Talia_Brie

I'm writing a story which will open with the description of a violent shipwreak, storm driving the ship onto a reef. It's a fantasy novel, so we're talking three masted tall ships etc.

What I need are some other descriptions of these events. Can anyone think of a book they've read that had a shipwreak in it so I can look at some sort of reference.

Also, If anyone knows of a readable retelling of the Batavia incident (If you're not west australian, you've probably got no idea what I'm talking about) that would be helpful.

Thanks in advance

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Farror

It's spelt "shipwreck". That's a start. For a big, three masted ship, it wouldn't tip, unless the balast was torn out. The mast would likely brace at the impact, and depending on the velocity, it might snap. if One snaps, one or two others are going. The rigging would be utterly destroyed, sails torn and the deck likely smashed inward, or at least the railing.

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Nimbus1944

There's a wreck towards the beginning of Defoe's Robinson Crusoe (text available online), or look for true accounts in books on the schooner days, lighthouses or the lifesaving service.

Looking through Paul C. Morris and William Quinn's well-illustrated Shipwrecks in New York Waters, it would appear a mast might snap in a wreck (aloft or below deck), but not usually. In a Feb. 1895 storm, a three-masted schooner was stranded on Long Island, and was increasingly caked by ice. By the time rescuers finally reached it on the second day, most of the crew was dead from exposure; only two men survived, having climbed into the rigging. The masts swayed violently, but held.

Re Batavia, the internet says a detailed book was just issued last year: Mike Dash's Batavia's Graveyard: The True Story of the Mad Heretic Who Led History's Bloodiest Mutiny , but don't know if the wreck is described.

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Spudley

That's generally right, but there is a lesson in humility in the story of the Mary Rose -- Henry VIII's flagship sailed out to battle for the first time and promptly tipped over and sank before she even reached the enemy.

The basic reason? They'd loaded her with far too many cannons, and put cannon-ports too close to the water line. She was top-heavy, and unseaworthy.

But that's an exceptional case - not many ships are that badly designed.


The most common cause of a ship to go down in a storm is because they are hit from the side by a storm wave. When you're in a storm, you must point the bow of the ship into the storm, and ride the waves; if a big wave hits you side-on, it can very easily turn a ship over, and even if you don't actually capsize, it'll make you roll and take on water.

Unless you're in a hurricane, the masts would only be likely to break if you don't take down the sails before the storm hits. As long as the crew know what they're doing, and you don't have any other problems to contend with at the same time, you should be able to avoid most of that kind of damage to the ship.

The real danger for a sailing ship in a storm is getting blown aground. If the only way you have of controlling your ship is sails, being in a storm basically leaves you at the mercy of the wind, especially since many ships used to navigate by sticking pretty close to the coastline.
If a wooden ship hits rocks, you've got a major problem. Ship crews usually included a full-time carpenter to do repairs, so you can recover from minor damage, but a large hole beneath the waterline would almost certainly spell the end of the ship.

Hope that helps

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Farror

"Unless you're in a hurricane, the masts would only be likely to break if you don't take down the sails before the storm hits. As long as the crew know what they're doing"

It depends on how quickly a storm comes, also, there are more ways for a mast to fall then wind strain. Think about how the base of the mast is put in, there is enormous pressure put onto the design, and it wasn't too uncomon for a mast to simply collapse after awhile, especially while wooden masts where more widely used.

But we're talking about impact right now, and the shock to the ship could likely knock a mast down.

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Talia_Brie

Can't believe I spelt it like that.

I hadn't intended for masts to break, but the ship is going to be driven onto a reef, the hull breached, and eventually sink or be smashed into driftwood.

Thanks Nimbus for the Batavia reference. I'll look for that, and also DL the beginning of Robinson Crusoe, that's if I can't find a copy lying around.

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mammamaia

for a beautiful and terribly sad description of the kind of tragedy you envision, read longfellow's 'wreck of the hesperus'...

love and hugs, maia

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