Maritime Heritage

Cod Fishing - The Trade

During the 17th century both Guernsey and Jersey boats took equal shares in the Newfoundland cod trade. However, from the 1690s Guernsey's share began to diminish  as they began to concentrate on other maritime activities so that by 1760 the cod trade was of more importance to Jersey than it was to Guernsey.

The Process

Until the late 18th century fishing was essentially a seasonal activity carried out  by the migratory Jersey fishermen between late February and October when they returned to their farms.  Cod live at depths down to 600 metres.  In the summer they move into shallower waters closer to the coast to spawn and feed on smaller fish.  In Newfoundland the cod fishing season was between mid-May and mid-September.

 

The original method was to fish from the boat by long lining over the side and the cod were then processed onboard the ship. The establishment of shore bases meant that the curing process could be done more easily onshore.  The boats went out and brought their catches to shore virtually everyday.  When this happened sac boats were dispatched loaded with trade goods and salt to buy up the fish and bring them back to the European markets.  This appears to have begun about 1680.

 

In the Gaspé, fishing was carried out from double ended, two masted schooner-rigged barges about 25ft' long, manned by two men and capable of holding 7-8 quintals of fish.  These left shore every dawn to sail to the fishing ground where they anchored and used handlines dropped to about 300 ft.  Each hook had to be baited individually with herring, smelt, squid or sand eels (which also had to be caught daily) each cod then had to be disengaged by hand.  The barges then returned  in the afternoon and  were offloaded by smaller boats called flats.  These barges and flats were often owned by the Companies and crewed by a seasonal labour force of Canadians.

 

It took about five weeks to prepare the dried salted cod.

 

Fishing the Cod Banks

 

The Terre Neuviers left port in March and returned in October.  Each seaman took his own chest in which the typical contents would be:

Ø 6 or 7 changes of clothes - woollen vest, a cloth shirt and a canvas jacket (le paletot)
Ø socks
Ø 2 woollen shirts
Ø 1pr cloth trousers
Ø 4 prs woollen underpants
Ø 5/6 prs of gloves or mittens
Ø 2 pr laced boots and 1 pr leather sea boots or sabot with leather uppers.
Ø an overcoat (double wool)
Ø a pillow and mattress
Ø a complete set of oilskins - pants, coat & sou'wester
Ø a cap
Ø candles (used until mid-August
Ø candlestick
Ø Statuette of ND and religious pictures
Ø Straw to stuff into boots

Seafarers - Crew

The size of the crew depended upon the size of the boat.  The largest ships of about 1,000 tons needed a crew of about 30 to control them while the smaller barques 250-500 tons had crews of between 15-20.  The 100-350 ton brigs were manned by 8-15 sailors.

 

The size of the crew also depended upon the function of the boat - a vessel engaged in the carrying trade needed less men than those engaged in fishing. A terre neuvier probably carried a crew of 20 while an oyster smack carried a crew of 5-7.

 

Onboard ship there were essentially two types of crew member, seamen and idlers:
Ø seamen stood watches
Ø idlers worked by day and slept at night - carpenter, cook, sailmaker

 

Seamen were divided into three groups - able, ordinary and landsman.  As a rule of thumb
Ø landsman was fresh on board;
Ø ordinary after one year;
Ø able after two years.

 

Younger seamen worked aloft - topmen - while older men handled headsails and anchoring - fo'c'sle men.

 

Seamen were divided into two duty groups called watches - the starboard headed by the 1st mate  and the starboard or port watch headed by the 2nd mate.

 

A watch was 4 hours but the 4pm-8pm watch was divided into two Dog Watches, which meant that the watches did not work the same hours every day. Merchant ships usually had all hands on deck from 12 noon until dark except in bad weather.

 

During the Dog Watches everyone was on deck with the Captain walking the weather quarter deck and the mate the lee quarter deck.

 

"The crew are sitting on the windlass or lying on the forecastle smoking, singing or telling long yarns"

"They sang in the true sailors' style, and the rest of the crew ... joined in the Choruses."

"Jack was called upon every night to give them his 'sentimental' song."
(RH Dana)

 

At 8 o'clock 8 bells are struck and the watches change and the relieved men go below.  Because of the watch system sailors never slept longer than four hours at a time.

 

Seamen originally lived in the forward part of the boat the fo'c'sle while officers lived in cabins in the back. "No man can be a sailor ... unless he has lived in the forecastle." The forecastles of most of our ships are small, black and wet holes, which few landsmen would believe held a crew of ten or twelve men on a voyage of months or years. (RH Dana)

 

While officers lived at the back of the ship - the aft - the crew lived in the forecastle.  This was the front of the boat so it received the worst of the waves. The fo'csle tended to be damp and dark, given over to the crew as it was not fit for cargo.  Later on the crew lived in a cramped deckhouse but this continued to be called the fo'csle.  

 

The Captain of a ship achieved his position through experience, influence/patronage and wealth in that he was often a shareholder.  The Merchant Shipping Act, 1854 introduced a certificate of competence which was achieved through examination - the Master's Ticket.

Idlers
The steward was the captain's servant.
The cook, carpenter and sailmaker.

Second Mate
The second mate is neither officer nor man and was often described as being a dog's berth as they were unable to mix with the officers and were unable to mix with the men.

