All Ship shape......
.....and Bristol fashion.
Mrs Bligh and I were amazed when we arrived in her home port of Bristol this weekend that the good ship Matthew sailed by the Cabots to the new world was in the Harbour.
Here are a few quick shots of her.
More in my folder the Matthew.
Also made the acquaintance of another old shipmate,
Bligh.
Take it he made gym shoes then?
Nice, thank you for show!
In a month I will start a boat similar. A spanish Nao
I am going to use the model Zvezda Nao Santa Maria of Columbus.
They would be called Daps in Brizol.Originally Posted by Union Jack
Bligh.
Nice pictures, Rob.
Very nice photos. Thanks, Rob.
"It's not the towering sails, but the unseen wind that moves a ship."
–English Proverb
What a ship, Rob, what a ship! Thanks for the photos:).
Close.....
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plimsoll_shoe
Great pictures, Rob!
It's from the 1400s -- isn't it a Spanish Then?
It's a carrack. The Brits made a bunch of them in Elizabethan times. They were lateen rigged for the main and mizzen with a square rigged foremast. It was during this time that the English figured out that those huge "castles" sticking up in the air, fore and aft, didn't do much more than block the wind from the sails. Ship builders started cutting down such structures , making the ships much more weatherly.
The carrack Matthew isn't a Spanish ship, in fact, spanish built few carracks because they were very bad in tempests.
Carracks and Naos are very similar. Only they differ in the fore and aft castles are higher in the former than in the latter. And that Caracks have reinforcements in the form of wooden ribs on the outside.
Factoids on the Cabots.
John and Sebastian Cabot.
Although not born in England, both John and Sebastian Cabot led English ships on voyages of discovery in Tudor times. John Cabot (about 1450–98) was an experienced Italian seafarer who came to live in England during the reign of Henry VII. In 1497 he sailed west from Bristol hoping to find a shorter route to Asia, a land believed to be rich in gold, gems and other luxuries. After a month, he discovered an unknown land – he called it 'new found land', today still known as Newfoundland in Canada. His son, Sebastian Cabot, may also have been on this voyage.
Why did John Cabot come to England?
Probably born in Genoa around 1450, and later a citizen of Venice, Cabot's Italian name was Giovanni Caboto. He had read of fabulous Chinese cities in the writings of Marco Polo and wanted to see them for himself. He hoped to reach them by sailing west, across the Atlantic.
Like Christopher Columbus, who also planned to sail west, Cabot found it very difficult to convince rich backers to pay for the ships he needed to test out his ideas about the world. After failing to persuade the royal courts of Europe, he decided to come to England. He arrived with his family in 1484, to try to persuade merchants in Bristol to pay for his planned voyage. Before his voyage set off, Cabot heard the news that Columbus had sailed west across the Atlantic and reached land. At the time, everyone believed that this land was the Indies, or Spice Islands.
If Cabot was proved right about the new route, he would not be the only one to become rich. The king would also take his share. Everybody believed that Cathay and Cipangu (China and Japan) were rich in gold, gems, spices and silks. If Asia had been where Cabot thought it was, it would have made England the greatest trading centre in the world for goods from the east.
The king wrote that he gave his permission to his
well-beloved John Cabot... to seeke out, discover and finde whatsoever isles, countries, regions or provinces... which before this time have been unknown to all Christians.
John Cabot's ship, the Mathew, sailed from Bristol with a crew of eighteen in 1497. After a month at sea, he landed and took the area in the name of King Henry VII. The king had agreed to his voyage and helped to pay for it. Cabot had landed on one of the northern capes of Newfoundland. His sailors were able to catch huge numbers of cod simply by dipping baskets into the water. Cabot was rewarded with the sum of Ł10 by the king, for discovering a new island off the coast of China! The king would have been far more generous if Cabot had brought home spices.
In 1498, John Cabot was given permission by Henry VII to take ships on a new expedition to continue west from the point he had reached on his first voyage. The aim was to discover Japan. Cabot made a visit to Spain and Portugal to try to recruit men who had sailed with Columbus, but without much success. He set out from Bristol with 300 men in May 1498. The five ships carried supplies for a year's travelling. Cabot and his crews were never heard of again.
Cabot Tower.
Cabot Tower, set in the gorgeous parkland of Brandon Hill near Park Street in the West End, is a 105ft tower built in 1897 to commemorate John Cabot's famous voyage from Bristol and the continent of North America four hundred years earlier.
Brandon Hill is the oldest park in Bristol, where you can enjoy great views over the city and Harbour side area. Located just off Park Street in the West End, Brandon Hill features a children's play area, beautiful paths and a nature conservation area, and of course the icon of Bristol's skyline, Cabot Tower. Designed by the Bristol architect William Venn Gough and paid for by public subscription, the tower is built from red sandstone covered with cream Bath stone. Located in the centre of the park. It's free to climb up the steep, twisting steps of the tower, which is open daily.
Some more info about the Cabots and the Matthew can be found here.
http://www.elizabethan-era.org.uk/john-cabot-ship.htm
Rob.
I have also just added a few more pictures of the Matthew to my album from some different sources.
Rob.
Thank you for the info Rob
Wonderful pictures and history, Rob. Thank you.
The park and tower look lovely. I what time of year do you think that picture was taken? That looks like a good time to visit.
“You can discover more about a person in an hour of play than in a year of conversation.” ― Plato
Any time from late June through September Eric.
Here are a few more shots of it, and Brandon Hill park.
Rob.
Wow. Thank you, Rob. That is quite picturesque. Looks like a great place to sit for awhile and soak in the scenery.
June would be ideal because we could leave right after Origins. We prefer temperate weather as opposed to hot.
“You can discover more about a person in an hour of play than in a year of conversation.” ― Plato
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