Birds With Nine Wings: Schooner Days MCCLXVII (1267)

by C. H. J. Snider

THE NANCY'S rig as shown in the model of her in the Provincial Marine room at Old Fort York is like nothing now on earth or sea-but it is authenticated, sail by sail, by her master's log entries in 1813. It was indeed, the standard rig of schooners for the Provincial Marine, although very different from that of our own time or in the last hundred years.

As confirmed by numerous inventories, the Provincial Marine schooners up to 1816 had:

On the bowsprit, two triangular sails, the jib and flying jib.

On the foremast, three quadrilateral sails, the squaresail, square topsail, and square topgallant sail, spread by three spars called yards, and a lug foresail as well, set on a gaff, and without a boom for the foot.

On the mainmast, below the square topsail and topgallantsail which this mast also had a fore-and-aft mainsail, loose footed like the foresail, but extended by gaff and boom.

WORK FOR NINE MEN

This was an efficient but expensive rig. There was much gear to handle and much going aloft. Nine men were needed just to sail the Nancy with these nine sails. Her war complement was 37 men, 24 being naval bluejackets and they were all required when there was shooting and cutlasses in play.

Later 19th century schooners the same size as the 18th century Nancy such as the Maple Leaf, Madeline, Rapid City, Newsboy, H. M. Ballou, Helen, Parthenon, Jessie McDonald, Marcia A. Hall and Echo, all out of Toronto, were often handled by two men. Three were considered a "full crowd," fifty years ago. John Goldring sailed the Helen single handed on more than one voyage and she could carry as much cargo as the Nancy. But in this single handing he lost his vessel.

Each of those mentioned had as much canvas as the Nancy, but differently arranged - three jibs, two gafftopsails, foresail and mainsail. No square canvas and not one of the Nancy's five yards with their sails and gear-lifts, halliards and braces, tacks, sheets, clewlines, buntlines, brails, bowlines, and reefing gear for two topsails.

We have made that much progress in the last hundred years, at the cost of losing six proficients in the art and mystery of seamanship with each 100 ton vessel. As the vessels are lost, too, our world is that much poorer. When Toronto had 86,451 inhabitants, in 1881, the lakes had 10,000 men who could hand, reef, steer, and box the compass, and harness a horse, drive a plough and cut their own firewood. How many in Metro can do that now?"

We must have gained something by cutting down the work of nine men to the work of two, and then taking the work of the two away from them altogether. Where do we go from there?

To arms-The guns of the Nancy, a subject less controversial than technocracy.

Next week.