Sailing ships

by E. Keble Chatterton

In Fig. 45 will be found a reproduction of what is probably the only accurate model of the Santa Maria in existence. This has been constructed by Captain C. E. Terry, who has made it his hobby for some years to gather together every item of information in connection with Columbus’s ship. For this purpose he has searched all through Southern Europe in order to collect every detail, and through his courtesy I am enabled for the first time to show this interesting little ship, which the reader may regard as approaching as nearly to accuracy as possible at this late date. The sails with the Papal and Maltese crosses, the flag of Ferdinand and Isabella flying above, the crucifix over the stern, the crane-lines, the braces, sheets and other gear may be taken as reliable. The bonnet and drabbler will be found on the mainsail. On deck the brick-made cooking-galley, and the capstan, though not decipherable from the photograph, have been correctly placed. A careful examination of the lead of the gear will explain the rigging more quickly than by detailing every rope individually.

Not all the Spanish ships were rigged with square-sails. Indeed, the lateen sail in the Mediterranean gave way reluctantly to the rectangular shape, as is only natural in the seas so dominated by the felucca rig. Columbus’s ship, which was reconstructed according to every known source of information, had of course a lateen mizzen. She was three-masted, having a square mainsail with topsail of much smaller size, but “goaring” out considerably from a small yard. On the foremast was a square course but no topsail, while from the bowsprit was carried a square spritsail. In Mr. Filson Young’s work already referred to, the interesting fact is mentioned that after Columbus and his three ships had set forth they had to put into Grand Canary for a new rudder to be made for the Pinta, and that while they were waiting for this to be done the rig of the Nina was changed from lateen to squaresail like that of the Santa Maria, so that the Nina might be able to keep up with the others. For a ship that was about to cross the wide ocean of the Atlantic no sailorman nowadays would dispute this wise proceeding on the part of Columbus. As to the relative size of these ships the Santa Maria was of about one hundred tons burthen, 90 feet long and 20 feet beam. Other accounts make her slightly larger, and she carried a crew numbering fifty-two. The Nina was a much smaller ship of about forty tons.

Inasmuch as we are studying not so much the history of voyages as of the ships that actually carried the voyagers there is not here the scope to enter into a discussion of the reasons that prompted Columbus to go West. But it may not be out of place to point to the fact that it was no mere haphazard undertaking. We mentioned in an earlier chapter that the Vikings who colonised Iceland in a previous century also sailed further on from there to the American Continent. Now Columbus had visited Iceland and may in all probability have heard of the tradition that there was land to the far west across the seas. As Lord Dunraven mentions, Columbus knew that the world was more or less round, and that consequently the more he sailed West the nearer he would come to the well-known regions of the East. We must remember, too, that for some time the Portuguese and Spaniards had been applying themselves to the study of charts and the science of navigation. Columbus, himself, was a mapmaker, and a man with a scientific mind. But besides all this there was the story of the “unknown pilot,” whose ship having been blown from Spain or Portugal across the Atlantic had reached new land. Taking these considerations in conjunction with an age almost bursting with energy, that was thirsting for knowledge only to be obtained through adventure and perseverance, it was inevitable that the New World should be discovered.

As to the navigational instruments Columbus had with him a compass divided into 360° and 32 points as to-day, although the points were named somewhat differently. Nor was he prevented through lack of knowledge from taking observations of the sun. He had a cross-staff, a quadrant and a sea astrolabe. The voyage five years later of John Cabot, an Italian, to the mainland of America with a Bristol ship and Bristol sailors; of Vasco de Gama doubling the Cape of Good Hope en route to India, and of other enterprising and courageous navigators could only have the effect of influencing the subsequent building of ships of greater tonnage and seaworthiness.

Fig. 46. The French Ship “Cordelière” in the Foreground, with the English “Regent” in the Background, on Fire off Brest.

One of the largest ships of this time was the French Cordelière in Fig. 46. Although it is not quite safe to rely too much on the reported tonnage of these mediæval vessels, hers has been assessed at 700 while the Regent and the Sovereign have been estimated at 1000 each. Another famous contemporary French ship was the Grand Louise of 790 tons. The latter was a four-master. She had pavesses around her like those on the Cordelière. Cannon were carried on her deck. Her mainsail was decorated with a shield device, whilst the main-mizzen and the bonaventure mizzen carried lateen-sails. In the illustration just mentioned the Cordelière is in the foreground, the ship behind being the Regent. While the latter was attacking the French ship off Brest at the beginning of Henry VIII.’s reign both vessels caught fire and became a total loss. Our illustration, which is taken from a MS. in the Bibliothèque Nationale, shows this mournful incident depicted.

Not entirely had the galley disappeared yet. In a warrant dated January 29, 1510,[68] we find mention of caracks, galleys, row-barges, hulks, barks (great barks and “lesse barks”), ships and crayers. The latter were victualling ships. Thus when the Sovereign sailed from Portsmouth she had with her the Trinity of Wight (80 tons), the James of London (80 tons) and the Katherine Pomegranate as her victuallers. We find in this warrant also mentioned “twyne, merling (marlin), ropes, cables, cabletts (these were used for the mainstay), boyes (buoys), lynes, tacks, lists, toppe-armers, stremers, standards, compasses, ronnyng glasses (sand-glasses for the log), lanterns, shevers of bras, poleys, shrowdes” and other “taclyng.” The same warrant directs the building of the Mary Rose of 400 tons and the Peter Pomegranate of 300 tons. The former foundered at Spithead in the year 1545.

It was in 1514 that the famous Henri Grace à Dieu, commonly known as the “Great Harry,” was built. The custom having recently grown up of passing on the name of an obsolete ship to her successor, and of reserving special names for the largest class and still further of embodying in it the name also of the ruling sovereign, it was but natural that this great “Harry” should be so named. Of the available illustrations of this ship that shown here in Fig. 47 and reproduced from Holbein’s painting in Hampton Court Palace, is perhaps the most reliable. The incident depicted is the embarkation of Henry VIII. from Dover, on May 31, 1520, to meet Francis I. at the Field of the Cloth of Gold. Besides this picture there exists another which hung for many years in Canterbury Cathedral, and is supposed to represent this vessel. It was afterwards presented by the Dean to Sir John Norris, Admiral of the Fleet, who died in 1749. In 1750 an engraving was made by Allen, and a copy is to be found in the Print Room of the British Museum. The original of Allen’s engraving has been ascribed to Holbein, but it seems pretty certain that this print depicts, not the “Great Harry” of the reign of Henry VIII., but a ship of later date. Nor, as we have mentioned above, does it seem probable that the Henri Grace à Dieu in the Pepysian Library represents this vessel.