2011 Fresh River Voyage of Discovery :: Learning Pages :: Second Leg

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Once our crew masters the arts of line handling, they can put their new skills to use. In a sense, operating a sailing ship like the Half Moon is like manipulating a giant marionette, with each line moving a specific yardarm or sail in a specific way.

Working the sails requires a lot of hands, and thus a lot of cooperation. The crew divides into teams while sail handling — one team working the fore mast while the other works the main mast. The spritsail and mizzenmast sometimes see use as well, though these require advanced training. The mast teams must coordinate their efforts to effectively steer and propel the ship when under sail.

These sails both propel and help steer the ship. In fact, the fore sails have more effect on determining the Half Moon's direction than its rudder!

The heat wave that accompanied this leg of the voyage sadly brought with them a pressure system that only produced light, flukey winds, or no winds at all.

However, on Day Two, as the heat wave moved in, we encountered steady, strong south-westerly winds as we traveled down the East River toward New York Harbor. Our initial plans for that day had been to travel out to Gravesend Bay and set anchor for the night, but we decided to ride the winds instead. Setting sail, we curved around the Battery at the southern tip of Manhattan and began our journey up the Hudson under sail.

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