THE HISTORY

OF SHOPPOLIS ISLANDS

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The Calandais

Length: 131 feet (39.82 meters)

Overall length: 162 feet (49.24 meters)

Width: 36 feet (11.00 meters)

Draft: 22 feet (6.75 meters)

50 Culverin Cannon (18 pounders); 22 on upper gun deck; 26 (18 pounders) on lower gun deck

4 18-pounder sternchasers on lower gun deck astern

Last two gun positions on upper gun deck fake (to fit additional accommodations for comfort)

Crew: 102 for commercial ventures; 200 for privateering

Launched:  London, 1777

     Everett Shopp was pleased.  A fully-found 54-gun Indiaman in London, the Calandais, had come on the market early in 1881 by way of a friend of a friend, and Shopp had put in a tentative bid for her.  Her owner, a man with more money than he could manage, had sent his ship, new in 1777, on pseudo-East India Company voyages that were not profitable, and blamed his staff and crew for the problems, when, in reality, they were his alone.  The Calandais, a somewhat innovatively designed vessel, was four years old and was being placed into a form of casual, but her rig had not been reduced yet.  Shopp liked the ship for a number of reasons.  She was an Indiaman, which meant she was roomy for her size.  She was heavily armed, and was low at the forecastle, like the Frenchmen of the 1660s, and flat at the stern like the same ships.  He liked the platform of four small stern-chasers and wide stern as opposed to a standard two heavy cannon and narrow stern.  He saw room to add at least two nine pounders on the poop deck along with some swivel guns and railing pieces, if needed.

     Her stern was not decorated and provided two modest galleries at each quarter.  There were two seats of ease for the officers, but none specifically for senior officers.  This shortcoming, Shopp overlooked.  Her simplicity reflected the designs of Dutch men-of-war in the late 1600s rather than a ship of her current age.  She had a range of leaded glass casements that opened, and a large great cabin for the captain and some dinner guests.  Instead of the common removable partitions that divided up the aft area for the officers and guests and made room for cannon activity, the Calandais had been constructed for comfort on long voyages.  There were actual cabins with built-in accommodations in five different compartments, three for officers, the captain's great cabin, and the owner's compartment. 

     This layout seemed odd, until he noticed that the twelfth and thirteenth gunports, on either quarter, on the upper gun deck, were empty.  The ports would open, but there were no cannons within.  These positions could be used, if necessary.  The companionway that led down turned to either side to cut down on running water during storms protecting the great cabin from repeated flooding.  The companionway turned and accessed areas below which, in most ships, was not a good idea.  Obviously, this ship was supposed to have good relations between the crew and the officers, otherwise, there would be no common access.  This sequence of ladders also led to the small but efficient wardroom, and quarters for the Master's Mate and the second-in-command, if one was assigned.  Ahead of the wardroom was the steering area for the quartermaster and his helmsmen.  This area was also the portion of the ship containing a system of companionways to move easily from deck to deck.

     In keeping with some typical East Indiaman features, her quarterdeck had curved forward extremes with thwart ladders.  There was a short sundeck forward of the poop for ships designed to operate in tropical waters and typical of contemporary hagboats.  Her poop provided the shelter Shopp thought might accommodate some additional lightweight cannon as upper-deck stern chasers.  The Captain, even as a youth, was insistent upon protecting his rear, and this concern carried over into his idea of ships.  If he had a choice, he would have preferred the rounded-stern bootship which would have increased the ship's ability to provide cannon fire directly off either quarter.  The Calandais was devoid of fender cleats which told Shopp that this ship was not designed to sit at wharfs or quays, but rather, remain at anchor and be loaded and unloaded afloat.  Some of the tackle arrangements told him of her lifting capabilities which were considerable. 

     Her rig was simple, and was sufficient for her size.  In some ways, she was under-rigged, and showed large-areas of sail in key positions on the mast as opposed to an additional level of sail with smaller sail area for each.  She stacked sails only to the topgallant level.  She had a jib and a staysail forward as well as twin spritsails and no stun'sails (studding sails).  Aft, she had a mizzen topsail and the old mizzen spar.  He thought of the possibility of replacing this with a gaff rig, but thought it better to have the spar to assist steering, since the ship was more hull than rig, as well as having an extra spar aboard, if needed.  She had no staysails between the main and foremast, but knew he would reinforce these stays in case the ship was backed and could install staysails, if needed.  He did not want to lose his entire rig because of insufficient staying for backed wind.  She was equipped with crowsfeet to protect the sails, and well-secured foot ropes.  Her sails had two levels of reef points to shorten sail more effectively, and her braces, sheets, halyards and topping lifts had all been recently replaced.

