Royal Belgian Institute of Marine Engineers
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Royal Belgian Institute of Marine Engineers THE ART OF SAILING Navigare necesse est, vivere non necesse est ( It is necessary to sail or navigate, not to live) Attributed to Plutarch Motto of the Hanseatic League And found over the portal of of the Royal Cartography Office Amsterdam Publication of compendia such as Tall Ships magazine is imperative to preserve traditions of the art of sailing. Like ships, they cut trough the ever-changing waves of matter and energy. To paraphrase the ancient Greek philosopher Heraclitus, one can never sail in the same waters twice. Compendia too are protean, and take their changing hue from how they are read, from wet fo’c’sle to burning deck. Each voyage, each watch is different. Building ships To build ships in the age of space travel means though the hull and the cut of the jibs may be familiar, the steels, the Dacron, the desalinization systems, the navigation satellites are new, meeting eternal waves with advanced technology. Ships make bow wakes as well as bow waves, and leave that bit turbulence behind that shows the passage of time and space. Behind these new ships, then, are the centuries of the shipwright’s craft and art, seen in their traditional rigs, in their lines, bred over the centuries in the yards Hamburg, Baltimore and the Clyde. The names of those greyhounds of the sea (as they were termed by historian Carl Cutler) were written on the wind: Preussen, Potosi, France, Sea Cloud and the British Cutty Sark, … all with white clouds of canvas that billowed against the sky, set to catch every nuance of the air. Think of the great age of sail at the end of the 19th century, as clipper ships and sturdy cargo sailing ships set out from European waters for the Pacific, driving hard to be first to round Cape Horn and return with China tea, Australian wool and grain or Chilean saltpetre. In 1870, when the last transatlantic passenger service under sail ended, clippers passed on the race for the speed to steamships. Wind is a gift of God at no cost at all and that’s why for economical reasons large fleets of sail cargo ships continued up till the early twenties of last century. Keeping the traditions of sailing ships alive Yet the tradition of sailing ships is not lost, naval and merchant marine academies the world over train their cadets to sail, to sail dinghies as well tall ships. Sailing teaches nautical skills, teamwork, a sense of responsibility and leadership, and above all respect for the sea and its uncompromising ways. It is not antiquarian, but an atavistic need that is met in going at sea on sailing ship. It is not surprising, then that tall ship gatherings and races, of which half of the crew are youngsters, have lately caught the imagination of the public. The organizer Sail Training International, in which I was closely involved since its very beginning since 1956 has known a tremendous expansion the world over with 25 country members. The English poet laureate, John Masefield, writing art the time the watch was being changed from sail to seam expressed it best:. “ I must go down to the sea again, to the lonely sea and the sky, and all I ask is a tall ship and a star to steer her by.” Preserving and passing experience to future generations Making a compendium on the art of sailing is not done alone. Well seasoned mariners, like Captain A. Keyworth (New Zealand), Captain Goslin (France), Captain R. Van de Sande (Belgium) and captain R. Hilgendorf (Germany), who over many years have from the bridge weathered storms from Cape Horn to the English Channel, have passed their experience on to many an officer or cadet The name of Robert Hilgendorf was pronounced with respect in all ports. He sailed sixty-six times around Cape Horn onboard of the Flying P-Line. He was called “The devil of Hamburg” by masters of lesser skills. His motto was: “ The best of speed in the interest of the firm”. Hard work but good food was his policy to the crewmen. Alan Villiers stated “Hilgendorf was scientist… a sailing scientist “. I had the privilege to be trained by my predecessor, Captain R. Van de Sande, last master of L’Avenir under Belgian flag., who taught me the hard way to take over command of the Belgian sail training vessel Mercator. His motto was “A master is fully responsible for his crew and his ship and it is his duty to give the youngsters a proper training and to bring them safely home”. Thanks to him I never lost a man during my seven years of command and though we were leaving each year in winter-time facing the Atlantic storms, with a new bunch of youngsters, working in the rigging on a rolling ship up to 30/40 meter high, we never met an accident. Mercator was indeed “A lucky ship”.. Such experienced captains respect the sea and fell intimately that the art of sailing and manoeuvring is to take advantage of the elements and sail their ship carefully in harmony with the wind and the sea in any weather circumstance. No doubt that a beautiful sunset or sunrise inspires a romantic feeling but an experienced sailor will always look at first with a sharp eye at the colour of the sky and the type of clouds and be aware in due time of its warnings. Remember Conrad when he said in his book ‘The Mirror of the Sea”: “The sea has no pity, no fidelity, no law, no thoughts and she is for human beings too powerful and mighty”. Literature on large sailing vessels is rare. Traditions and experience of past captains therefore should be preserved for the future in compendia. They make an indelible imprint on youngsters whenever they are confronted with the elements of the sea be it on board of a windjammer, a yacht or even a most modern cargo-ship. Roger Ghys Master in Sail .