fbpx
Wikipedia

Brig

A brig is a type of sailing vessel defined by its rig: two masts which are both square-rigged. Brigs originated in the second half of the 18th century and were a common type of smaller merchant vessel or warship from then until the latter part of the 19th century. In commercial use, they were gradually replaced by fore-and-aft rigged vessels such as schooners, as owners sought to reduce crew costs by having rigs that could be handled by fewer men. In Royal Navy use, brigs were retained for training use when the battle fleets consisted almost entirely of iron-hulled steamships.

The South Shields collier brig Mary, painted by John Scott in 1855, showing two views of the same vessel. A Bentinck boom is fitted to the foot of the fore-course as a labour saving device when tacking.
A small trading brig entering the Bristol Avon, painted by Joseph Walter

Brigs were prominent in the coasting coal trade of British waters. 4,395 voyages to London with coal were recorded in 1795. With an average of eight or nine trips per year for one vessel, that is a fleet of over 500 colliers trading to London alone. Other ports and coastal communities were also be served by colliers trading to Britain's coal ports. In the first half of the 19th century, the vast majority were rigged as brigs, and that rig was retained for longer in the northeast of England.[1]: 49 

The snow brig Niagara

Rigging

 
A typical brig sail plan

In sailing, a full-rigged brig is a vessel with two square rigged masts (fore and main).[2] The main mast of a brig is the aft one. To improve maneuverability, the mainmast carries a small (gaff rigged) fore-and-aft sail.[3]

Brig sails are named after the masts to which they are attached: the mainsail; above that the main topsail; above that the main topgallant sail; and occasionally a very small sail, called the royal, is above that. Behind the main sail there is a small fore-and-aft sail called the spanker or boom mainsail (it is somewhat similar to the main sail of a schooner). On the foremast is a similar sail, called the trysail. Attached to the respective yards of square-rigged ships are smaller spars, which can be extended, thus lengthening the yard, thus receiving an additional sailing wing on each side. These are called studding sails, and are used with fair and light wind only. The wings are named after the sails to which they are fastened, i.e. the main studding sails, main top studding sails, and the main top gallant studding sails, etc.[4]

The brig's foremast is smaller than the main mast. The fore mast holds a fore sail, fore top sail, fore top gallant sail, and fore royal. Between the fore mast and the bowsprit are the fore staysail, jib, and flying jib. All the yards are manipulated by a complicated arrangement of cordage named the running rigging. This is opposed to the standing rigging which is fixed, and keeps mast and other objects rigid.[4]

Hull material

A brig is "generally built on a larger scale than a schooner, and may approach the magnitude of a full-sized, three-masted ship."[4] Brigs vary in length between 75 and 165 ft (23 and 50 m) with tonnages up to 480.[5] A notable exception being the famous designer Colin Mudie's 'Little Brigs'[6] (TS Bob Allen and TS Caroline Allen), which are only 10m long and weigh only 8 tonnes.[7] Historically, most brigs were made of wood, although some later brigs were built with hulls and masts of steel or iron.[3] A brig made of pine in the 19th century was designed to last for about twenty years (many lasted longer).[3][better source needed]

Development of the brig

The word "brig" has been used in the past as an abbreviation of brigantine (which is the name for a two-masted vessel with foremast fully square rigged and her mainmast rigged with both a fore-and-aft mainsail, square topsails and possibly topgallant sails). The brig actually developed as a variant of the brigantine. Re-rigging a brigantine with two square-rigged masts instead of one gave it greater sailing power. The square-rigged brig's advantage over the fore-and-aft rigged brigantine was "that the sails, being smaller and more numerous, are more easily managed, and require fewer men or 'hands' to work them."[4] The variant was so popular that the term "brig" came to exclusively signify a ship with this type of rigging.[8] By the 17th century the British Royal Navy defined "brig" as having two square rigged masts.[9]

Historic usage

 
Rimac, a brig built by Brocklebank in Whitehaven in 1834 for trade between Peru and Liverpool[1]: 75 