First Mate
The first mate in most small merchantmen was boatswain, sailing master and quartermaster and kept the logbook.

Captains
The Captain is "lord paramount" he stands no watch, is accountable to no one and must be obeyed without question. Some Captains took their wives with them.

The masters of ships received a salary plus a commission on the sale of the cargo.  In the 1830s this salary could be £100-120 per annum.

 

Wages

A sailor is always doing something while on deck except at night and on Sundays.

Master - Jersey £100-120 per year plus commission
  "  " - English  £9 10/- per month  half commission and an extra 25/- per week whilst in port.
1876,  Amber Witch per month
 mate £5
 bosun £3 5/-
 carpenter £3
 ABs £2 10/-
 ODs £2 5/-

Typical crew of a brig would be about 12
Ø Master - the captain
Ø mate/bosun - officer below the master
Ø bosun/2nd mate
Ø AB  - able seaman able to hand, reef and steer
Ø OD - ordinary seaman
Ø boy learning the "ropes"
Ø cook
Ø carpenter

Men sleep in small bunks on straw mattresses called "donkeys breakfasts" usually infested with bed bugs.  Hands cracked from constant sail handling so tallow was rubbed in.  Urine is the only other form of medication available to the crew.

 

Water scarce 3 pts per day per man for drinking and washing.

 

When working aloft the old adage was "one hand for the ship and one for yourself".

 

In the early 19th century the norm was to crew island ships with islanders.  Non-islanders were employed in times of shortage or when "foreign".  By the mid 19th century 75% of Jersey ships had a majority of islanders in their crews.

 

Foreign crewmen in Jersey ships were French, Danes, Swedes, Norwegians, Maltese, West Indians and Africans but the largest grouping was made up of Guernseymen and British (particularly from SW England) 

 

Manning Jersey vessels would seem to have followed a general pattern - islanders largely on the fishing vessels and coasters while the larger vessels on the overseas routes beginning and ending in British ports had a larger proportion non-islanders.  However, about half the oyster fleet at its height of 261 vessels in 1857 were English with English crews. 

 

75% of island ships had Jerseymen making up the majority of crew.  Amongst the others were French, Danes, Swedes, Norwegians, Italians, Maltese and negroes from the West Indies, Africa and the USA.

 

Foreign crew members became more common as the 19th century  wore on and the size of the Jersey fleet expanded.

 

Living at Sea 1: Below Deck

Food

The sailor generally had enough food but it was of poor quality.  The main form of preservative was salting so the bulk of provisions taken aboard sailing ships was salt beef, salt pork and salt fish.  Meat could also be cured by drying it in the sun - jerked beef.

Salt beef was so tough that it was recorded that Dampier used a piece to plug a lea in the side of his ship, the Roebuck.

Ship's biscuit - a kind of bread known as hard tack (often baked years earlier) was the other staple of the sailor's diet. Often infested with weevils it was necessary to tap the maggots out.  Rats infested ships so food was often tainted with rats urine or faeces.  Because fresh food was rarely obtained, scurvy was a constant danger.

The staple diet of seamen was the ship's biscuit or hard tack which was a very coarse, hard bread. Records exist which show that some of these biscuits were being issued up to 40 years after they were baked.  Soft tack was ship's bread baked on board ship for immediate consumption.
Mr Thomas Le Cocq - born in 1874 - of St Martin sailed on board the barquentine Eliza in 1889.  The diet was salt fish, salt pork and salt beef along with ship's biscuits - four to the pound.
(Reminiscences - JEP, 22 August 1968)

Other items in the sailor's diet were peas, cheese, butter, raisins and oatmeal.  Often livestock - chickens, goats and pigs - was carried on long voyages and slaughtered for fresh meat.

Drinking water was kept in casks where it soon went off becoming foul and slimy.  On Royal Navy ships vast quantities of beer was carried as it lasted slightly longer than the water before going off.  Tea and coffee were the main drinks while at sea on board merchantmen.

Drunkenness was unusual on board merchantmen simply because the master controlled access to rations and the seamen themselves knew that their jobs were dangerous enough when sober.

In the forecastle there are neither tables, knives, forks nor plates.  The crew sat on the floor around a kid (a wooden tub with two lug type handles) and each man cut himself a portion using his own jack-knife; they drank tea from a tin pot which held just less than 2 pts.
(RH Dana, conditions in the 1830s)

The fo'c'sle was . . . 20' long, 13' ft wide, painted light grey.  Bunks were double banked around the four sides. . . A fixed table ran the length of the room with secured benches either side. . . it was lit by some portholes, a skylight and a heavy lantern.
(Erik Newby, conditions in the 1930s)

Caboose was the seaman's term for the cook house on a small vessel which often looked like a sentry box on the deck rather than between the decks as on larger vessels.

A harness cask was a large cask kept on deck containing the salt provisions for immediate use.  This meat was often referred to as horse hence the barrel was where the horse was stabled without its harness.

 

Meals

 

lobscouse - biscuit pounded fine, salt beef cut up small and a few potatoes boiled together and seasoned with pepper.
salmagundi - a dish served as a change from salt meat - made of slices of cured fish boiled with onions.
gash - a meal made up of leftovers.
chowder - a stew - shark meat being especially common with British seamen.  Derives its name from the French word for cauldron chaudiere in which it was made.

