(...and to me).
The reason I ask is that I have my grandmother's grandfather's diary, and I am preparing a transcription and commentary. He was Alfred Charles Green and his diary covers his experiences as the purser on the schooner Ida Zeigler as it carried passengers from London to Auckland and back in 1866 to 1868. The two voyages in the diary were full circumnagivations through the tropics, around the Cape of Good Hope and Cape Horn on a three-masted sailing ship of about 860 tons. Each non-stop leg from London and Auckland and then Auckland to London was about 80 to 90 days. My transcription and commentary preserves the hand-written text and provides further context and information on the entries (it also spell-checks and fact-checks the names of ships spoken to, places and some of the people mentioned). The research has been a lot of fun. I hope to end up with a family keepsake and, possibly, an electronic version for anyone who might be interested.
So, the diary entry for 19th July 1866 sees the Ida Zeigler outbound in the English Channel, and Alfred writes "Early part of the day dead calm. Towards noon a strong SW breeze sprung up. Tacking off and on the rest of the day. At night is again quite calm".
How should I explain "tacking off and on"?
My research on the Ida Zeigler, started here nzetc.victoria.ac.nz/tm/scholarly/tei-Bre01Whit-t1-body-d131.html
If you head out from London, a souwest wind would be fair until the Broadstairs, when it would be a beat. So I reckon tacking on and off means tacking on starboard and then port because the wind is dead foul - the course is directly to windward. In the wonderful Patrick O Brian books on Aubrey and Maturin (set from 1805ish to 1813 or so) visitors could often set out from London after the ship had left and post down to Plymouth (in a horse drawn carriage) and save time. There are quite a few tales of whole fleets being weather bound in the Channel, waiting for southwest gales to moderate and shift. The books tell of the awful worry of the dreaded lee shore and the pleasure of weathering Ushant (an island off the French coast near Brest).
Select to expand quotehipopp said..
phil are you a jack of all yachting trades?
Just a fair-weather sailor with only about 2500 miles done coastally, about a third being solo.
And a lot of yacht maintenance done myself.
In a lightweight yacht one might zigzag to catch promises of breezes, rather than resorting to the motor, but in those days there were often no motors.
I think he was saying that when there was a breeze they were going to windward, but when it died, they stopped, maybe dropping an anchor.
Select to expand quoteFabulousPhill said..
"zig-zagging a little, trying to catch a favourable vesper"?
That's just "tacking". What I would like to understand is the "off and on" part of it. Is it "off the wind" and "on the wind", and what's the difference, anyway? Tacking with uneven legs, maybe?
Select to expand quoteKankama said..
If you head out from London, a souwest wind would be fair until the Broadstairs, when it would be a beat. So I reckon tacking on and off means tacking on starboard and then port because the wind is dead foul - the course is directly to windward. In the wonderful Patrick O Brian books on Aubrey and Maturin (set from 1805ish to 1813 or so) visitors could often set out from London after the ship had left and post down to Plymouth (in a horse drawn carriage) and save time. There are quite a few tales of whole fleets being weather bound in the Channel, waiting for southwest gales to moderate and shift. The books tell of the awful worry of the dreaded lee shore and the pleasure of weathering Ushant (an island off the French coast near Brest).
I've read the whole collection of Patrick O'Brien, and recommend it to anyone here.
The Ida Zeigler put in to Plymouth before heading SW on the long circumnavigation to Auckland, NZ. On the second voyage in the diary, the doctor found a man with the measles and put him ashore there. Even so, that was not enough to stop a deadly outbreak of the measles in the tropics, which claimed the lives of 8 children on board. An enquiry was held in Auckland. Captain Reynolds was reprimanded, and the doctor summarily dismissed. The doctor's dismissal explains why my Eliza, grand-mother's grand-mother gave birth to her third child in Auckland Harbour without the assistance of a doctor or nurse and only a "female passenger to clean it up" (her words). I can only wonder at her fortitude. Mum and baby seemed to have come out of it OK, as Eliza went on to produce another five children, one of whom was my ancestor.
This may help re tacking off the wind bearing in mind your talking about windjammers . 'In winds of less than 10 knots, a large sailing ship may not have enough momentum to complete the exercise and can end up "in irons"or stopped dead in the water. At the other end of the scale, in strong winds the foremast carries a vast frontal load when the sails are aback. Because the masts are braced from behind, that enormous pressure has the potential to snap a mast. In strong winds and heavy seas, therefore, when tacking could be dangerous, a square-rigger is put on the opposite tack by turning her away from the wind through 240?, effectively gybing her.'
Ahh BB, but isn't that described as wearing. I often go for the rolling gybe on the spray as she's a pig to bring through the wind especially without the mizzen set ( or with it sometimes) I think the gaff mizzen on a brig is referred to as a spanker, and well it makes sense if you need to make the back end move ! Anyway for what it's worth I think tacking on and off refers to having the right of way on a particular tack and not the other. ( perhaps all those start line shenanigans have a legitimate evolution)
Select to expand quotewoko said..
