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Interesting facts about the Chesapeake Bay and her maritime history

Colonial Sailing Ships: the Sloop

Picture courtesy of our friend Tobias at Pirates of the Carribean

One of the ships favored by Chesapeake Bay merchants in the 17th and 18th century was the sloop. Specifically, the Bermuda sloop.

A sloop is a sailing vessel that is fore–and–aft rigged (the sails run parallel with the length of the hull) and, in its purest form, only has one mast.

Originally, sloops were gaff–rigged. That just means that, until the triangular sails found on Bermuda sloops, sloops had sails that were 4–sided; the top of the triangle was cut straight across and there was an additional spar across the top of the sail called the gaff.

The Bermuda rig was probably developed in Bermuda by Dutch sailors in the 17th century. The Bermuda rig gave Bermuda sloops two major advantages over their gaff–rigged cousins: the rigging was simpler, lighter and less complicated, and, the new rigging was able to run closer to the wind – making sailing upwind much easier.

Bermuda sloops became extremely popular vessels for colonial merhants in the Tidewater area. They were manueverable and small enough to navigate most of the Bay, yet they were sturdy enough for open–ocean trips to the islands. They didn't require huge crews. They were lightly ballasted, leaving lots of room to carry goods. They could carry some guns for protection, but had enough speed to sail away from most danger. All in all, they were the Swiss Army knife of sailing ships.

There were many other sailing vessels in use during colonial times, but the Bermuda sloop holds a special place in Chesapeake Bay maritime history. That's why the Colonial Seaport Foundation has made the building of Luna, a reproduction of an 18th century Bermuda sloop, a major part of their program.

Additional information on Bermuda sloops and other colonial sailing ships can be found at our friend Tobias' web site Pirates of the Carribean.

Educational Topics

As an educational organization, the Colonial Seaport Foundation is dedicated to disseminating any and all information regarding the Chesapeake Bay and her maritime history. It is our intention to use this section of the web site to post informational articles that serve that purpose. We hope you find it useful, and if you have any suggestions for a topic we should cover here please contact us.

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Meet the Chesapeake Bay

Colonial Sailing Ships: the Sloop

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