Washing up was done by one of the crew on rota using warm seawater, sand as an abrasive and teased out rope as a scourer.

 

Health

 

The port authorities in the port of departure signed a document stating that no contagious diseases existed in that port and that none of the crew was infected with a notifiable disease at the time of sailing.  This was known as a clean bill of health and was important for any vessel to have before entering a new harbour.

In the Royal Navy each man was allocated 14" space to sling his hammock. In the merchant ships sailors tended to sleep on thin straw mattresses in a bunk which was set in tiers in the fo'c'sle.

Cramped, dirty living conditions and the infrequency of washing meant these straw mattresses were breeding ground for lice.

Fatigue was a real danger in merchant ships as the search for more speed to secure better markets pushed men and gear to the limits of their endurance.  In the period in which sailing ships and steam ships were in competition efforts to reduce costs saw food rations being pared and the size of crews reduced.

Scurvy - swollen legs, flesh loses its elasticity, swollen gums made it difficult to eat, breath becomes offensive and loss of strength.  It was often attributed to salt provisions, want of cleanliness and the over use of grease and fat.

On board British ships articles stated that after 10 days of salt rations the crew were to be given an issue od lime juice to prevent scurvy.

The most common maladies amongst the crew of sailing vessels however was not scurvy, yellow Jack  or malaria but over-strained muscles - torn ligaments, slipped discs, and hernias - and fingers cracked due to handling stiff and wet canvas all the time.

 

Hygiene

 

The ship's toilets were called the heads as they were at the front of the ship. Originally there was a grating in the small deck over the stem known as the beak-head.  Because they were on both sides they were referred to in the plural and sailors were expected to use those on the lee side so that all waste fell clear of the ship.

From time to time sailors died at sea either through disease or accident.  When this happened the body was buried at sea usually in a pieces of weighted sailcloth.  The master conducted the ceremony before the crew and recorded the fact in the ship's log. In the Royal Navy the dead were sewn into their hammocks which was weighted with round shot. The sailmaker put the last stitch through the dead man's nose to ensure that the man really was dead.

 

LIVING AT SEA 2:  On Deck - Passing Time

 

When not on watch sailors ate, slept, repaired and washed their clothes and occasionally washed themselves.  In addition they had a number of ways to pass the time.  Storytelling and reminiscing were  favourite pastimes on board ship with experienced sailors being able to stretch out a well embroidered yarn for hours.

During the Dog Watches everyone was on deck with the Captain walking the weather quarter deck and the mate the lee quarter deck.
"The crew are sitting on the windlass or lying on the forecastle smoking, singing or telling long yarns"
"They sang in the true sailors' style, and the rest of the crew ... joined in the Choruses."
"Jack was called upon every night to give them his 'sentimental' song."
(RH Dana)

At 8 o'clock 8 bells are struck and the watches change and the relieved men go below.

In the fo'c'sle jigsaws were a popular way of passing time below, in the 20th century gramophones were a common feature in many fo'c'sles.  Seamen also indulged in fancy ropework as a means of passing time.

Carving wood and bone was also popular.  Scrimshaw - carving and creating ink drawings on whale and walrus teeth, tusk and bones - was practised  and was especially popular amongst American whalers in the early 19th century although other sailors also used to do it.  Wood carving often resulted in ship models which were not only beautiful to look at but which were also accurate.
". . . He (the Second Mate) was engaged in making a model of 'Moshula' nearly 4 feet long, with running rigging and brace winches that worked.  His last model had been sold for £60  in Belfast . . . "
Eric Newby, The Last Grain Race, 1956

Music and dancing were a part of shipboard life both in the wardroom and the mess after-cabins and fo'c'sle

Songs not only included shanties or work songs for many songs classed as forebitters had been drawn from all over the world.  They were known as forebitters because the men would gather at the forebitts - the double bollards used in making the ship fast alongside - in the evening.  American sailors called these main-hatch songs  for the same reason.

The rendition of this music was often poor and out of tune but its accessibility meant that both performer and listener were united by a common experience.  Music also gave a certain measure of comfort, nostalgia and continuity to the listener who was sometimes in a strange, new or dangerous environment.

In short Sailor John sang of everything and anything.
While at sea most islanders were exposed to English or  French  influences and so it would seem probable that Channel Islanders would have adopted either French or English worksongs and kept their own music for the fo'c'sle.

In Europe and the Americas shanties died out as true working songs with the end of the age of the sailing ships ending a tradition which stretched back thousands of years

The type of musical instruments taken to sea have been many and varied.  German ships were renowned for the quality of their shipboard musicians.  On board many ships a scratch band or foo-foo band was formed by seamen for their own enjoyment. 

At sea the fiddle has constantly been a favourite "dog-watch" instrument.

Fiddles, guitars, harmonicas, flutes and trumpets have all been popular.  The reed instruments such as accordion and concertina were less so because they tended to rust up.

 

LIVING AT SEA 3: On Deck - On Watch

 

On board ship time was measured in watches - this was the length of time during which part of the crew is on duty. Usually this was for four hours, except at the time of the evening meal which was split into two dog watches of two hours.  The passage of time in each watch is marked by a stroke of the ship's bell every half hour - eight bells signals the end of a watch.

