Rising and laying down the mast.
We, the crew of the Sea Stallion, must be able to rise and lay down the mast as well as doing any other maneuver when sailing. If the ship for some reason is to be rowed and not sailed, it means a lot for the wind-resistance, that the mast and rig is down.
But it is not yet a well-practised discipline so we are not masters yet.
Today we have completed rowing tests, a good reason for practising rising and taking down the mast.
The mast is put into the mastfork which is in the aft. To the front stay (the rope from masttop to bow) is connected a tackle with a 30 mm hemprope in it. 15-20 people are on the ready in the front part of the ship, one on each of the twarts. From here they can lower or hoist the mast. The mast and the rig weighs 850 kilos, but due to the sharp angle they must haul several tons in the beginning when the mast is lifted from the mastfork. Apart from the rising or lowering of the mast, it has to be controlled sideways; in the bottom the mast partner controls the mast and 7-8 people are ready in both starbord and port side. With a block connected to the front shroud they can steer the mast.
When the mast is up, the mast partner prevents it from moving backwards or forwards. After this the front stay is secured and the shrouds tightened. Then the ship is ready to sail with the sail.
The hard part of this is controlling the mast sidewarts, from it is free of the mast fork and until the mast is up and supported by the shrouds. If the mast reel too much - due to too much wind or a rough swell - the risk is that the mast may split or the mast partner split due to the pressure of the mast.
As for everything else on board, the point is that with more and more practise we get better and better. We just have to learn the necessary tricks first.