Question of Seamanship

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prr

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A question from Reeds Seamanship 1896. From a chapter called Seamanship for Second Mates in Sailing Ships.

Riding in a bay, wind & sea rising & coming right in; you want to get out to sea; how would you cast her?

It would be interesting to see how modern seamen would answer.
 
prr said:
A question from Reeds Seamanship 1896. From a chapter called Seamanship for Second Mates in Sailing Ships.

Riding in a bay, wind & sea rising & coming right in; you want to get out to sea; how would you cast her?

It would be interesting to see how modern seamen would answer.
Click to expand...

Would modern seamen know what "cast" means.....I certainly don't!

Richard
 
Get dressed, finish tea, press start button, allow engine to warm through. Press button to let out some main, to steady, press button to sheet boom hard in. Press button to raise anchor, while tickling her ahead. Have a quick glance, to check anchor has stowed the right way up. Motorsail out of bay, while checking binnacle mounted plotter for obstacles. Press button to engage autopilot, put kettle on, have a look at course to steer, get ensign, hat and suncream. Show a little jib, when appropriate.

Your equipment may vary.
 
prr said:
A question from Reeds Seamanship 1896. From a chapter called Seamanship for Second Mates in Sailing Ships.

Riding in a bay, wind & sea rising & coming right in; you want to get out to sea; how would you cast her?

It would be interesting to see how modern seamen would answer.
Click to expand...

I'm not a ship sailor, so I don't know.

The question also needs more information: the size and shape of the bay, the ship's position within the bay, hazards to one side or another, the set of the tide outside the bay (in tidal waters), wind direction outside the bay (given that wind backs/veers when it encounters land), etc.

I would assume that the question is asking on which tack to 'cast' the ship off on? Can a ship beat up to its anchor - in ever shorter tacks - hauling up the cable as she does so, as a yacht can?
 
Make a decision as to whether you think the wind will veer or back before you clear the bay. Whichever is decided, let go the mooring or weigh anchor making sail on the tack which will most likely be able to be maintained in the expected windshift, allowing the vessel to clear safely on one tack..
sorry-3.gif
..:)
 
In an archaic nautical sense 'cast' means 'to turn or fall off'. Riding at anchor, the ship is likely head to wind and the question is asking how a mate would turn it to get wind in the sails - not accounting for shape of the bay etc.
It's a question of seamanship, not navigation innit?
 
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Cast in this context means how would you set her up to weigh anchor on a particular tack.

Board of Trade ships, square rigged, can only sail at up to 6 points on the wind.

Used to be the real 'pleasure' at Master's Orals being asked "How's She Heading?" problems.

Thankfully only needed to work out the probable course of the vessel; not how to get there.
 
Cruiser2B said:
In an archaic nautical sense 'cast' means 'to turn or fall off'. Riding at anchor, the ship is likely head to wind and the question is asking how a mate would turn it to get wind in the sails - not accounting for shape of the bay etc.
It's a question of seamanship, not navigation innit?
Click to expand...

Indeed.

I don't know what answer the Board of Trade were expecting, but I have some musings.

The most obvious way would be to set a foretopsail, which would be aback, and brace it sharp up to one side or the other (choice there is where the shape of the bay etc come in). I think that would throw the bow off to the required side fairly decisively, at which point you'd brace it sharp up the other way to fill it and sail off. Trouble is, if there's that much wind, putting sails aback will put a lot of strain on the relatively light fore-staying.

At the other end of the ship, you could perhaps set the spanker and haul it out on one side or the other, as a kind of "air rudder". The effect would be much weaker than a sail up forward, though, and I don't know that it would really work.

Next option - walk a hawser out of a port halfway along the ship and hitch it onto the main cable (probably from a boat). Lead to a capstan and haul in, while veering the main cable, and you can adopt almost any angle to the wind that you want. Not really sure how to then pick up the anchor and leave, though.

I have some vague notions of setting a second anchor to help turn the ship; possibly even after having slipped the main one in a kind of club-hauling manoeuvre.

EDIT: on second thoughts, if anchored by the bow, it's probably more effective to swing the stern. So instead of a foretopsail in the first paragraph, set a main (for a brig) or mizzen (for a ship) topsail and swing the arse out.

Pete
 
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The focus of the question involves a lee shore scenario with increase of wind.
In those circumstances my priority would be to get her to point in the right direction first.
As the wind is increasing prudence would suggest reefs.
Therefore I would set the mainsail up first (reefed if necessary) and then foresail(s) in that order to get an offing by tacking out.
This would apply to vessels with fore and aft rig such as sloops, yawls, cutters, brigantines, etc.,
In the case of a square rigged vessel, I would consider additionally setting lower staysails.
Once on a good offing, I would attend to the rest of the sail plan as convenient.
As a further observation, if at anchor, then the mainsail sheeted tight amidships (and a spanker in a fully rigged vessel such as barque or a clipper) would not cause her to make way but instead cause her to lie bow to the wind.
Then the anchor could be hove in as quickly as possible until lying a'cockerbill (free of the bottom) and then trim her to gain way, bringing in the hook and further trimming and setting to get a really good offing. This is assuming the vessel is not fitted with an engine and reliance is exclusively placed on the use of sails, IMHO.
 
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The trick is surely to get her sailing under control from the moment the anchor is aweigh which being means in a stable state at that point and able to gather speed to answer the helm immediately .

Not being a shellback I don't know how that's done in a square rigger but in a modern yacht I'd consider starting off hove to while held at anchor so able to move off on the correct tack and in a predictable and controllable manner.
 
VO5 said:
Then the anchor could be hove in as quickly as possible until lying a'cockerbill (free of the bottom) and then trim her to gain way, bringing in the hook and further trimming and setting to get a really good offing. This is assuming the vessel is not fitted with an engine and reliance is exclusively placed on the use of sails, IMHO.
Click to expand...

"Aweigh" is free of the bottom; "a'cockbill" is above the water, but still dangling.
 
Further comment if I may...
To hold her hove to is OK but dependent on the strength of the wind because you don't want her to lie hard on her cable as the wind pushes her to make sternway making retrieval of the anchor hard work. For that reason I suggested sheeting the main (or main and mizzen even, tight and midships) because it makes recovery of the hook easier. If you have crew you could opt for either option but singlehanded I would choose the midships sheeting as it is easier to haul in the chain, IMHO.
 
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