Duties on departure of ship.
Everything being in readiness, the Custom-house and other regulations complied with, and the crew on board, the vessel was placed under charge of a pilot, the master having little else to do while the pilot was on board than to see everything in order, and that his commands were executed. When, however, the pilot left, the entire control and responsibility of the crew, ship, and cargo devolved upon the master. Soon after the pilot left, and when things were settled down, and in something like order, it was usual for the master, especially if the vessel was bound on a distant voyage, to call all hands aft, and briefly address them about the voyage upon which they had entered, and the respective duties they had to perform. After this the crew was divided into “watches,” in two equal parts.
Watches.
In the generality of merchantmen there are but two watches—the larboard, being under the charge of the chief, and the starboard, of the second mate, the master himself not keeping watch, but coming and going at his discretion. The starboard watch is sometimes called the captain’s, no doubt from the fact that in the early days of the merchant marine, when vessels were smaller, there was but one mate, and then the master stood his own watch, as he does at present in coasters, colliers, and similar craft. In dividing the crew into watches the master usually allows the officers to choose the men, one by one, alternately; but sometimes makes the division himself, after consultation with his officers. The men are chosen as equally as possible, with reference to their qualities as able seamen, ordinary seamen, or boys; but if the number is unequal, the larboard watch claims the odd “hand,” since the chief mate does not go aloft, or do other duty on his watch, as the second mate does on his. The cook always musters with the larboard watch, and the steward with the starboard. If there is a carpenter, and the larboard watch is the larger of the two, he generally goes aloft when required with the starboard watch, otherwise with the larboard; and, as soon as the division is made, if the day’s work is over, one watch is set, and the other sent below.
Among many customs prevailing at sea which are difficult to trace to their origin, we may notice that, on the first night of the outward passage, the starboard watch takes the first four hours on deck, and on the first night of the homeward passage the larboard does the same. The sailors explain this by the old phrase, that the master takes the ship out, and the mate takes her home. The dog watches, as already explained in the case of the ships of the East India Company, are the two reliefs which take place between four and eight o’clock, P.M., each of which being only two hours on deck instead of four. The intention of these watches is to change the turn of the night watch every twenty-four hours; so that the party watching from eight to twelve one night shall succeed on the following one from midnight till four in the morning.
Duties of the Master,
The master takes the bearing and distance of the last point of departure from the land; from that point the ship’s reckoning begins, and is regularly entered in the log-book, which is kept by the chief mate, the master examining and correcting the reckoning every day. The master also attends to the chronometer, azimuth-compass, and other instruments on board, and takes the altitude of the sun at mid-day, or the lunar observations, with the assistance of his officers. Every day, a few minutes before noon, if there is the least prospect of being able to get a sight of the sun, the master comes upon deck with his quadrant or sextant, and the mates usually follow his example. The second mate does not always perform this duty, but is ready to assist on Sundays, or when no other work requires his attention. As soon as the sun crosses the meridian “noon is made,” by striking eight bells, and a new nautical day commences. The reckoning is then corrected by the observation, which fixes the latitude of the ship, under the master’s superintendence. In taking the lunar observations to correct the longitude, as ascertained by the chronometer, the master is assisted by both his officers; in which case he measures the angle of the moon with the star or sun, the chief mate taking the altitude of the sun or star, and the second mate that of the moon.
In regulating the hours of duty, sleep, meals, etc., the master has absolute power; the usual times being nearly the same in all vessels. The hour for breakfast is usually seven bells in the morning (half-past seven), dinner at noon, and supper whenever the day’s work is over, generally by six o’clock. If the voyage is of long duration, the crew are, as a rule, put upon an allowance of food as well as water, the dispensing of the stores and regulating of the allowance resting, of course, with the master, though the duty of opening the casks, weighing and measuring the contents falls upon the second mate. The chief mate enters in the log-book every barrel or cask of provisions that is broached. The steward takes charge of all the provisions for the use of the cabin, and keeps them in his pantry, over which he has the direct control. The average of allowance in merchant vessels was six pounds of bread per week, three quarts of water, and one pound and a half of beef, or one and a quarter of pork a day to each man. But from want of some fixed scale of allowances in the British service, great discontent frequently arose on the part of the crews, particularly on long voyages. In coasting vessels, where the work is hard and constant, the allowance of beef and bread was generally unlimited; but a large amount of suffering was too frequently endured by the seamen on long voyages from the paucity of provisions in store, especially in merchant vessels of small size, and in particular trades. In the timber trade the practice of carrying the water and wet provisions for the ship’s company on deck frequently led to such serious consequences, that it became necessary to secure the preservation of an adequate portion of them in some part of the vessel accessible in cases of peril, so as to prevent the dreadful scenes of hunger, misery, and lingering death to which so many seamen were and are exposed from the loss of water and provisions.
Who has control over the navigation.
Making and shortening sail.