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Meeting March 08
Captain Gareth Davies, a retired merchant navy offier, gave a very interesting talk
at our March meeting on "From sail to steam", describing how shipping in the 19th
century converted from the use of wind power to coal and and water power.
His opening slides showing the tactics used at the Battle of Trafalgar in 1805 and
those used at the Battle of Jutland in 1916 fully revealed these changes. The intentions at Trafalgar was to cripple vessels by destroying their sails and rigging, while the engine room was the target at Jutland.
The sailing ships range was limited only by the strength and direction of the winds,
while steam-powered boats very much on how much coal they could carry. The
early steamboats which crossed te Atlantic, often had a set of sails which could be used if the fuel ran out. They were driven initially by paddle wheels, with these being replaced by by propeller screws.
Captain Davies also described life below deck, conditions being harsher in the
sailing ships, which took longer over journeys and were often without landfall for long periods, which often led to problems with scurvey and lack of fresh water. |