I've written before about the need to restore Nelson's flagship, HMS Victory. The Daily Mail reports that the long, complex task of putting her to rights has begun.
The rigging has started coming off HMS Victory. Piece by piece, yard arm by yard arm, mast by mast, Nelson's mighty flagship is being stripped of her finery and the 26 miles of rope which keep her standing as tall as Nelson's Column itself and peering majestically over Portsmouth Harbour.
Within weeks, the 104-gun monster — without which much of the world might now be speaking French — will hardly feature on the skyline.
. . .
More than 200 years after Victory's finest hour, she has been undergoing rigorous inspection.
This was no mere 'Trousers down, cough please' medical from the ship's doctor. This was a full biopsy performed by top scientists and marine archaeologists. And the diagnosis has been a stark one. Without a serious overhaul, Victory will fall apart. Like a beached whale, she is in danger of collapsing under her own weight.
In recent days, that remedial operation has begun, starting with the rigging. And it is a work of art in itself, a mighty 18th-century equivalent of the ship's engine which once drove this 3,500-ton snub-nosed war machine and her 800 men across the ocean.
. . .
Overseeing it all is Ian Bell, a rigging expert who has rigged and derigged everything from the Cutty Sark to the latest film set for 'Pirates Of The Carribean'. He speaks fluent 'shiver me timbers' jargon. 'I know my futtocks from my baggywrinkles,' he laughs, as he helps me navigate my way around the lower ratlines.
'Once you get to understand a ship, it's all quite simple,' he insists, pointing to a basic rule of thumb when it comes to rigging. If ropes are black, they have been painted with tar which means they are 'standing rigging'. In other words, these are the permanent fixtures which hold up the masts.
Any white ropes are 'running rigging'. They are for pulling things. In other words, they move. So, if in doubt, grab a black rope.
The last time that all the upper rigging came down was during World War II. This time, the plan is to go even further and leave her as bald as Yul Brynner in a pirate caper.
Everything will then be catalogued and tested with ultrasound (to check for cracks) before it goes back.
. . .
'It's the best command in the Navy,' says her proud captain, Lieutenant Commander 'Oscar' Whild, 50. As a Falklands veteran who survived a 1,000lb Argentine missile through the stern of HMS Broadsword, he has a profound respect and affection for a ship which stands for all the finest traditions of the Royal Navy.
Indeed, Victory stands for so much else. She helps to explain to successive generations why a small island nation was able to spread her influence and way of life around the globe. She helps to explain where so much of our language — from 'three square meals a day' to 'touch and go' to 'on the fiddle' — has originated.
She also happens to be the oldest commissioned warship in the world and a magnificent spectacle to boot.
If she is going to look a little threadbare for a few years, so be it. She will look even better when she is finished.
There's more at the link.
It's good to see this grand old lady of the seas being restored to her former glory. I hope I'll be able to visit her again before I die.
Peter
Yep, she and the Constitution ARE emblematic of better times in both countries!
ReplyDeleteI wonder if the English version of BuShips has the original plans tucked away somewhere?
ReplyDeleteWhen they rebuilt the Constitution, they found that somehow there were wrought iron ...stays on the hull that never got put back on during her previous restorations making her even more hog-backed than she should have been.
When Constitution wnt into the graving dock in the early '80's, it was decided to make her as seaworhty as possible. Se was re-fitted with oak diagonal braces that were removed the 10 19th century and the "pins" holding the planking were repaired. The diagonal braces and the pin repair was done with modern resins. The hogging was removed by the use of movable bunks upon which she sat. The line of the hull was restored and the bracing was re-installed to hold it. As a result, Constitution is now capable of sailing under her own power. It would be a beautiful thing to see Victory brought back to a like condition.
ReplyDeleteRuss