Ahh BB, but isn't that described as wearing. I often go for the rolling gybe on the spray as she's a pig to bring through the wind especially without the mizzen set ( or with it sometimes) I think the gaff mizzen on a brig is referred to as a spanker, and well it makes sense if you need to make the back end move ! Anyway for what it's worth I think tacking on and off refers to having the right of way on a particular tack and not the other. ( perhaps all those start line shenanigans have a legitimate evolution)
Absolutely . Not sure if Alfred is a sailor or passenger so his terminology may be pedestrian . He talks about strong SW winds so I would guess he is talking about wearing when tacking off.
Select to expand quoteBananabender said..woko said..
Ahh BB, but isn't that described as wearing. I often go for the rolling gybe on the spray as she's a pig to bring through the wind especially without the mizzen set ( or with it sometimes) I think the gaff mizzen on a brig is referred to as a spanker, and well it makes sense if you need to make the back end move ! Anyway for what it's worth I think tacking on and off refers to having the right of way on a particular tack and not the other. ( perhaps all those start line shenanigans have a legitimate evolution)
Absolutely . Not sure if Alfred is a sailor or passenger so his terminology may be pedestrian . He talks about strong SW winds so I would guess he is talking about wearing when tacking off.
Ach says Alfred was the purser ( paymaster / bean counter ) so well regarded by the sailors but I doubt he would have been found aloft often, but then as part of the crew, all be it aft of the masts. Ie officers etc he would have been farmiller with the terms
Select to expand quoteBananabender said..woko said..
Ahh BB, but isn't that described as wearing.
Absolutely . Not sure if Alfred is a sailor or passenger so his terminology may be pedestrian . He talks about strong SW winds so I would guess he is talking about wearing when tacking off.
Yes, that would be "wearing" (Patrick O'Brien often uses it). Also, failing to complete a tack is "missing stays".
Alfred was the purser, and he starts his diary aged 29 years. If he had been apprenticed at 14 (I don't have the record, but it was customary), he would have been at sea for 15 years. His wife, Eliza, was the daughter of a Captain who was lost at sea. It seems likely that their language was thoroughly colloquial. Even so, they might have said and wrote phrases out of habit, rather than out of consideration, and the "off an on" part of it might have only been a casual way to round off the phrase without intending to mean anything specific.
Curiously, Alfred sometimes enters the latitude and longitude, but with more enthusiasm than accuracy, as I found when cross-checking his references with the newspaper accounts. It was not the purser's job to navigate, and his positions appear to be a long way off course. Perhaps he wanted to give the impression of speaking "nautical-ese" to a future audience who might not have known better. The "off and on" phrase could be the same kind of bluff.
Finally, on the subject of navigation, Alfred writes that the ship lost its way in the English Channel, near the coast of France, when approaching London, and had to ask a nearby fishing boat for directions. Alfred puts this down to "unknown reasons", which seems unlikely for a ship that has just circumnavigated the globe. I suspect that grog might have played a key part in this, but Alfred, being a Wesleyan and a temperance campaigner, probably did not want to disparage his fellow crew by accusing them of drunkenness.
If you have read this far, you have probably guessed that I have immensely enjoyed reading and researching this diary. It has been a lot of fun.
Great that you are taking the time to do this. And spend so much time cross checking and adding information.
Could tacking off and on be as simple as tacking off and on the coast. To me tacking off is tacking away from something. Maybe the weather was worse out in the channel and if you now say they were lost they probably didn't want too loose so sight of land.
As above.
When tacking down a channel ( on the scale of the English one)against a foul wind one tack leads you back towards the coast. This is the "on" tack. The one leading to more open water is the "off".
Usually considered in the evening when the "off" tack is the safer option for the hours of darkness.
Select to expand quotetarquin1 said..
Great that you are taking the time to do this. And spend so much time cross checking and adding information.
Could tacking off and on be as simple as tacking off and on the coast. To me tacking off is tacking away from something. Maybe the weather was worse out in the channel and if you now say they were lost they probably didn't want too loose so sight of land.
Tarquin, to clarify, the ship was not lost when tacking "off and on". At this point it was outbound to NZ. She got lost at the other end of the circumnavigation, on the eve of getting back home. The crew might have decided to lighten the load by emptying the drinks cabinet at this point in the voyage.
Select to expand quoteseafever17 said..
As above.
When tacking down a channel ( on the scale of the English one)against a foul wind one tack leads you back towards the coast. This is the "on" tack. The one leading to more open water is the "off".
Usually considered in the evening when the "off" tack is the safer option for the hours of darkness.
Seafever, thanks for your thoughts. This seem the most likely explanation, especially as it was a south-wester, which could have churned up the channel grandly.
Select to expand quotetarquin1 said..
Great that you are taking the time to do this. And spend so much time cross checking and adding information.
Could tacking off and on be as simple as tacking off and on the coast. To me tacking off is tacking away from something. Maybe the weather was worse out in the channel and if you now say they were lost they probably didn't want too loose so sight of land.
that's my interpretation. tacking 'off' is heading offshore, and 'on' the alternate
