How to Sail a Big Ship

In October 2017, the USS Constitution Museum hosted a reunion of Constitution crew who had participated in sailing the ship to Marblehead, Massachusetts, for its 200th anniversary in 1997. That event 20 years ago was the last time Constitution left Boston harbor. The voyage followed a four-year restoration that had strengthened the hull enough to allow consideration of sailing the ship, something that had not been done since the 1880s.

Getting underway under sail on such a huge, demanding vessel was a daunting undertaking for the 1997 crew and their commanding officer, Commander Michael Beck. The ship needed to be capable of withstanding the force of the sails pulling on the rigging and hull, and the crew had to be increased in number and properly trained to manage those forces. These were tasks that Constitution’s 19th-century sailing masters were well acquainted with and equally attentive to. Like all sailing ships, Constitution’s numerous different sails allowed the ship to operate in rapidly changing and often dangerous weather conditions. But setting, striking, and adjusting those sails demanded a choreography of crew work from hundreds of sailors for whom these tasks became second nature with daily practice.The Watch Quarter and Station Bill was the key to that choreography. Created by one of the officers, the bill assigned every member of the crew to specific teams and tasks in specific situations. Similar station bills are still required today of both navy and commercial ships.

First Lieutenant Peter Turner’s Watch Quarter and Station bill from 1839 provides a window into what it takes to actively sail a ship with such a large rig, and helps explain why it was considered such a substantive undertaking in 1997. Comparing Turner’s bill to the Watch Quarter and Station bill created for the 1997 sail highlights the challenges the modern crew faced. Turner had 450 sailors to distribute to different sail-handling tasks. While the 1997 crew was going to set far fewer sails under much more controlled conditions, they had only about 120 crew to do it, and none of them had the experience or skills that were common to Constitution’s 19th-century crew.

“We didn’t know how to sail a ship like this,” CDR Michael Beck  recalled in an oral history recorded during the recent reunion. “We were tour guides.”

Beck said he recognized that the ship’s success as an active warship had depended on captains who “were not only competent but they trained the crew to a level of professionalism that outgunned and defeated every foe.”

To train his crew in the necessary tasks, Beck enlisted the support of the United States Coast Guard (USCG)’s sail training ship Eagle and the privately-run tall ship Bounty. To ensure that the crew could complete their tasks effectively underway, Beck and his senior officers organized the crew into teams similar to those of the 19th century, only much smaller.

During Constitution’s active sailing career, the crew was largely divided into two watches, designated “Starboard” and “Larboard.” The watches took turns operating the ship around the clock when it was under sail. In any situation in which more than the working watch were required, all hands could be called. A number of crew members who performed specific roles on board — such as carpenter, cook, and surgeon — were exempted from standing a watch (and thus known as “Idlers”), but could also be called in time of need. In battle, the entire crew were called to quarters and a different system of assignments were implemented.

For basic sailing operations, each watch was sub-divided into six teams or stations, with each team generally responsible for handling sails and tasks around a specific area of the ship. The Marines on board could also be assigned to sailing tasks, and the warrant officers were also broken up by watch.

Like others before and after him, Turner produced lists of which crew were assigned to which watches and stations, but also provided diagrams of the masts to show where each of the topmen would be stationed for loosing or furling sails. Many of those crew would usually shift back to the deck to assist in hauling on lines during the more laborious tasks, such as setting sail or tacking the ship.

The sheer numbers of crew assigned to each station and to specific tasks at each station demonstrates just how much physical labor was required to safely harness enough wind to make the ship move effectively. For example, as many as 40 crew were assigned just to manning the main topsail yard.