How do you Bring Up the Anchor on a Ship of the Line?

CORRECTION: I state here that 300 men could be put onto the capstans on Victory at any given time. This was a mistake in the maths- the value of just over a hundred applies to both capstans at once, not just one. Each capstan had 12 bars, with up to 6 men apiece.

Much like a ship's wheel, the image of an anchor is a common symbol for all things nautical. But while we all more-or-less know what the anchor itself does, being keep a ship in place, what happens when you need to bring the anchor back up to sail away? It's one thing to drop the multi-ton behemoth below the waves, but it's quite another to pull it back up. This was especially true in the Long 18th Century, and the age of Nelson's Navy; a time when nearly everything aboard a ship was done not by machines, but by men.

The shanty I discussed at the end of the video: http://brethrencoast.com/shanty/Randy...



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