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Thread ID: 89141 2008-04-22 03:05:00 Any sailors here - Sailing ships 150yrs back John W (523) PC World Chat
Post ID Timestamp Content User
661141 2008-04-22 22:19:00 You could introduce this whilst you are there and get rid of Indian muck.......

www.bbc.co.uk
Cicero (40)
661142 2008-04-22 22:28:00 Thanks Bob. Trouble is, there were lots of ships that came in before steam tugboats arrived, so how did those sailing ships get in and out?

From the BBC link that you can't load.

Warping is simple in concept, but hard work in practise. The basic idea is to pull the ship to wherever you want it by hauling on a rope that is secured to something solid. The rope is wound around a capstan – a large vertical drum that is turned by the crew, winding in the rope and pulling the ship to where you want it. This bit is easy, but there is nowhere to secure the other end of the rope in the open sea!

To warp a ship out of the harbour it is therefore necessary to provide something to pull against. A special anchor, called a kedging anchor, is carried as far from the ship as possible by the longboat and then dropped to the seabed. The remaining crew warp the ship out to it, and then it is hauled up and the process repeated as many times as necessary.

This can be pretty time consuming and tiring as the ship is usually being blown in the wrong direction while the anchor is being moved! If you wait for the tide to be on its way out it will probably help you get on your way, and it may not be necessary to warp the ship at all.
Safari (3993)
661143 2008-04-22 22:41:00 Thanks Safari. I still can't get bbc to respond, so that is helpful.

Warping is what I meant by "kedge their way out" in my first response. I didn't realise it was called warping. Yachts still sometimes use this method if they get stuck on a sandbank or reef - row out a kedging anchor in the dinghy, drop it, then winch on the anchor warp. Haaarrrddd work on a sailing ship, especially against the wind. They were tough in those days.
John H (8)
661144 2008-04-23 00:02:00 John from my research on family history they all landed at Port Chalmers not Dunedin as such. The Dunedin ports are all reclaimed land the original sea/port used to come way up closer to Princess St/Rattray St. There is a plaque somewhere showing the original water line but I can't remember exactly where now.

I have seen a list of most of the ships that landed at Pt Chalmers including the ones my Early family came on.
Bantu (52)
661145 2008-04-23 00:12:00 OK, thanks Bantu. I haven't spent a lot of time looking at the history of the port, though I have found the Shipping Lists. I guess if the old folks had stayed in Dunedin down to my generation I would have found out more about it! I guess I know more about Canterbury (father's side) than Otago (mother's side).

I was staying at Burkes a few years ago and was telling my host about my family arriving at Port Chalmers, and he took me to the back of his section and showed me the remains of the old road that used to connect the port and the town of Dunedin. It suddenly made sense why it took my family three days to get from Port Chalmers to Green Island where they settled!

I must spend some of my imminent retirement down there to get to know it better. I have visited the Early Settlers Museum a couple of times, and all the family graves, but it has all been pretty superficial. Sounds like I should also follow up on harbour history!
John H (8)
661146 2008-04-23 20:21:00 Oh, this thread really is about nautical matters...

No "sailors" here then....

As in, "hello sailor, let's see the cut of your jib..."
Deane F (8204)
661147 2008-04-23 21:53:00 Oh you are awful... John H (8)
661148 2008-04-23 22:00:00 But I like you!. Cicero (40)
661149 2008-04-23 23:04:00 Careful - this may corrupt those who are too young to remember what we are talking about. John H (8)
661150 2008-04-23 23:22:00 Was it Dick Emery? :confused: Richard (739)
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