire, the Coast Guard may take several hours to get to you to help you fight the fire. By the time they get there, the ship will have long since burned to the waterline and sunk. ELISSA’s crew has to be trained to fight the fire themselves and have a timely response to any emergency.
If you happen to see a fire on board, unlike in a crowded theatre, it is ok and even encouraged to yell “Fire.” You need to make sure someone has heard you and that the crew, who are trained in fighting fires know to start preparing to fight it. You also need to identify where the fire is. For example, if you see a fire in the Galley, you need to yell out “Fire in the Galley.” Then you need to get as far away from the site of the fire as possible. When fire is called by the officers, you need to report to the cook to be counted. This is usually done in the waist of the ship, but if the fire is in the mid hold, you might not want to be standing right on top of the fire. Again, do not get in the way of the adult crew who will be fighting the fire. Once the cook knows you are safe, you may help the Fore and Mainmasts if there are sails that need to be taken in. But do not wander far away from where the cook is in case you need to be given further instructions. At this point the cook, not your mast captain or mentor is responsible for your safety, so make sure they know where you are at all times during a fire or a fire drill, even if you are going back to help your mast.
Two members of the adult crew on the Fore and Main masts then run out the fire hoses while two other members of the crew are helped to dress into bunker gear, which is the hat, coat and boots firefighters wear. The crew in bunker gear then go and take the fire hose to the scene of the fire, with the first mate and bosun acting as fire captains.
Abandon Ship
There is always the possibility that a fire will get out of control or that we are hit by another ship so it is important to know what to do if we have to leave ELISSA in a hurry.
Like in all other emergency situations the first thing to remember is not to panic. There is enough space for everyone on the ship on the life rafts and there is also plenty of extra in case some of the life rafts don’t get deployed. So no one is going to get left behind. Keeping a cool head is important to keeping everybody safe.
When abandon ship is called by the officers, you will need to report to the cook. The cook will then let you know which life raft to report to. The life raft captain will be waiting for you. Life rafts are located in various places around the deck. When you board, make sure you know where each of them are and what numbers are where.
In perfect conditions, we will want to launch the life rafts ourselves, but if the ship sinks, it’s not likely to be in perfect conditions. The life raft is designed to launch on its own if it has to. Each life raft is in a pill shaped tube that sits in a cradle lashed directly to the ship. A latch is designed to release at a certain depth, and when it does, the tube holding the raft will float free. A rope that is still attached to the cradle, will begin to play out, the ship still sinking and the raft floating up to the surface. At the end of that rope (about 150 feet) there is a valve that is opened up and it inflates the life raft. At this point the plastic ring holding the rope on the cradle is too weak to hold and it breaks, allowing the raft to float to the surface and be there for anyone who needs it.
If there is time to deploy the life raft, the crew will open a pelican hook near the automatic release, pick the life raft tube up and throw it over the rail into the water. With the tube floating, the 150 feet of rope will be quickly pulled out until the valve is opened up and the life raft inflates. The weak piece of plastic can then be cut and the life raft secured to a belaying pin. You should never step down into a life raft. Always stay with your ship as long as possible. It is much safer on your ship than in a small life raft.
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Points of Sail
As you learned in tacking, a sailing vessel can only come within a certain angle of the direction of the wind. Any closer to the wind and a vessel is considered to be "in irons" meaning she is no longer being driven forward by the wind. But when you are outside of this "no go" or "no sail" zone, there are names for every angle the vessel sails in relation to the wind.
Starboard Tack
Port Tack
Close-hauled
When you are close-hauled, it means that you are as close to the wind as you can possibly go without being in irons. This is usually the point of sail that is used when tacking. Elissa can sail as close as 45 to 50 degrees from the wind. Most modern vessels can sail as close as 30 and even 20 degrees from the wind.
On some pictures of Elissa, you can see the windward side of the Royal sail just curling in a little bit. This is called luffing. This happens because the helmsman is sailing "full and by." This means that they are sailing the ship to where the sails get the maximum effect from the wind. More likely than not, that means that Elissa was sailing close-hauled. Close hauled for a sailing ship simply means that the braces are "hauled" as tightly as possible and the ship is pointing as high into the wind as possible and still be able to move forward.
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Youth Crewmembers that have been part of the crew for a while, might remember instructions to easers on the braces that they are to go to the "four leather" mark and belay there. This practice was done away with because as the lines were in use and were under load, they would stretch, putting the locations of the marks in the lines in the wrong place. The four leathers referred to four points forward of amidships, which is sharp up on Elissa. Each point is 11¼ degrees (see the chapter on bow watch) so the ship is "sharp up" when the yards are pointing 45 degrees forward of amidships. There will be more discussion of this topic in the advanced skills section.
Close Reach
As the wind goes further aft, it is called being on a reach. The reach is the fastest point of sail because the sails can be trimmed to take the best advantage of the power of the wind. A close reach means the wind is coming from forward of the beam of the ship. A beam reach means the wind is comming more or less directly from the side of the ship. A Broad Reach means that the wind is comming from aft of the beam. On Elissa, the officers will begin to dowse sails as the wind comes further and further aft, beginning with the Spanker.
If the officers have confidence that the crew know what they are doing, they may ask them to brace the yards at three points, two points or one point forward of the beam, depending on the point of sail.
Running Before the Wind
When the wind is directly behind the ship, it is called Running With The Wind, or Running or simply "on a run". At this point, all fore-and-aft sails are pretty useless and the officers will typically dowse all of them. The square sails will be brought completely square to the ship. Running Before the Wind is the calmest point of sail since the wind isn't blowing across the ship causing her to heel. The ship is also typically going in the same direction as the wind and waves giving the crew the sensation that she isn't moving at all.
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