Brigs were used as small warships carrying about 10 to 18 guns.[5] Due to their speed and maneuverability they were popular among pirates (though they were rare among American and Caribbean pirates).[4][8] While their use stretches back before the 17th century, one of the most famous periods for the brig was during the 19th century when they were involved in famous naval battles such as the Battle of Lake Erie. In the early 19th century the brig was a standard cargo ship. It was seen as "fast and well sailing", but required a large crew to handle its rigging.[10] While brigs could not sail into the wind as easily as fore-and-aft–rigged vessels such as schooners, a trait that is common to all square-rigged ships, a skilled brig captain could "manoeuvre it with ease and elegance; a brig could for instance turn around almost on the spot".[11] A brig's square-rig also had the advantage over a fore-and-aft–rigged vessel when travelling offshore, in the trade winds, where vessels sailed down wind for extended distances and where "the danger of a sudden jibe was the large schooner-captain's nightmare".[12] This trait later led to the evolution of the barquentine. The need for large crews in relation to their relatively small size led to the decline of the production of brigs. They were replaced in commercial traffic by gaffsail schooners (which needed fewer personnel) and steam boats.

Historic examples

 
Painting of the brig USS Niagara in the 1813 Battle of Lake Erie.

The famous mystery ship Mary Celeste, while sometimes called a brig, was clearly a brigantine.

In fiction

Modern recreations

 

See also

References

  1. ^ a b c MacGregor, David R (1984). Merchant Sailing Ships 1815-1850 Supremacy of Sail. London: Conway Maritime Press. ISBN 0-85177-294-3.
  2. ^ "Schooner In The Sand" (PDF). January 2002. Retrieved 2007-01-12.
  3. ^ a b c . Archived from the original on 2007-01-13. Retrieved 2007-01-12.
  4. ^ a b c d e R.M. Ballantyne. . Archived from the original on 2006-10-11. Retrieved 2007-01-12.
  5. ^ a b (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2012-04-25. Retrieved 2007-01-12.
  6. ^ "Colin Mudie". tallshipstock.com. Retrieved 2017-02-25.
  7. ^ . www.littlebrig.org. Archived from the original on 2017-02-26. Retrieved 2017-02-25.
  8. ^ a b . Archived from the original on 2007-11-11. Retrieved 2007-01-12.
  9. ^ . Archived from the original on 2007-09-12. Retrieved 2007-01-13.
  10. ^ a b "The "Stockholm Brig" Tre Kronor". Retrieved 2007-01-12.
  11. ^ . Archived from the original on 2006-12-30. Retrieved 2007-01-12.
  12. ^ Chapelle: The History Of American Sailing Ships, 1935, p.209
  13. ^ . memory.loc.gov. Archived from the original on 2018-11-29. Retrieved 2019-11-19.
  14. ^ . Archived from the original on 2007-03-01. Retrieved 2007-01-13.
  15. ^ "Lloyd's Register of Shipping 1841". archive.org. Retrieved 2021-11-22.
  16. ^ New York Times June 17, 1900, p. 10
  17. ^ "The "Stockholm Brig" Tre Kronor Homepage". Retrieved 2008-06-17.
  18. ^ . 26 June 2007. Archived from the original on 26 June 2007.
  19. ^ Stielau, Alexander. "Mitsegeln auf der Roald Amundsen : Homepage". www.sailtraining.de.
  20. ^ "The Little Brig Sailing Trust - About us". www.littlebrig.org. Retrieved 2017-02-25.

External links

  • The brig Niagara at the Erie Maritime Museum
  • The American Sail Training Association
  • Grays Harbor Historical Seaport Authority
  • Maritime Heritage Network, an online directory of maritime history resources in the Pacific Northwest.

