Magnificent Club-Hauling

Tacking, or staying, is to change tack by putting the helm down (to leeward, to direct the ship’s bow into the wind); if all goes well, her bow passes the eye of the wind and the tacks, braces and sheets are changed – she is now on the other tack. The alternative is to wear ship - put her on the other tack by turning the ship's head downwind, and continue turning until she is on the other tack.

Hutchinson (Naval Architecture And Practical Seamanship, 1794) says:

There is a saying amongst seamen, if a ship will not stay, you must ware her; and if she will not ware, you must box-haul her: and if you cannot box-haul her, you must club-haul her; that is, let go the anchor to get her about on the other tack.

Sometimes, for instance when there is a heavy sea from windward which pushes her head away from the wind, she is said to have missed stays – her bow will not pass across the wind to put her on the other tack in one manoeuvre. As Hutchinson says, she can then be worn, but that needs a lot of sea-room, and is not feasible in a heavy sea, when she can broach to when broadside-on to the waves. When in this situation, she is box-hauled; this means simply that she is allowed to gather sternway, and her helm is put up (which has the desired effect of putting her bow across the wind), sheets, tacks and braces are changed and hauled in, and she will go ahead on the new tack.

But again, this needs plenty of room for the ship to gather adequate speed to complete the turn; when there is insufficient sea-room to box-haul a ship, the only course left is to club-haul her, which is a difficult and rarely-used expedient – also meaning the loss of an anchor – involving very little sternway, hence can be done with little room, such as in an enclosed bay with an onshore wind - the dreaded 'lee shore'.

Club-hauling, and when it is used, is simply explained by Darcy Lever in the Young Sea-Officer’s Sheet Anchor (1808):

If a ship by accident be so near a lee shore with a head sea, as to make it certain that she will not stay, she is Box-hauled… but if she be too near even to venture on that, she puts down her helm, and when the headway is stopped, lets go the lee anchor, which brings her head to the wind, and then casts on the other tack by the sails (as in heaving up the anchor), and cuts the cable.

Hutchinson adds to that the advice that either the lee or the weather anchor may be let go, depending on which is more likely to hold.

Smyth (Sailor’s Word-Book, 1867) describes club-hauling – lifting the description of it straight from Falconer’s Dictionary (1815) - thus:

A method of tacking a ship by letting go the lee anchor as soon as the wind is out of the sails, which brings her head to wind, and as soon as she pays off, the cable is cut and the sails trimmed; this is never had recourse to but in perilous situations, and when it is expected that the ship would otherwise miss stays. The most gallant example was performed by Captain Hayes in HMS Magnificent, 74, in Basque Roads, in 1814, when with lower yards and topmasts struck, he escaped between two reefs from the enemy at Oleron. He bore the name of Magnificent Hayes to the day of his death, for the style in which he executed it.

In fact, what Hayes (the same Capt John Hayes mentioned in the post on the Ship-Building Competition, below) did was doubly remarkable: he club-hauled his ship, a rare occurrence at any time, as it means the loss of an anchor and cable but also, whilst his topmasts and topgallant masts were struck down (a standard response when weathering a heavy gale) he also set his courses outside the topmasts – a last resort which was much commented on at the time.

James (Naval History, 1824), in describing the event, drops his usual dry style and sounds almost animated:

The manner in which the British 74-gun ship Magnificent, Captain John Hayes, on the night of the 16th of December in the present year, was saved in a gale of wind on the coast of France is so extraordinary, and at the same time so creditable to the nautical skill and presence of mind of her captain, and to the expertness, alacrity, and good discipline of British seamen, that we shall be doing, not merely an act of justice to the officers and crew of the Magnificent, but a service to the whole profession, by giving all the publicity in our power to an account of the circumstance, which has already appeared in a popular periodical work devoted to naval subjects.

The ship was anchored in the evening between the reef of Chasseron, and the reef of Isle de Ré, nearly mid-channel, in 16 fathoms' water, in the entrance to Basque road ; the courses reefed, and top-gallant-yards down. At 8 o'clock, the weather appearing suspicious, and the wind beginning to blow, the top-gallant-masts were got down on deck : at half-past, it came on squally, and the ship was veered to a cable and a half.