     She was well-constructed with substantial freeboard, and showed actual signs of refinement in her rails and other details.  As modest as this decorative woodwork was concerned, the use of it and some fine woods for bulkheads was quite evident.  Her two gun decks had about a foot more headroom than was conventional.  She had wheel steering, rather than tiller or whipstaff and carried an impressive array of support vessels.  Shopp liked this idea, since he would be equipped with extra boats on deck and would have plenty of room for chicken coops.  

     There was a 34-foot launch that served as the main working boat for the ship, carrying stores and landing parties and could be sailed or rowed.  There were two cutters, one 25 feet in length and a second at 18 feet. Both were kept ready for action, slung out on davits and could be quickly lowered to retrieve a man who fell overboard, or to turn the ship if the wind was light and got held in irons as it tacked. The cutter had two masts and the smaller vessel, that had none, was designed to be rowed by six.  Also, on deck, was the jollyboat, a 10-foot rowboat, designed to carry up to 1000 pounds of cargo or up to 6 people. Calandais rounded up her array of support vessels with a 27-foot longboat that had 18 oars and a sail.  She could carry up to two tons of materials or carry up to three dozen people or a large cask of water.

     Her assigned skipper was Captain Benjamin Cryde, a man of the sea since he was thirteen years old.  He was from a prominent Plymouth family that had too many sons, so he was sent to sea with an uncle who was attached to ships leaving the shipyard.  Once on station, he was quickly signed onto a warship as a cabin boy and was at sea in a month.  Cryde was a veteran of commercial shipping as of the day his ship was lost in a gale, and he was given the choice of continuing in his majesty's navy or shipping out on an Indiaman.  He chose the Indiaman, because of a Captain Alistair West, who liked the boy and over a few years taught him to be all he needed to be for shipping.  He eventually married Captain West's middle daughter, but she and their baby died in childbirth.  He sold all his belongings and went to sea again. 

     After years, he got his first ship, which led to another and another, until he thought he was blessed with a brand-new ship, the Calandais.  After a number of voyages and three years of excuses to his crew, he was about to leave the ship when Captain Everett Shopp, came aboard.  Cryde was skeptical of this young, well-situated gentleman, who seemed to know the sea and was interested in purchasing his own ship for commerce and potential privateering during the issues between England and the Colonies.  He was willing to bet that this tall man had designs to become a "husband" to a number of ships and just add to his fortune.  He wondered how many other investors there would be.  After a week or two, the Calandais was purchased by Captain Shopp from his own funds, formally renamed the Prize Mary, and the Queen was put up for sale. 

     Cryde was certain that the new owner, an acknowledged Captain, would specify his own rigging since this was the standard province of a captain when taking on a new ship.  Shopp studied Cryde and the rig, then walked away without a word.  A week later, Shopp returned with his sea bag and informed Cryde that he would be pleased if he would remain Master and Skipper, and that Cryde should be given the honor of selecting his own rigging.  Cryde made a few comments about the rig and received a handshake from the new owner.  That day, October 18, 1981, Shopp not only acquired the ship, but the loyalty and respect of ten quite interesting men of the sea who elected to remain with the ship and Cryde.  Captain Shopp never assigned a second-in-command over Cryde even though he assigned a man to the equivalent position of First Lieutenant.

     Working with the Skipper and the crew, the men put together a permanent group based on a personally composed partnership agreement that was presented to selected sailors who were gathered from throughout the commercial shipping empire, which was composed mostly of German, Scandinavian, English, Irish or French.  This "partnership" turned all of the crew members and officers into husbands of their own ship.  Tugdual Turiau, a man of many heritages who looked the parts, was signed on, because he could speak all the languages on the ship.  It took two months to put the crew of over 100 together on one deck. 

     Cryde was surprised at the criteria Shopp set forth when qualifying a crewmember or officer.  He emphasized intelligence and decision-making more than sailing ability and experience.  He refused to form a press gang to make up for crew numbers, and patiently advertised and used word-of-mouth to interest seamen and landsmen as well.  Three of his new crew had never been to sea before, but to Shopp, it didn't matter.  One of them was to be assigned the position of ship's tailor, another a steward of repute, and the last, an officer of distinction from the army, whom he assigned the roll of First Lieutenant. 