On board British ships, this shipboard watch keeping system began at midnight and the day was broken into seven shifts of work:-
0000-0400:  Middle Watch (graveyard watch)
0400-0800:  Morning Watch
0800-1200:   Forenoon Watch
1200-1600:   Afternoon Watch
1600-1800:   First Dog-Watch
1800-2000:   Last Dog-Watch
2000-2400:   First Watch

The Dog-Watches meant that the men did not work the same hours every day.   During the Dog Watches everyone was on deck with the Captain walking the weather quarter deck and the mate the lee quarter deck.
Merchant ships usually had all hands on deck from 12 noon until dark except in bad weather. At 8 o'clock 8 bells are struck and the watches change and the relieved men go below. 

Because of the watch system sailors never slept longer than four hours at a time.

Apart from  sail handling and bracing the sailing watch provided a man and sometimes two for an hour's stint at the wheel, another crewman for an hour as look-out and another as policeman (runner for the officer of the Watch).  For the crewman it was important to always climb the weather rigging at sea - and always the side with the water in port!

In addition to sailing the ship there was the day work  - paintwork to be renewed, metalwork and fittings to be chipped of rust and red lead painted on, decks to be scrubbed and washed down, running rigging to be overhauled.  The daymen - carpenter, sailmaker, donkeyman all started work at 6:00am.  The cook began work at 4:30am and finally retired at 8:30pm.  When the cry went out for "all hands" then the day men and the cook also had to help on deck.
 
A sailor is always doing something while on deck except at night and on Sundays.
By the 20th century labour-saving power came to the aid of the sailorman and with it the donkeyman who was responsible for the workings of the donkey engines, the Jarvis diesel brace winch, the Jarvis halyard winches and all things mechanical on board ship.  Despite this it was the ship's carpenter who was responsible for oiling capstans.
The watch leaders - first and second mate - were on duty with their respective watches while the captain more or worked his own hours.  Mid-day he took sun readings to work out latitude often with the mate to provide a secondary check.

 

LIVING AT SEA 4: Below Deck - Personalia

 

What did sailors pack in their sea chest to take on a long voyage? What clothes and things, pipes, etc?

Because space was limited on board ship sailors tended to have the minimum of personal belongings and these were kept in his sea-chest.

 

Clothes

 

According to the manager of the outfitter's in the East India Dock Road in 1938, Eric Newby would need ". . . Pilot coat, heavy trousers, two suits of working clothes (dungarees), heavy underwear, heavy sea boots, long oilskin coat, oilskin trousers, seaboot stockings, storm cap, knife, spoon and mattress straw. . ."
pg 27, Erik Newby, The Last Grain Race, 1956

The Terreneuviers chest contained . . . 6 or 7 changes of clothing comprising a woollen vest, a cloth shirt and a canvas jacket, 2 woollen shirts, 1pr cloth trousers, 4 prs of woollen underpants,5-6prs of gloves or mittens, 2prs of laced boots and a pair of leather sea boots (or sabot & leather uppers), a double wool overcoat, complete set of oilskins - pants, coat and sou'wester, a cap,  a pillow, a mattress, straw to stuff in the boots and mattress, and a statuettes of the Virgin along with religious pictures.
Cahier de Vieux Cancale CVC No 9 from Cancale Museum 

Bell bottomed trousers was often thought of as being the distinctive mark of the sailor although they only really emerge when official standard uniform was introduced into the Royal Navy in 1857. Dana describes the dress of a merchant sailor as being  ". . . loose duck trousers, checked shirt and a tarpaulin hat (tarred canvas) . . . the trousers, tight around the hips, and thence hanging long and loose round the feet”

"- lugging along his chest - Apollo with his portmanteau! - My man, . . . you can't take that big box aboard a warship. . . put your duds in a bag, lad. Boot and saddle for a cavalryman, bag and hammock for a man-of-war's man"
Herman Melville (1819-1891), Billy Budd, Sailor

For many seaman a Bible was a constant companion - it may never have been read but it was there just in case at the bottom of the chest.

All sailors had their jacknife and the specialists (carpenter and sailmaker) provided tools of their trade - these were kept in a small canvas bag -a ditty bag.

Ditty Box, introduced in 1870 was a small, strongly made chest in which sailors kept their personal valuables - letters, photographs and certificates.

Ditty bag was a small canvas bag containing the gear needed when working on deck especially by a sailmaker.

 

Spirtuality

 

Because of the hard life and the uncertainty involved, seafarers have always tended to be superstitious. It has been suggested that seamen wrapped themselves up in a multiplicity of talismans to ward off evil.

Seamen carried with them an image of a perfect world or heaven - Fiddler's Green - where the fiddle never stopped playing, there was plenty strong drink and tobacco and the women were willing.  The reality on earth was more dependent upon money but could be found in seaports around the world.

 

Heaven

 

. . . that portion of the terraqueous globe providentially set apart for dance houses, doxies and tapsters, in short what sailors call a "fiddlers' Green".
Pg 16 . . . Herman Melville, Billy Budd, Sailor, 1891

It was often said that fishermen believed that seagulls contained the souls of drowned sailors. Deep-sea sailors attributed this to the albatross and hence bad luck came to anyone caught killing one.
 
In 1830 the herring shoals deserted the island waters - Guernsey fishermen believed it was because someone had committed sacrilege by fishing on a Sunday.