brig, other, uses, disambiguation, confused, with, antine, brig, type, sailing, vessel, defined, masts, which, both, square, rigged, originated, second, half, 18th, century, were, common, type, smaller, merchant, vessel, warship, from, then, until, latter, par. For other uses see Brig disambiguation Not to be confused with Brigantine A brig is a type of sailing vessel defined by its rig two masts which are both square rigged Brigs originated in the second half of the 18th century and were a common type of smaller merchant vessel or warship from then until the latter part of the 19th century In commercial use they were gradually replaced by fore and aft rigged vessels such as schooners as owners sought to reduce crew costs by having rigs that could be handled by fewer men In Royal Navy use brigs were retained for training use when the battle fleets consisted almost entirely of iron hulled steamships The South Shields collier brig Mary painted by John Scott in 1855 showing two views of the same vessel A Bentinck boom is fitted to the foot of the fore course as a labour saving device when tacking A small trading brig entering the Bristol Avon painted by Joseph Walter Brigs were prominent in the coasting coal trade of British waters 4 395 voyages to London with coal were recorded in 1795 With an average of eight or nine trips per year for one vessel that is a fleet of over 500 colliers trading to London alone Other ports and coastal communities were also be served by colliers trading to Britain s coal ports In the first half of the 19th century the vast majority were rigged as brigs and that rig was retained for longer in the northeast of England 1 49 The snow brig Niagara Contents 1 Rigging 2 Hull material 3 Development of the brig 4 Historic usage 5 Historic examples 6 In fiction 7 Modern recreations 8 See also 9 References 10 External linksRigging Edit A typical brig sail plan In sailing a full rigged brig is a vessel with two square rigged masts fore and main 2 The main mast of a brig is the aft one To improve maneuverability the mainmast carries a small gaff rigged fore and aft sail 3 Brig sails are named after the masts to which they are attached the mainsail above that the main topsail above that the main topgallant sail and occasionally a very small sail called the royal is above that Behind the main sail there is a small fore and aft sail called the spanker or boom mainsail it is somewhat similar to the main sail of a schooner On the foremast is a similar sail called the trysail Attached to the respective yards of square rigged ships are smaller spars which can be extended thus lengthening the yard thus receiving an additional sailing wing on each side These are called studding sails and are used with fair and light wind only The wings are named after the sails to which they are fastened i e the main studding sails main top studding sails and the main top gallant studding sails etc 4 The brig s foremast is smaller than the main mast The fore mast holds a fore sail fore top sail fore top gallant sail and fore royal Between the fore mast and the bowsprit are the fore staysail jib and flying jib All the yards are manipulated by a complicated arrangement of cordage named the running rigging This is opposed to the standing rigging which is fixed and keeps mast and other objects rigid 4 Hull material EditA brig is generally built on a larger scale than a schooner and may approach the magnitude of a full sized three masted ship 4 Brigs vary in length between 75 and 165 ft 23 and 50 m with tonnages up to 480 5 A notable exception being the famous designer Colin Mudie s Little Brigs 6 TS Bob Allen and TS Caroline Allen which are only 10m long and weigh only 8 tonnes 7 Historically most brigs were made of wood although some later brigs were built with hulls and masts of steel or iron 3 A brig made of pine in the 19th century was designed to last for about twenty years many lasted longer 3 better source needed Development of the brig EditThe word brig has been used in the past as an abbreviation of brigantine which is the name for a two masted vessel with foremast fully square rigged and her mainmast rigged with both a fore and aft mainsail square topsails and possibly topgallant sails The brig actually developed as a variant of the brigantine Re rigging a brigantine with two square rigged masts instead of one gave it greater sailing power The square rigged brig s advantage over the fore and aft rigged brigantine was that the sails being smaller and more numerous are more easily managed and require fewer men or hands to work them 4 The variant was so popular that the term brig came to exclusively signify a ship with this type of rigging 8 By the 17th century the British Royal Navy defined brig as having two square rigged masts 9 