13 - On Board: In the roads – A box brimming with instructions and regulations – The commander’s cabin – Slaves in the commander’s cabin – Social life on board – The ship’s business – Arrival overseas – Going home
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 14 February 2023
Summary
The bulk of the fitting out of a ship and the practical preparations for a voyage were made without the direct involvement of the newly appointed commander. Most of these matters were the responsibility of the Superintendent of the Shipyard and his assistants. When the ship made her way from the port to the roads from which she would depart, the ship’s officers on board took charge of the reception of the crew and the administration and stowage of the cargo. The commander usually only came on board when the ship was ship-shape and ready to sail. As he had been a ship’s officer on many previous occasions he had previously participated in these preparations. After his own appointment and those of his ship’s officers by the directors of his Chamber, the commander took no part in the daily preparations for the voyage. He bore no direct responsibility for the recruiting and signing on of the crew. Before a ship set sail there were always a few commanders available at the Oost-Indisch Huis in the town, who could take care of the signing on of the crew. These commanders assessed the physical condition of the sailors and the soldiers and asked them questions about their knowledge of seamanship. Not everyone passed these examinations. Commander Verdoes was someone who was always extremely strict in these matters. Usually, the commanders had plenty of time to put their own affairs in order and to organize the financial and commercial side of their private cargo.
In the Roads
Often months would pass between the appointment of a commander and the signing on of his crew before his East Indiaman actually put to sea. Not all preparations could be carried out in the shipyard because there were many hurdles to be cleared between the port and the roads from which she would depart, and these prevented her being fully loaded straightaway. In Zealand, horses had to tow the ships from Middelburg to Fort Rammekens. From Delfshaven and Rotterdam, the passage went via the Old Meuse (Oude Maas), Spui and Haringvliet, before the Goereese Gat was reached. The Zuiderzee was so cluttered with large sandbanks and winding channels that it was usually necessary to employ aids to reach the Texel Roads. The wind was not always set fair.
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- Commanders of Dutch East India Ships in the Eighteenth Century , pp. 225 - 248Publisher: Boydell & BrewerPrint publication year: 2011