NAVIGATION, CHARTS AND LIGHTHOUSES

The two most basic questions seaman must ask themselves are where are we? and where are we going? 
Where are we?
The answer  to  this is obviously dependant upon observation and informed guesswork. 
 
Today we can enlist the help of satellite transmitters to pinpoint our position to within 5 metres (GPS).
 
Twenty years ago  we could use Radio Beacons and by triangulating the radio signals a position was obtained (RDF). A much faster version of this in the British areas was Decca Navigation system.

For the last 200 years seamen have increasingly been able to use latitude and longitude  hundreds of years.  Sailors have been able to fix their Latitude (position North or South of the equator) for centuries by measuring the angle of the sun above the horizon at noon using instruments such as astrolabes, octants and sextants.

Longitude can be measured simply by using two timepieces, one set at GMT and the other set at shipboard time (Local Time).  The earth revolves 360° on its axis every 24 hours  which means 15° is equal to 1 hour and 1° is equal to 4 minutes - if your ship's time piece shows  10 o'clock  and the GMT time piece shows it is noon then the 2 hour difference shows that you are 30° W of Greenwich.  However, longitude could only be fixed accurately once a reliable chronometer was invented.  This was achieved by John Harrison in the 1770s. 

By using a method known as "dead reckoning" sailors could make an educated guess about their location by setting the speed  and direction of the ship against a previously known position such as their home port.  However, this was never very accurate due to varying tidal currants, leeway (sideways drift), human error all of which adds up considerably over a number of days.

Seamen also knew what signs to look for when at sea - the shape of the swells, the degree of saltiness of the water, the flotsam and jetsam, composition of the seabed, cloud banks, sea birds  - all these gave an indication of location and are sometimes referred to as "environmental" navigation and often the only tool used was the sounding lead.

Obviously all of this was only of use if it could be  marked down on a map and so charts are an essential tool for seamen.  They were also essential for answering the second question:-
 
Where are we going?
Today with the aid of accurate charts, Admiralty Tidal Flow Books, Pilotage books and Nautical Almanacs plus the variety of instruments for position fixing the question of "where are we going and how do we get there?" are fairly straightforward.  In the past the compass was relied upon for direction

However, in the past direction was often given in relation to the prevailing wind, to the sea swell, to constellations or fixed stars and to the sun at given times such as dawn, dusk or noon.  The passage of time was estimated in relation to the change in bearing of the sun or stars. Distances were estimated in "day's sail and relative speeds by a Dutchman's Log  

By detailed and perceptive observation of the maritime environment, especially the wind, waves and heavenly bodies, early seamen "everywhere" evolved simple yet effective methods of navigation out of sight of land, which subsequently proved to be remarkably similar throughout the world. (Sean McGrail)

 

Charts

 

A chart is a seafarer's map.  It is used to to identify a position; a destination and the best way between the two.

The earliest charts were often referred to as portolanõ as they actually had the lines between ports marked on them and included sailing directions and descriptions of harbours.

In order to create a map an azimuth compass was needed in order to take bearings.  The viewer then moved position and took back bearings on the landmarks.

 

SEAMANSHIP - Pilotage

 

Ways to avoid rocks and wrecks, they way they are indicated with light houses and marker buoys and bells, and on charts, the use of pilot cutters, local knowledge.

Pilotage is usually carried out relatively close to shore and is the art of reading the visible signs to establish position and the course to take to reach a destination.  There is a variety of visible signs  - natural or man-made landmarks, geographical features or buoys and beacons. Should visibility deteriorate then these signposts disappear and it is necessary to start plotting on charts and so pilotage becomes navigation.
 
For the modern yachtsmen pilotage books describing approaches into  harbours and what to look for are available for most popular cruising grounds.

If they are not obviously visible, hazards are marked by buoys or beacons

70% of the earth's surface is water and fairly straight forward to move over - the main problems as far as seamen are concerned are caused by the boundary between sea and land - rocks and the wrecks that surround them are hazzards to seamen and so are marked.  On charts for navigation and in actuality for pilotage.

Lights used to mark hazards vary in size and magnificence from lighthouses such as at La Corbière to small beacons such as Les Fours buoys off the south west coast of the island.

Hazards and channels are marked by a variety of buoys and marks - the colour and shape of which indicate which side to pass.  When approaching a harbour leave Green to starboard and red to port obviously vice-versa when leaving.

These buoys often have lights for night time recognition and fog warnings for use in limited visibility.  These fog noises vary from bells to fog horns.

In 1977 the International Association of Lighthouse Authorities (IALA) system of buoyage was adopted throughout European waters:
there are three families of marker
· lateral -indicating the sides of a navigable channel;
· cardinal - marking the edges of shoals or other hazards  in relation to the cardinal points of the compass and
· four other marks which fall outside of the above two categories - isolated danger, safe water, special marks and ****

A Pilot is an expert in local waters who assists vessels entering or leaving a harbour.

As long as boats have been going foreign inward bound boats have depended upon local knowledge, even before sighting land.  Seeing a pilot boat might be the first indication a master might have as to the accuracy of his navigation or the safety of his landfall.  Up to date information was essential when shoals and their marks might have moved, and wind and tide predictions would help decide how best a sailing ship should make her approach.

