Sailing ship
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- For history of "sailing ship" see shipbuilding.
Sailing ship is now used to refer to any large, wind-powered, vessel. In technical terms, a ship was a sailing vessel with a specific rig of at least three masts, square rigged on all of them, making the sailing adjective redundant. In popular usage ship became associated with all large sailing vessels and when steam power came along the adjective became necessary. See also sailboat
History
Historically, sailing ships were the primary means of transportation across long distances of water (e.g. rivers, lakes, oceans) before the invention of the first workable steam engines. They were used for carrying cargo, passengers, mail, supplies etc. Large vessels and their heavy cargoes were and are only tranportable under sail power using square rigged vessels. In modern times sailing ships are less common but are still used in some parts of the world, such as the Indian Ocean, as commercial vessels. Small sailing boats are still used for fishing in developing countries. There are also many tall ship training vessels that provide recreational sailing.
Sailing ships were also used for military purposes, particularly in the age of sail. The Spanish convoys bringing back gold and silver from the newly discovered Americas were initially easy prey for other suitably equipped attack ships. These Spanish galleons were, principally, merchant vessels and so needed protection from these pirates and privateers. Later as global empires came into existence the major means of communication with them were the sailing ships. These ships where transferring trade goods and personnel often between the home nation and its colonies. These routes were then subject to predation by other vessels in both small battles and global wars. Hence large naval battles were fought between the United Kingdom, France, Spain and the Netherlands for control of the high seas and the communication they made possible.
The sailing ship was generally replaced by the steamship during the later half of the 19th century for reasons of speed. The original reciprocating engine steam ships were in their turn replaced by ships with steam turbine and diesel engines. Today's cargo vessels are faster and more reliable than sailing ships, as they do not rely on sails or the vagaries of the wind. However, sailing ships are still in use in many parts of the world, both for pleasure and work. And, as fuel prices increase, the economics of wind power have increased interest in commercial sailing vessels again.
Specifications
There are many different types of sailing ships, but they all have certain basic things in common. Every sailing ship has a hull; rigging; at least one mast to hold up the sails that use the wind to power the ship. Ballast weighs down the bottom of the ship, so the wind does not push the ship over when sailing across the wind.
The crew who sail a ship are called sailors or hands. They take turns to take the watch. The 'watch' being the active managers of the ship and her performance for a period. Watches are traditionally four of six hours long. Some sailing ships use traditional ship's bells to tell the time and regulate the watch system. The bell being rung once for every half hour into the watch and rung eight times at watch end (a four hour watch).
Ocean journeys by sailing ship can take many months, and a common hazard is becoming becalmed because of lack of wind, or being blown off course by severe storms or winds that do not allow progress in the desired direction. A severe storm could lead to shipwreck, and the loss of all hands.
Sailing ships can only carry a certain quantity of supplies in their hold, so they have to plan long voyages carefully to include many stops to take on provisions and, in the days before watermakers, fresh water.
Types of sailing vessels
A dizzying variety of names have been used, and many of them have changed in meaning over time:
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