Historic usage Edit Rimac a brig built by Brocklebank in Whitehaven in 1834 for trade between Peru and Liverpool 1 75 Brigs were used as small warships carrying about 10 to 18 guns 5 Due to their speed and maneuverability they were popular among pirates though they were rare among American and Caribbean pirates 4 8 While their use stretches back before the 17th century one of the most famous periods for the brig was during the 19th century when they were involved in famous naval battles such as the Battle of Lake Erie In the early 19th century the brig was a standard cargo ship It was seen as fast and well sailing but required a large crew to handle its rigging 10 While brigs could not sail into the wind as easily as fore and aft rigged vessels such as schooners a trait that is common to all square rigged ships a skilled brig captain could manoeuvre it with ease and elegance a brig could for instance turn around almost on the spot 11 A brig s square rig also had the advantage over a fore and aft rigged vessel when travelling offshore in the trade winds where vessels sailed down wind for extended distances and where the danger of a sudden jibe was the large schooner captain s nightmare 12 This trait later led to the evolution of the barquentine The need for large crews in relation to their relatively small size led to the decline of the production of brigs They were replaced in commercial traffic by gaffsail schooners which needed fewer personnel and steam boats Historic examples Edit Painting of the brig USS Niagara in the 1813 Battle of Lake Erie Brig Mercury Attacked by Two Turkish Ships Ivan Aivazovsky oil on canvas 1892 HMS Pilot a Cruizer class brig sloop launched in 1807 While commanded by John Toup Nicholas off southern Italy in 1810 1812 Pilot participated in the capture or destruction of over 130 enemy vessels In 1815 she fought the last naval engagement of the Napoleonic Wars fighting to a draw the French frigate Legere USS Argus used during the First Barbary War and the War of 1812 Archer a vessel of the Second Texas Navy USS Oneida used during the War of 1812 James Fenimore Cooper was a midshipman aboard the Oneida while under construction The cargo hauling brig Farmer 13 owned by George Washington The cargo hauling brig Fleetwing 14 The Bonanza of Liverpool built as a barquentine in 1830 and converted to a brig in 1841 1 79 80 The first ship to bring a cargo of Peruvian guano to the UK in 1841 setting off decades of a lucrative export trade 15 Leonora of Captain Bully Hayes Mercury Russian Merkurij An 1819 Russian navy 18 gun brig painted twice by Ivan Aivazovsky On May 14 1829 Mercury engaged in an uneven battle against 2 Turkish ships of the line Selimiye 110 guns and Real Bei 74 guns and emerged victorious from that battle damaging both Turkish sufficiently to be not able to chase Mercury and disengaging the battle USS Niagara captained by commander Oliver Hazard Perry in the Battle of Lake Erie a pivotal victory for the United States in the War of 1812 USS Oregon used in the U S Exploring Expedition The cargo brig Pilgrim whose 1834 trading voyage from Boston Massachusetts to California is described in the book Two Years Before the Mast Potomac a vessel of the Second Texas Navy Rebecca captained by Robert Jenkins whose boarding triggered the War of Jenkins Ear USS Reprisal fought in the American Revolution USS Somers sunk in the Mexican American War HMS Beagle was built as a brig in 1820 for the Royal Navy She was deployed as a survey vessel to survey the coasts of South America Australia and Africa A mizzen mast was added prior to the 5 year voyage with Charles Darwin to increase manoeuvrability in the shallow coastal waters that she would explore Jean Lafitte s pirate brig the Pride from 1815 to 1816 HMS Badger the future Admiral Horatio Nelson s first command as a young lieutenant Wharton one of the vessels of the Second Texas Navy which participated in the Naval Battle of Campeche which is the only historical example of a steam navy having been defeated by a sail navy citation needed Joel Root as supercargo sailed out of New Haven harbor in 1802 on the brig Huron to begin his journey around the world on a sealing expedition Rover was a privateer brig out of Liverpool Nova Scotia known for several bold battles in the Napoleonic Wars HMS Temeraire The Great Brig an ironclad launched in 1876 the largest ship to sail with a brig rig NMS Mircea was a brig of the Romanian Navy built in London in 1882 and sunk by aircraft in April 1944 The Telos built in Bangor Maine in 1883 was reportedly the last brig to join the American merchant marine and was considered to be the finest vessel of her class ever constructed in Maine She was wrecked on Aves Island off Bonaire in the Caribbean in 1900 16 The famous mystery ship