Setting Sail aboard the Sea Cloud II
From my perspective on the stern, the men look like a line of small ants climbing the shrouds to unfurl the gaskets on the yardarms. The deck hands of the Sea Cloud II are a group of sixteen capable sailors devoted to the natural propulsion of the ship. As Captain Karlsson has stated, “The sails, lines, and rigging on this ship would have been state of the art 140 years ago. Even the number of deck hands that we have on board is comparable to that of the past.”
In this day of “push button” automated sailing and large cruise ships placing masts like useless matchsticks on deck for marketing purposes, the crew and guests on board the Sea Cloud II fill with pride each time she is placed next to one of these modern eyesores. To see her from afar is to realize the complexity in the operation; something one cannot fully comprehend just looking up from the deck. To fathom that each line has a purpose, whether it is the sheet in setting the sail, the clew line in retracting the sail, or the buntline for straightening out the belly of the sail, is mind blowing. I respect these deck hands for their skill and precision; many of which are still in their early twenties with the youngest being just 19 years young.
From my perspective on the stern, the men look like a line of small ants climbing the shrouds to unfurl the gaskets on the yardarms. The deck hands of the Sea Cloud II are a group of sixteen capable sailors devoted to the natural propulsion of the ship. As Captain Karlsson has stated, “The sails, lines, and rigging on this ship would have been state of the art 140 years ago. Even the number of deck hands that we have on board is comparable to that of the past.”
In this day of “push button” automated sailing and large cruise ships placing masts like useless matchsticks on deck for marketing purposes, the crew and guests on board the Sea Cloud II fill with pride each time she is placed next to one of these modern eyesores. To see her from afar is to realize the complexity in the operation; something one cannot fully comprehend just looking up from the deck. To fathom that each line has a purpose, whether it is the sheet in setting the sail, the clew line in retracting the sail, or the buntline for straightening out the belly of the sail, is mind blowing. I respect these deck hands for their skill and precision; many of which are still in their early twenties with the youngest being just 19 years young.