At 9, she was found to be driving, and in only 11 fathoms' water ; the small bower was instantly let go, which brought her up in 10 fathoms. Yards and topmasts were immediately struck, as close down as they could be got. The moon was not to be seen, yet it was not a dark night : it just gave sufficient light to show us our dangerous situation; the sea breaking on the reef, with great violence, about a quarter of a mile astern, and on the starboard quarter.

As soon as the topmasts were down, orders were given to heave in upon the best bower, which appeared to be slack, as though the anchor had broken. Three quarters of a cable were got in, when the stock appearing to catch a rock, it held fast : service of course was put in the wake of the hawse, and the cable secured. The inner cable of the best bower was unspliced, and bent to the spare anchor ; and a leads-man was kept in the chains to heave the lead, the same as though the ship had been under way, in addition to the deep-sea lead, attended at the gangway by a quarter master, when it was discovered by the man in the chains, that there was a large rock under the ship's bottom, of three fathoms in height: in fact the ground was covered with rocks, and the ship in the midst of them, with the wind at W.S.W. blowing a gale, with small rain and a heavy sea.

In this state we remained, with people stationed with axes to the sheet and spare anchors, till daylight when the man at the deep-sea lead declared the ship to be driving. The spare anchor was directly cut away, and the range taken out; when the ship brought up again, and when the ebb tide made, she took the whole cable service, and rode with the best and small bowers ahead, and the spare anchor broad on the starboard bow. The gale appeared to increase ; the sea was high ; and, as it broke sometimes outside the ship, it proved she was in the midst of rock, and that the cables could not remain long without being cut.

The wind at this period was west, and St-Marie church bore east, and the distance where the ship would have gone to pieces, about one cable's length ; the shoalest part of the reef about two cables, lying in an S.S.E. and N.N.W. direction. The wind now came to W.b.N. ; but to counteract this favourable change, it was a lee tide, and a heavy sea setting right on the reef, and neither officers nor men thought it possible, in any way, to cast her clear of the reef, and to make sail, more particularly as the yards and topmasts were down.

The captain, however, gave orders to sway the fore-yard two-thirds up ; and, while that was doing, to get a hawser for a spring to cast the ship by from the starboard quarter to the spare cable ; while this was doing, the spare cable parted, and we had only the sheet anchor at the bows ; but, as she did not drive, that was not let go. The main yard was now swayed outside the topmast, two-thirds up the same ; as the fore-yard and the spring brought on the small bower cable, people were sent on the yards to stop each yard-arm of the topsails and courses with four or five spunyarn stops, tied in a single bow, and to cast off and make up all the gaskets.

The people were then called down, except one man to each stop, who received very particular orders to be quick in obeying the commands given them, and to be extremely cautious not to let a sail fall, unless that sail was particularly named : if particular attention were not paid to this order, the ship would be lost. The yards were all braced sharp up for casting from the reef, and making sail on the starboard tack. The tacks and sheets, topsail sheets, and main and mizen-stay-sail halyards were manned, and the spring brought to the capstan and hove in.

The captain now told the people, that they were going to work for life or death ; if they were attentive to his orders, and executed them properly, the ship would be saved ; if not, the whole of them would be drowned in five minutes. Things beings in this state of preparation, a little more of the spring was hove in ; the quarter-masters at the wheel and bow received their instructions. The cables were ordered to be cut, which was instantly done ; but the heavy sea on the larboard bow would not let her cast that way. The probability of this had happily been foreseen. The spring broke, and her head paid round in towards the reef. The oldest seaman in the ship at that moment thought all lost. The captain, however, gave his orders very distinctly, to put the helm hard a-starboard, to sheet home the fore-topsail,* and haul on board the fore tack, and aft foresheet, keep all the other sails fast, square the main and mizen topsail yards, and cross jack-yard, keep the main-yard as it was.

The moment the wind came abaft the beam, he ordered the mizen-top-sail to be sheeted home, and then the helm to be put hard a-port - when the wind came nearly aft - haul on board the main-tack, aft main-sheet, sheet home the main-topsail, and brace the cross-jack-yard sharp up. When this was done (the whole of which took only two minutes to perform), the ship absolutely flew round from the reef, like a thing scared at the frightful spectacle. The quarter-master was ordered to keep her south, and the captain declared aloud, ' The ship is safe.' The gaff was down, to prevent its holding wind, and the try-sail was bent ready for hoisting, had it been wanted. The main and mizen staysails were also ready, but were not wanted. The fore-top-mast staysail was hoisted before the cables were cut : thus was the ship got round in less than her own length ; but, in that short distance, she altered the soundings five fathoms.