Because pilots were often independent companies who charged for their services they tended to use fast seaworthy vessels to reach incoming vessels.  Often they had to stand off the coast in all sorts of weather and so they adopted the type of vessel best suited for the job - deep keels which could stand up to a large press of sails and yet lie-to in a gale in comparative comfort.  The cutter rig was favoured by many as being the best suited for the job - the Bristol Channel cutter and the Le Havre cutters.

Once wireless telegraphy and radio position fixing became common there was less need for pilots to be out looking for custom.  Instead they waited for the call and then went out to meet the "customer".

The earliest mention of pilots in Channel Islands water date back to the 14th century.  Until licensed pilots appeared in the 19th century local fishermen served as pilots when paid.

In Jersey the Company of Town Pilots was set up in 1810.  The two Pilot cutters manned by five pilots spent three days "on station"  and brought in ships as they were sighted off Corbière.  If all five pilots were used before the three days were up then they hoisted a large Pilot flag and sailed for home and the other cutter took up station for three days.

 

NAVIGATION & SIGNALLING

 

How did people communicate at sea before radio? – Flags, Morse, Semaphore, Bells, Horns & Whistles

Before the introduction of radio communication signalling intention on board and between ships was done in a variety of ways and used a variety of instruments - flags, bells, whistles, horns and lights using semaphore or Morse. 

 

Between Ships

 

Specific sound signals are set out in the International Regulations for Preventing Collisions at Sea.

For identification purposes the national ensign gives nationality.

Code Flags when flown singly indicate that the International Code is being used - so each letter has an internationally recognised meaning  - V I require assistance,  P (when hoisted in harbour - Blue Peter) All persons should report aboard immediately as the vessel is about to proceed to sea, Y I am dragging my anchor.

In fog in addition to the ship's bell the horn could be used  as a warning.  It was also used to indicated manoeuvring intentions in confined waters such as the River Thames one blast for I am turning to starboard, two blasts for port, three for going astern, four blasts meant watch out I am manoeuvring.

 

On Board Ship

 

Since the fourteenth century shipmaster's on board English warships and later on on board East India Company ships have communicated orders via the bosun who used a whistle or call to pass on the messages.  It was not used om board merchantmen.

"Sound the bell, Second mate, Let us go below"
Time on board a ship was sounded by a bell one for every half hour  of the watch.  So Eight Bells meant it was the end of the watch.

The ship's bell was also used by the look out to indicate to the helmsman potential problems 1 for the starboard quarter and 2 for the port.

Since the 1930s shipmasters have been able to use microphones and loudspeakers.  Earlier officers had used speaking trumpets.

 

LIVING AT SEA

 

Voyages - the human experience rather than the economic point of view
a summary of the different types of voyages undertaken?
how long were they?
what ports did they stop in?

Jersey vessels were involved in two different types of voyage - the long deep-sea voyages to the Gaspé, South America or the Far East usually involving the larger boats such as ships, barques or brigs  or the short hop, coastal voyages using brigs, schooners, ketches and cutters to a port or ports on the
mainland or France.

Different cargoes could be carried at different times by the same ship so it was important that the holds were thoroughly cleaned out before each use.

Even the short hop coastal voyages could last a while as often the cargo was taken to one port where another was received to be taken to a different port and so on.   Although sea time was measured in days not weeks.

Deep sea voyages could last up to two or three years although the majority were seasonal - out to pick up a specific cargo and back to Europe to get the best prices.  The most famous were the China tea races of the 1860s -1870s, the Australian wool races of the 1880s and 1890s and the Australian grain races of the 1920s and 1930s.  In 1885 the Cutty Sark for example raced back to England from Australia via the Cape Horn in 72 days.  Four months was a regular voyage out to China or around the Horn to San Francisco with the same for the return.

Jersey ships could be found in ports all over the world. Valparaiso, Buenos Aires, Rio de Janeiro, Havana, Adelaide, Sydney, Melbourne, Hong Kong, Shanghai, Karachi, Bombay, Cochin, San Francisco, New Orleans - as well as Newfoundland, the Gaspé, and New England. Cadiz, Opporto, Malta, Marseilles, Naples, Constantinople and a vast selection of French and British ports. 

One of the more exotic locations was Ichaboe, an island off SW  Africa famed for guano.

 

WORKING AT SEA – Worldwide Trade

 

What was the extent of the world wide carrying trade at its height?
Why did this evolve and why was Jersey able to take advantage of it?
What was the period we were involved?
How did it operate and who benefited?
What were the good carried on Jersey ships?

The earliest record we have of a long distance trading voyage undertaken by a Jersey vessel was for the Janvrin in 1826 when it went to Batavia in the Dutch East Indies

In 1864 the 192 ton brig Prospero owned by George Malzard sailed to Iquitos in Brazil,  2,000 miles up the Amazon.

In 1864 the Jersey merchant fleet numbered 446 vessels totalling nearly 49,000 tons.  Of these about 80 were employed in the oyster trade working out of North Wales or Shoreham.  Of the remainder about half were involved in the coastal trade this represented 25% of the tonnage while the other half (representing 75% of the tonnage) were involved deep sea.  About 40% of the deep sea tonnage was involved in the South American trade.

