The first large cargo ships were the early packetships like the Cambridge, blocky and heavy. They muscled themselves through the waves. Later packetships, like the Isaac Webb, became sleeker and more graceful; they were built by the same folks who later created the clippers. The clippers are the ships that show up in most romantic renditions of the sailing days.<\/p>\n
There were more than cargo ships on the waters: there were also whalers. Whaling has lost most of its romance in these more environmentally conscious days, but it is a part of our history — and so are its songs.<\/p>\n
There are two main kinds of cargo carrying sailing ship. The schooners were rigged in such a way that the sails went up, came down and turned into the wind all together, and could be handled by fewer crew.<\/p>\n
The brigantines, large full-sailed vessels, had more and larger sails, and were rigged so that each section of sail must be furled, unfurled and tacked (angled in direction to the wind) separately. This gave the ship more power, but also meant more work on the part of a larger crew.<\/p>\n
Songs usually used for “short-haul”<\/strong> or “double-pull”<\/strong> work (two short hard pulls at a time, as in windlass or pumping work, raising a sail a short distance, or the last short distance up a long mast).<\/p>\n Songs most often used as “halyard chanteys”<\/strong>, also called “single pull”<\/strong> or “long haul”<\/strong> chanteys, jobs with a longer beat to the pace.<\/p>\n Songs sung pulling out — and sometimes pulling in. (At both times there was much rapid winding and unwinding of ropes, stowing away one set of gear and bringing out another.)<\/p>\n\n
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