And now, for the first time, I believe, was seen a ship at sea under reefed courses, and close reefed top-sails, with yards and topmasts struck. The sails all stood remarkably well ; and by this novel method, was saved a beautiful ship of the line, and 550 souls. I cannot find any man or officer who ever saw a ship in the state before ; yet all seemed surprized that they should never before have thought of it. Indeed it has ever been the prevailing opinion (perhaps for want of giving the subject proper consideration), that a ship with yards and topmasts struck was completely disabled from making sail, except with staysails.

* The yards were all braced up for the starboard tack : consequently, when she cast the other way, the foresail and foretopsail were set as flat-a-back as they could be ; and they were not altered in bringing her to her course ; the way she was managed it was not necessary.

The Navy's Contribution To Alcoholism

Alcoholic drinks played a bigger role in everyday life 200 years and more ago than they do today – and nowhere more so than at sea. There are several very good reasons for this. Probably the most obvious of these is the fact that tea and coffee and soft drinks – the most common drinks of our times – were rare or expensive or both, in times past.

But at sea there was an even more compelling reason: water quickly went bad in the casks in which it was stored. The casks were not always cleaned properly before they were filled so, even if they had previously contained water (and not, say, cheese or meat, which was also stored in casks), impurities, algal growth and bacteria were likely to already be present.

But as it was well known that alcohol was a preservative, it was to alcoholic drinks that everyone turned for a potable drink.

There is a myth that rum only was the staple drink in the Navy of Nelson, but that did not become the case until well into the 19^th, when tea and potable water were available and, incidentally, when the rum ration was drastically and repeatedly cut.

The usual drink was actually beer. Today we would call it ‘light’ beer, as the alcohol content was probably between 2 and 4 per cent, but it was freely available, though the purser’s budget allowed for one gallon per man per day.

But beer – especially light beer – also went off in the cask (although it lasted better than water), so when the beer ran out there were universally accepted substitutes. If wine was available, that was served, at the rate of one pint (a pint = 20 fluid oz = 76% of a modern bottle).

When both beer and wine were unavailable, as often happened on long cruises, spirits were substituted – but not always rum. If the ship was in the East Indies (Asia) ‘arrack’ was issued, in the Mediterranean and off Europe brandy, though elsewhere (especially in the West Indies) it was rum.

The ration was served out twice per day in two equal amounts, usually at dinner (12 noon) and supper (4 pm). The ration was a gill (1/4 pint) on each occasion, adding up to half a pint (285 ml, 38% of a bottle or a pub glass) in total for the day.

But as there was a universal belief that alcoholic drinks were less intoxicating if diluted, the wine was watered down half-and-half, while rum, arrack and brandy were made into ‘four-water grog’ – one part spirits to 3 parts water. In addition, after the war of the American Revolution, lime juice or some other anti-scorbutic was added to the grog, which was then sweetened with sugar to get rid of the bitterness.

(The English were notorious for their national sweet tooth; sugar intake there was fully four times that of France, and even more in proportion with other countries.)

In spite of such rations, drunkenness was entirely unacceptable in any crew member, and was severely punished. However, there would have been little danger of that amongst those who just drank their ration every day – the habit meant little effect would have been felt.

But if a favour was owed, or if a crewman had some happy event to celebrate, the rest of his mess would usually contribute a small part of their own ration – and get him drunk. The more popular a sailor was, the more likely he was to be punished for drunkenness.

Jack Nastyface, who served at Trafalgar, in his memoirs (‘Nautical Economy’) had this to say about the rum ration:

After punishment, the boatswain’s mate pipes to dinner, it being eight bells, or twelve o’clock; and this is the pleasantest part of the day, as at one bell the fifer is called to play ‘Nancy Dawson’, or some other lively tune, a well-known signal that the grog is ready to be served out. It is the duty of the cook from each mess to fetch and serve it out to his messmates, of which every man and boy is allowed a pint, that is, one gill of rum and three of water, to which is added lemon acid, sweetened with sugar. Here I must remark, that the cook comes in for the perquisites of office, by reserving to himself an extra portion of grog, which is called the overplus, and generally comes to the double of a man’s allowance. Thus the cook can take upon himself to be the man of consequence, for he has the opportunity of inviting a friend to partake of a glass, or of paying any little debt he may have contracted. It may not be known to everyone that it is grog which pays debts, and not money, in a man of war.