In 1849 the 173 ton schooner-brig Caeserea of Jersey commanded by 20 yr old  Peter Briard ran from the Tyne to Marseilles with coal, bricks and anchors.  From Marseilles they sailed with a cargo of wine for Mauritius where they landed in December 1849 before returning with a cargo of sugar to London in May 1850.

1853 commanding the 337 ton brig Geffrard Briard sailed from Liverpool with a general cargo bound for Shanghai in March.  She arrived in the Yangtze river in late July (4 months).  She left Shanghai in September loaded with tea and silks bound for London where she arrived in January 1854 (4 months).  In February she left for San Francisco via the Horn and took 131 days (arriving in July).  From 'Frisco she sailed over the Pacific to Shanghai arriving in late October following a typhoon. Late November she sailed for England loaded with tea and silks - arriving in March 1855.  In June she left England for Buenaventura in Colombia round the Horn.  Briard had to go up to the Pearl Islands in the Gulf of Panama to pick up his next cargo and he completed his load in Valparaiso before returning to Liverpool in early 1856.
 
Throughout the 18th century the Gaspé trade was by far the most important.

Jerseymen were not slow to exploit their bi-lingualism when former French possessions.  In Canada, the West Indies and India came under the control of the growing British Empire.

In the 18th century many trading areas were the exclusive preserves of Chartered companies - India, the Honourable East India Company, West Africa the Royal Africa Company and they jealously guarded their privileges often by force and seizure of offending vessels.  By the 19th century the Free Trade movement saw these monopolies being broken.

From the late 1780s until the late 1830s the Honduran hardwood trade was dominated by the de ste Croix family of Jersey.

The Jersey world wide trade really sprang up as a result of the expansion of world trade in the middle of the 19th century which was caused by the growth of the British Empire, the wealth generated by and the demands of  the Industrial Revolution and the emergence of Free Trade as an economic policy.     It was killed by the development of iron steam ships which meant that wooden sailing ships of the size used by Jersey shipowners became uneconomical and so were driven out of business.  They were too big for the coastal trade and too small for the world trade and not fast enough for the premium cargoes.  By 1900 all Channel island vessels had disappeared from world trade routes apart from a handful still engaged in the rapidly declining cod trade.

The wealth generated by the cod carrying trade with the Gaspé generated enough surplus wealth for local merchants to invest in ships which in turn were built in the island.  These were then used in the carrying trade and the versatility of the wooden sailing ship meant that it could easily be adapted to carry any cargo.

In the 1850s and 1860s when Jersey was heavily involved in the general carrying trade a lot was left to the ship's masters who were expected to find a return cargo or perhaps a new leg to trade on once they arrived at a destination.  This meant that often sailors would sign off and on ships at different ports throughout the world.

In the 18th century Gaspé trade the boats sailed to Canada carrying salt, men to work the fishing stations and European produced trade goods for the settlers - cloth, knives, axes, hinges, wine, building materials and tools, etc. The dried cod was then transported to Iberia and the Mediterranean, New England, Virginia, the Carolinas, and the West Indies.  The boats brought tobacco, molasses, sugar, rum and by the late 18th century when the Honduras was linked into the routes hardwoods such as mahogany.

Some vessels went down to West Africa to trade with the slavers.  While some were actively involved in the trade such as Jerseyman, Captain Philip Messervy of the Ferrers Galley (1722) and Guernseyman, Thomas Elsworthy of the Anne Galley (1740) others were involved in the supply of goods and services - Jerseymen, John Theodore and John Carter of the Elizabeth (1736) and Charles Philippe  Hocquard of the Newport (1854).

In the early years of the 19th century Jersey ships developed the South American trade as former European colonies achieved independence and broke their former ruler's  Chartered Company monopolies. Haiti, Brazil, Uruguay and Argentina all received the attentions of Jersey merchant vessels.

 In the 1830s  a number of local vessels were sailing up to the Baltic to pick up timber as the shipbuilding industry was booming then.

By the mid 19th century the Gaspé trade was still the mainstay of the Jersey shipping economy but shipowners were beginning to look to the general carrying trade, switching from trade to trade as the prevailing economic conditions changed.  Following the discovery of Gold in Australia the Deslandes ships ran out to the diggings taking supplies as well as prospective diggers. In 1855 some Jersey ships noted carrying wool from Australia, tea from China, rice from Burma and cotton from India and the Cape of Good Hope. 

 

WORKING AT SEA - Coastal Trade

 

What was the extent of the coastal trade at its height?
What was the period we were involved?
How did it operate and who benefited?
What were the good carried on Jersey ships?

During the 18th century the coastal trade with Britain was of more importance to the islanders yet it concerned relatively few ports.  Coal was brought from Newcastle and Swansea but Southampton was the main port for everything else and had been since it replaced Pool in the 16th century.  Although there were some links with other south coast ports such as Poole, Weymouth and Chichester. The numbers of ports grew as the Industrial Revolution progressed. 

The voyage pattern was a combination  Jersey to British ports, Jersey to French ports, British ports to French ports, British ports to British ports.

The 34 ton cutter, Clyde,  arrived in Plymouth from St Brieuc, Brittany in January 1865, went to Swansea thence to Jersey.  From Jersey she sailed in early March to Gloucester with a cargo of potatoes, returning with salt.  In April she left with a cargo of cider for Newport, Monmouthshire from where she returned with coal. In the same period the 58 ton cutter, Eclipse, made ten voyages between Portrieux in Brittany and Jersey with live cattle for slaughter and a further two with a mixed cargo.