Mary Celeste while sometimes called a brig was clearly a brigantine In fiction EditArkham in H P Lovecraft s At the Mountains of Madness Aquila in the game Assassin s Creed III Beneficence in Gary R Bush s Sail Into Treachery Blue Bird in Evert Taube s song Balladen om briggen Blue Bird av Hull Charlotta in Vilhelm Moberg s The Emigrants Constanzia from Jules Verne s A Drama in Mexico Covenant in Robert Louis Stevenson s Kidnapped novel Duncan from Jules Verne s In Search of the Castaways Enterprise in the film Star Trek Generations portrayed by the brig Lady Washington Forward from Jules Verne s The Adventures of Captain Hatteras Grampus in Edgar Allan Poe s novel The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym of Nantucket Hellebore in the Nathaniel Drinkwater series by Richard Woodman HMS Sophie in Master and Commander by Patrick O Brian HMS Wolverine in L A Meyer s Under the Jolly Roger Interceptor in the film Pirates of the Caribbean The Curse of the Black Pearl portrayed by the brig Lady Washington Isle of Skye in Iain Lawrence s The Wreckers High Seas Trilogy Jackdaw in the game Assassin s Creed IV Black Flag Jolly Roger a pirate ship of Captain Hook from James M Barrie s Peter Pan Lightning in Joseph Conrad s The Rescue and the brig Bonito in Conrad s Freya of the Seven Isles Molly Swash in James Fenimore Cooper s book Jack Tier Morrigan in the game Assassin s Creed Rogue which was a brig sloop Porta Coeli Flame and Amelie appear in the Horatio Hornblower series of books by C S Forester later adapted to films and television RattlesnakeThe 18 guner commanded by Commander Terence O Brien in Frederick Marryat s Peter Simple Sea Hawk in The Pirate of the Mediterranean by William Henry Giles Kingston Seahawk in Avi s novel The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle Speedy a pirate ship from Jules Verne s The Mysterious Island Triton in Ramage and the Freebooters and Governor Ramage R N by Dudley Pope Poison Orchid in Scott Lynch s Red Seas Under Red Skies Lady Caroline in Eddie Price s Rebels Abroad Modern recreations Edit The brig Lady Washington Lady Washington Tre Kronor 10 17 Niagara Morgenster Lady Nelson TS Royalist Pilgrim Stavros S Niarchos and Prince William 18 Roald Amundsen 19 La Grace The Little Brigs TS Bob Allen and TS Caroline Allen 20 Mercedes Fryderyk ChopinSee also EditBrig sloop Brigantine Cruizer class brig sloop Gun brig Snow ship References Edit a b c MacGregor David R 1984 Merchant Sailing Ships 1815 1850 Supremacy of Sail London Conway Maritime Press ISBN 0 85177 294 3 Schooner In The Sand PDF January 2002 Retrieved 2007 01 12 a b c Sailing ships Archived from the original on 2007 01 13 Retrieved 2007 01 12 a b c d e R M Ballantyne Man on the Ocean Archived from the original on 2006 10 11 Retrieved 2007 01 12 a b The Texas Navies PDF Archived from the original PDF on 2012 04 25 Retrieved 2007 01 12 Colin Mudie tallshipstock com Retrieved 2017 02 25 The Little Brig Sailing Trust Sail with Us www littlebrig org Archived from the original on 2017 02 26 Retrieved 2017 02 25 a b Pirate Ships Archived from the original on 2007 11 11 Retrieved 2007 01 12 Brig or Brigantine Archived from the original on 2007 09 12 Retrieved 2007 01 13 a b The Stockholm Brig Tre Kronor Retrieved 2007 01 12 Brig Archived from the original on 2006 12 30 Retrieved 2007 01 12 Chapelle The History Of American Sailing Ships 1935 p 209 American Memory from the Library of Congress memory loc gov Archived from the original on 2018 11 29 Retrieved 2019 11 19 Fleetwing brig built by Richard Jones at Borth y Gest in 1874 Archived from the original on 2007 03 01 Retrieved 2007 01 13 Lloyd s Register of Shipping 1841 archive org Retrieved 2021 11 22 New York Times June 17 1900 p 10 The Stockholm Brig Tre Kronor Homepage Retrieved 2008 06 17 Tall Ships Youth Trust 26 June 2007 Archived from the original on 26 June 2007 Stielau Alexander Mitsegeln auf der Roald Amundsen Homepage www sailtraining de The Little Brig Sailing Trust About us www littlebrig org Retrieved 2017 02 25 External links Edit Look up brig in Wiktionary the free dictionary Wikimedia Commons has media related to Brigs Sailing Ship Rigs Infosheet Guide to Classic Sailing Rigs Maritime Museum of the Atlantic Comparison of rigging on different sailing vessels The brig Niagara at the Erie Maritime Museum The American Sail Training Association Grays Harbor Historical Seaport Authority Maritime Heritage Network an online directory of maritime history resources in the Pacific Northwest Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Brig amp oldid 1118769254, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

article

, read, download, free, free download, mp3, video, mp4, 3gp, jpg, jpeg, gif, png, picture, music, song, movie, book, game, games.