     Shopp had the stinking shingle ballast removed from the ship, the bilges cleaned, and the removed ballast replaced with additional pig iron.  This was a formidable and backbreaking job, but the rewards were great.  While the hull was devoid of ballast, he had iron water tanks installed to replace the casks that ordinarily caused so much injury and problems to a crew.  In keeping with his own design, he had air ducts installed that were built along the same lines as the elm-tree seawater pump conduits.  They improved below-deck ventilation substantially, and as he was about to find out, acted as excellent deck-to-deck communications tubes as one crewman bellowed up or down to another.  Another innovation was to create an opening vent system that led down the narrow carpenter's walks that led the length of the ship' side just below the waterline, from end to end for more ventilation.  The only time these did not work well was when the wind was on the beam. 

     He set the crew to work making ready for their first voyage wherever it would lead them.  He let each man set his own pace of work and adjusted according to his observations of their progress.  Some men, so used to punishment and intimidation from officers, had to be debriefed by Shopp.  He asked each crewmember to work in harmony with the next man and assigned teams of men to work on the larger jobs.  He let them elect their own team leader based on each man's statement of qualifications.  Some men just stated that they would prefer to do the work than tell others what to do.

     In order to keep his crew healthy, Shopp retained the services of Pierre Aleron, a student of crew maintenance standards set by Captain Cook on the Endeavor.  Aleron, a student and friend of Cook's Botanist, the accomplished, Joseph Banks, and the capable naturalist, Daniel Solander, specified that the men eat fresh food and sauerkraut, to address the threat of scurvy, and supplement this with pickled cabbage.  He suggested a course of ports to include stops in places where food could be acquired in a manner that did not add substantial time to a voyage and a small area of the ship in which he could compose materials, keep his log and actually grow herbs and other plants for the ship's company.  This program was set into place the moment the first provisions arrived aboard the Prize Mary. 

     The Captain had the sailmaker produce a number of what he called "chutes" that would be rigged to a line and lifted aloft to take advantage of the winds that moved the ship.  These chutes would accumulate fresh air and guide it below.  The pressure of such devices, drove the foul and stale air out through grates and out companionway hatches and ports.  These devices did much to improve life below decks, particularly in steerage.  That area was improved, and a conveyor system was devised to remove materials from the decks.  Pierre Aleron also claimed some of the waste material for his growing plants; the rest was disposed of in the normal manner.

     In addition, the ship signed on three more men influenced by members of the existing crew. One was a surgeon of note, Doctor Lyle Montagu and his assistant, Lionel Odil as Apothecary.  To them, Shopp arranged for the construction of some canvas walls to be constructed to give each man some privacy up against the hull where there was a small seating bench complete with storage beneath.  The third was an old friend of Captain Shopp's, a navigator of no equal, Desmond Pequod of the Indies, whom he literally purchased from his existing position, by buying out his commitment.  For Desmond, the captain had a portion of his own day cabin walled off to make for a compact compartment complete with a box bunk.

     To finish off his idea of how to run a ship, he bankrolled uniforms for the officers and men of the Prize Mary.  He felt that if one dressed the part, one could play it successfully.  In order not to compete with any given navy of his knowledge, he chose a lighter blue jacket for the officers and a yellowish fabric for deck, gun and men aloft.  For himself, he chose a gray and black combination that set himself apart from the rest.  He felt that was proper.  For headgear, he following tradition and provided that which was acceptable in His Majesty's Navy.  In order to make sure that uniforms were clean and that disease and maladies could be avoided, he provided three each, so one could be worn, the other in transit, and the last in cleaning.  He tasked some of the crew to "do the laundry" instead of tending to the ship.  This was not a popular roll for some, but he rotated the assignment, so no one would feel left out or given preferential treatment.  His laundry, on the other hand, always seem to drift forward to the forecastle where some special female crewmembers took care of it.  Needless to say, he always looked striking, even when drenched to the skin.

     The ship's company, assigned navy positions because of Captain Shopp's preference to running a ship like the navy rather than in keeping with the way a commercial ship was normally run.  All conducted themselves in a positive manner.  Captain Shopp simply addressed the crew one day, before they left Portsmouth, and announced that he favored a crew of hardworking gentleman to a crew of children who needed punishment and constant reminders of what would happen if his orders were not followed to the letter.  He simply said that if anyone didn't like the arrangement to come to him and explain himself.  If the Captain liked the explanation and thought it fair, he would try to accommodate the requestor.  If not, he would simply arrange for the person to be unceremoniously thrown over the side.  He never had any trouble, and no one ever came to him with any suggestions or thoughts on the matter.

     He explained to everyone that he would expect each man to be addressed politely according to their rank, full first name or mister.  All officers would be addressed as sir or by their rank, and, as men, all would be treated equally.  He then bowed his head deeply and informed everyone that there would be no Chaplain assigned to the Prize Mary, because he felt that each man should make his own peace with his own god.  If someone needed a loving hand, he would find one for them when the need arose.  The men just looked at him.  Inside, he thought this was amusing, and almost smiled.  Cryde did not move; Pequod did, just a little.