Because Jersey has never really been a self sufficient community.  General cargoes have always been shipped into the island and using their expertise and often driven of necessity islanders have been active in the coastal trade.  Not only bringing cargoes into the islands but also shipping between  Britain and France especially with the settled political situation after the Crimean War in the 1850s and the Cobden Treaty of 1860.

Quite often the coastal trade was operated by the small owner/operator rather than the large merchant houses.  In the close season many of the oyster cutters would be employed in the coastal carrying trade.

Coal was carried between South Wales and France throughout the 18th and 19th century (when the two countries were not at war)  on board many Channel Island vessels.

Until the Industrial Revolution killed it off in the latter half of the 18th century wool was a major cargo brought into the islands for the knitting industry.

Timber, building materials, textiles and household goods were brought into the island while hides and stockings were exported.

By the mid 18th century glassware and window glass, earthenware and grindstones were being brought down from Sunderland.

Between September and April potatoes were shipped from the islands to London. In 1840 nearly 15,000 tons from Jersey alone although only about 20% of the vessels used were from Jersey, another 20% from Guernsey and the rest from London).  In 1855 this trade had collapsed and only 25 tons were despatched from the islands to the London market.  After London, Liverpool was the next largest port of call for Jersey vessels and some of the local companies such as the Robins had their own merchant houses there.  The coasting vessels took potatoes, apples, wine and cod oil.

In the 19th century English lustreware pottery was exported to France via Jersey through ports such as Granville that it was known as "Jerseyware" despite the fact that it was made in Staffordshire, Leeds, Sunderland, Newcastle or Swansea.

 

SHIPWRECKS

 

What happens when things go wrong, how many wrecks have there been, what were the chances of survival, what is the story behind the lifeboat?

As long as people have been going to sea then there have been shipwrecks,- famous examples from antiquity are  Jonah in the Old Testament, Ulysses in Homer's Odyssey and St Paul in the New Testament.

With wooden ships the fear was not so much of sinking as there would always be something to float on but of fire.  Wooden ships could be broken up on rocks but there was always something to hold on to. If the ship was holed or swamped and if the pumps could not get rid of the water quickly enough then the weight of water would take a wooden ship down and the wood would eventually become waterlogged. Metal ships if  holed seriously enough could and did sink without trace.

Death in shipwrecks was common - not only for those who went over the side and drowned but also amongst those who stayed on the hulk from hypothermia, exhaustion and starvation.

Bring driven ashore by storms resulted in many deaths as the ship often broke up and the rough seas made launching smaller tenders or lifeboats an impossibility.

There was always the chance of shipwrecked sailors being picked up if they happened to be near shipping lanes but as in the case of the Quixote this could take over a week so the reality was only slight.

The time taken for a ship to sink was also crucial - some smaller boats could be broken up or swamped in a matter of minutes whereas others took three or four days to break up or sink during which time the crew could be picked up by passing shipping.

Stricken ships had a variety of methods of communicating their distress - flying flags upside down, firing rockets and flares, sounding bells and horns.

The chances of survival once wrecked were slim, sailors had to rely on their ship, their shipmates and themselves. The seaman would only abandon his ship when it was obvious that nothing else could be done for it.

It is impossible to say how many ships have been wrecked - sunk or broken up - in Channel Islands waters but it will number thousands.  the earliest known wreck is that of a Gallo-Roman cargo boat which sank in St Peter Port, Guernsey just after 285AD.  In addition some ships which have been wrecked have been salvaged, refloated, repaired and brought back into service such as the passenger ferries the Roebuck in 1911, the Ceaserea in 1923 and the St Malo in 1995.

Some ships wrecks involve the loss of many lives such as that of the mailboat Stella in which 105 lives were lost when she ripped her bottom out near the Casquets in fog.  Others may incur injuries but no fatalities as in the case of the St Malo when she was  holed after hitting La Frouquie, a rock near La Corbière.

It is an ill wind that brings no comfort and of course the other side of shipwrecks is the opportunity for salvage.  Perhaps the most famous example of this was highlighted in the film Whisky Galore which was a fictionalised account of the cargo ship wrecked on the Hebrides, off Scotland whose cargo was whisky bound for the American market. A similar thing happened in Guernsey in 1937 when the French steamer Briseis ran aground carrying a cargo of 7,000 casks of wine.

The division of shipwrecked cargoes was subject to a variety of laws to ensure that the Crown received their share, however, much was spirited away before the authorities arrived on the scene.  There was also dark stories if ships being deliberately lured onto the rock by wreckers - the legend of the Five Spanish Ships.  St Helier was killed by seafarers after he tried to lure them on to the rocks.

The National Institution for the Preservation of Life from Shipwreck was founded in 1824. In 1854 it changed its name to the Royal National Life-Boat Institution.  There has been a RNLI presence in Jersey since 1884 when the RNLB Mary and Victoria was housed in a new life-boat house built at West Park. This boat was powered by 10 oars and sail.

With thanks to Doug Ford from the Jersey Heritage Trust for sharing his 'Sea Book' with Jersey Tourism.