the.com/tallship
acres of canvas bullying the wind into doing your bidding across an ocean
means A tall ship is a large traditional sailing vessel rigged with tall masts and abundant sails, the kind that crossed oceans before engines took over.
from A plain compound of "tall" and "ship" — "tall" being the Old English "getæl," meaning swift or prompt, which only later shifted toward height. The phrase clings to a literary memory: John Masefield's poem "Sea-Fever" begged for "a tall ship and a star to steer her by," and though the words are far older than that, it's the line most people hear echoing when they say it.
- sail count
- some carry over 30 individual sails
- crew climb
- sailors work rigging 100+ feet up unsecured
- miles of rope
- miles of rigging line per vessel
- naming
- named for towering masts, not hull size
- still racing
- tall ships still compete globally today
hms victory — nelson's flagship at trafalgar in 1805, still in dry dock at portsmouth
uss constitution — 1797 american frigate, oldest commissioned naval vessel still afloat in boston
cutty sark — 1869 british tea clipper, preserved ship museum in greenwich london