That is a cool ship! Nice pics ej! Imagine how cool it would to take a cruise on a ship like that...

*wishing I was a pirate*

I am really very lucky to work in such a nice area with lots of interesting things going on.

I love wooden saling ships. Thanks for the pics jan.

Oh, how cool. I can't wait to get home and look through the whole set. Good job, ej.

YAY, boatnerd time. I've never seen this ship in real life (after reading the article, I realize one reason why: she's really new!). She has spritsails! Unusual and exciting. Also looks like she has some sort of lateen in place of a spanker.

An East Indiaman replica! How very cool. If you've seen the Pirates of the Caribbean III, this is what they were going for - she has enormous fighting-tops for defense, and a ridiculously luxurious stern-gallery for purposes of being very impressive during trade negotiations.

At first I couldn't figure out what was going on with the sails - they look loose and baggy in the pics because they are only 'in their gear' s -- clewed up and ready to stow, but not furled. I thought that they may have just come off a wet passage, and were probably letting the sails dry before furling them (it's much easier to furl a dry sail and it prevents rot). Normally it would be considered shameful to hang out in port with your sails in their gear, but when it's a matter of sail maintenance it's understandable.

However, I now think that's a modernistic reading of the sail stowage. Instead, I think what they are doing is furling their sails in a bunt. That means you just loosen the foot of the sail, tighten up the lines that control the bottom corners and center (the bunt and cleewlines usually), and then cleat off those lines so they won't move any more -- and you're done. This would be totally consistent with the time period of an East Indiaman -- furling in a bunt was standard until the days of Nelson's Navy. Gradually people figured out that furling the sails on top of the yard, rolled into a burrito-style 'skin', was better for a lot of reasons: protected the sail, reduced windage and therefore strain on the mooring lines and spars, and just looked neater. Which the British Navy liked. Furling in a body became standard practice by about 1800 and has not gone out of fashion since. But this ship is of an earlier design, and furling in the bunt makes sense for her time period, though it looks really archaic and even a bit sloppy to modern eyes.

As I was taking the pictures I thought "I bet Miko would love this".

Miko, are you a pirate?

Captain Miko, can I be on your ship? I'll swab the decks, promise.

Thanks Jan, for a lovely set. I was dreaming of riding the roiling swells as I watched the slideshow.

That's a gorgeous boat.

Arrrr!

I am not much of a pirate, but I am a boat geek.

Miko, can I be on your ship?

Aye, shipmate. But actually, I quail in fear at the thought of a captain's license. The responsibility is a bit too much for me, and then too, captains are incredibly capable, mechanically minded, left brained people - all of which I'm not. I'm good on a crew though.

EJ, it is so cool that this is right near your workplace. Please post photos whenever ships visit!