In addition to the regular ration, the crew was sometimes given an additional tot, to relieve fatigue or as a reward – known as ‘splicing the mainbrace’. That term came about because, if the mainbrace (one of the most used and most critical parts of the running rigging) needed splicing due to damage, a long splice had to be made, while the ship was on the tack opposite to the side needing splicing, so it needed to be done as quickly as possible, by the best seamen; an extra tot was then given as a reward.

When reading journals and autobiographies from those times, this reliance on alcohol, even amongst ‘moderate’ drinkers, becomes very apparent. Patrick Renney, a surgeon during the Seven Years’ War, wrote, after his ship had captured a fleet of coasters, laden with wine, that it was:

..unloaded and divided amongst the squadron, was ordered to be served out to the seamen as king’s stores, at the rate of a pint a man per day, in lieu of small beer or grog; the officers might have any quantity they chose from the pursers at twenty pence a gallon.. This was a very comfortable refreshment on a long cruise, and as the beer was all expended we substituted claret in the room, but stinted [!] ourselves to two gallons a day, being four in the mess.

The surgeon thought this allowance rather too much …so as not to offend against the laws of prudence and sobriety, and as the admiral was a strict disciplinarian he paid great attention to the conduct of the inferior officers.. this advice we took in good part …but could not abate anything of the stated allowance, having nothing else to wash down the salt beef and pork which was our only fare in the cockpit.

Even the ship’s boys were often given the same allowance as the men, although some captains baulked at this, and as the century ended it was becoming more common to exclude the ship’s boys (at least the very young) from the practice. In 1798, though, Aaron Thomas could still write:

Punished the Boy Skipper on his Backside with 12 Lashes for giving yesterday half a Gill of Rum to Gater the Marine for washing his Cloaths. --There is something particular in this case. The Boys are allowed their Rum. and if they drink it, they often get drunk with it, therefore it is understood, they may give it to persons who wash & mind for them: And many Boys in some Ships sell their Liquior. But this particular Boy was floged for giving his Liquior away to a Marine who had done work for him. So that by floging this Lad, it is the same as giving out orders, for all the Boys to drink their own allowance, and thereby get drunk with it. The best that can be said of it is; that it will encourage intoxication

As one would expect, alcoholism was widespread. The surgeon Renney has a pen-portrait of the sailor’s idea of heaven on earth (visiting Haslar hospital):

a seaman, whose under jaw was shattered by a grape shot, was walking about the yard with a can of wine in one hand and a funnel in the other, which he introduced into his mouth, and pouring in the wine, enjoyed the precious liquor as if nothing had been the matter.

But commissioned and warrant officers were especially likely to fall prey to problem drinking. William Spavens, writing of the Seven Years’ War, talks about a master’s mate acting as prize master, who:

..had recourse to his usual method of dispelling uneasiness – by hard drinking, which he followed up so closely, that it almost prevented him from taking the usual observations.

And:

At the time we left Bluefields, he had fourteen gallons [c. 80 bottles] of rum of his own, besides his share of the ship’s stock, which being all expended, we refused to supply him with what belonged to ourselves… He replied he could not subsist without liquor..

By the turn of the century – to a large degree due to the use of iron tanks to store drinking water, which then kept better - grog had replaced beer as the standard ration and, with increased shore leave and the consequent opportunities to smuggle alcohol on board, drunkenness was more and more seen as the problem it had become. In 1813 Admiral Lord Keith would write:

In no ship, I believe, are spirits mixed with less than five of water, nor the grog served out less than twice daily, after dinner and before sunset; yet the crime of drunkenness continues to prevail.

Soon after he wrote that, a ‘critical mass’ of senior officers (especially the ‘blue light’ admirals) opposed to the grog issue was reached, and in 1824 (by which time rum had largely replaced beer) the daily rum ration was halved, to a gill (= 5 fluid oz = ¼ pint) and, in 1851, halved again. By 1970 the Admiralty abolished it altogether, and thereafter RN ships were officially ‘dry’.