     He added that if anyone was contemplating mutiny to come to him first for advice on how to avoid being hanged for the offense.  This did get a nervous laugh from the crew.  When Shopp smiled, they all laughed out loud.  He went on to say that he would meet privately, in his cabin, with each crew member according to the list (as shown below).  At that time, he would make any one-on-one arrangements that were met satisfactorily with both parties.  The results of this meeting would be confidential, and he would not take kindly to finding "a matter of personal business" becoming scuttlebut.  If he did, the arrangement would not be valid.  There would be no second meetings to make up for the first. 

     The crew now comprised the following (in order of rank and service) shown in Table 1.

TABLE 1.  CREW OF THE PRIZE MARY (original manifest) BY RANK AND SERVICE

    It was agreed among them to round out the ship’s company at 102 as the "permanent crew" in the Shopp agreement to do business together.  For specific missions, by applying a rigid selection process, "flex-crews" of approximately 30 veteran seaman for commercial ventures and up to 70 to 100 men per deck could be acquired to serve as gun crews on a temporary basis.  This would provide the standard six-gun crew for each gun, on each deck, of one side of the ship, for privateering, assuming they would only need to man one side at a time.  There would probably be a need for personnel acting as marines for the positions aloft and for boarding the other ship, and these could be found, if necessary, at almost any port where greedy men congregated. 

     Shopp had the latest models of chronometers installed as well as newly machined navigations tools that had heartier reflecting quadrants.  He had extra day and night glasses put aboard and additional compasses installed in the Sailing Master's cabin and his own.  He wanted his Sailing Master to have the best devices available to augment his natural and inherent feel for direction, and he wanted to know which way the ship was going without inquiring of anyone or coming on deck.  As owner, he felt the Captain should run the ship the way he saw fit, and not have to contend with the owner.  Captain Cryde indicated, on occasion, with a glance or motion, that he appreciated this consideration, particularly when there was bad weather.

     Once finally underway after a long, arduous Winter, Shopp and his crew completed a number of successful commercial ventures from and to both Indies, beginning in the Spring of 1782, which cemented the core crew into one cohesive group.  Prize Mary followed the normal routes, choosing not to brave Cape Horn and go against the westerlies.  Since the commercial ventures met with such success, particularly ones involving America, privateering never came into reality, even though avoiding awkward repercussions from the East India Company and their ships called for a constant vigil.  Shopp had engineered a "loose" contract with the EIC to their mutual benefits, but since word was difficult to distribute to captains around the world, vigil was still important, just in case. 

     There were a few opportunities for taking prizes, but when the smaller ships saw Prize Mary's size and armament, they quickly fled.  It was at times like these, that the thought of having a fast French frigate crossed his mind, but when he found himself relaxed and confident when Prize Mary was full and by in a robust following sea and did not bury her bows in near-broaches, he thanked himself for having the ship he did.  Prize Mary would run down the waves and burst them to either side in spectacular shows of water and spray.  He felt so alive when this was happening.

     Since East Indiaman, by design, were often undermanned and overgunned, they were targets to pirates and other other privateers, but Shopp had a way of sailing that more often than not, out-maneuvered the other ship without firing a shot.  He had the Prize Mary's rudder replaced with one that could be tethered amidships, so the ship could be backed down, a maneuver unheard of until the American 44s could perform such antics during combat.  She also carried a spare rudder, and she had extra materials as well as a carpentry staff of three.  There were some shots fired during one voyage, but the weather proved to be too large an obstacle to both ships.  For the most part, the Prize Mary's lower-deck cannon were permanently tampioned.

     Shopp and his crew noticed that many an impressive ship would veer off at the sight of her, and it took some time to realize that Prize Mary presented an impressive appearance to a man in a crow's nest miles away.  Because of her high topsides and her array of gunports and coloring, she proposed herself as a much larger and formidable ship than she actually was.  Shopp often reduced sail or skewed his yardarms just to lure the other ship into a contest, but he never received the proper response.  Even through the glass, she probably presented quite a picture.

     The only prize almost taken by the ship was actually the result of an accident.  The Prize Mary was under full sail with nothing in sight, when she thundered passed a small 8-gun commercial sloop and almost collided with her.  As the awestruck crew of the smaller vessel stared up at Shopp and his officers, the master actually saluted Shopp.  Smiling a wry smile, Shopp saluted back and kept on going.  The watch on the foremast was brought down on deck and chastised.  As a punishment, he assigned himself to devil-caulking for a week for his lack of vision.  A jury of his peers approved of the price-to-pay. 

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