In Sevastopol, on Matrossky Boulevard, there is a monument with a laconic inscription: “To the Kazars. As an example to posterity.”

For many years now, hundreds of people have been coming here every day - Sevastopol residents and guests of the city of Russian maritime glory. This is a monument to the commander of the Russian brig "Mercury" Alexander Ivanovich Kazarsky. What did Kazarsky and the ship’s crew do to earn the right to become an example to posterity?

On May 14, 1829, the 20-gun brig Mercury took on an unequal battle with two Turkish battleships armed with a total of 184 guns, and emerged victorious. Until then, the history of naval art had never known anything like this. A small brig - and two battleships! The courage and brilliant skill of the commander, multiplied by the heroism of the sailors and officers, negated the enemy's multiple fire superiority. "Mercury" with the cannonballs of its carronades inflicted heavy damage on the battleships and forced them to abandon the battle. On July 19, 1829, Russian Vice-Chancellor Nesselrode forwarded to Admiral A. Greig a letter from a Turkish navigator who participated in the battle with the brig Mercury.

Turk wrote:

“On Tuesday, approaching the Bosphorus, at dawn we saw three Russian ships, a frigate and two brigs, and chased them; but not before we managed to overtake one of the brigs at three o’clock in the afternoon. Captain Pasha’s ship and ours entered with him into a hot battle, and - an unheard-of and incredible thing - we could not force him to surrender. He fought, retreating and maneuvering with all the art of war in such a way that we, ashamed to admit, stopped the battle, while he, triumphant, continued on his way. Without a doubt, he lost almost half of his crew, because for some time he was a pistol shot away from us and was getting more and more damaged every minute.

If ancient and modern chronicles show us experiences of courage, then this last one will eclipse all others, and the testimony of it deserves to be inscribed in golden letters in the temple of glory. This captain was Kazarsky, and the name of the brig was MERCURY.

It is no coincidence that the outstanding Russian naval commander Admiral V. Istomin had every reason to say about the Mercury sailors:

“Let them look for such selflessness, such heroic fortitude in other nations with a candle...”

Soon after the battle, the Mercury officers were awarded orders and promoted, the sailors received St. George's crosses and pensions. By a special decree, the brig was awarded the stern St. George flag - the most honorable distinction for a ship. In memory of the legendary brig, one of the ships of the Russian fleet began to be called “Memory of Mercury”.

What was a military brig? early XIX century? First of all, this is a two-masted ship with a straight rig. Brigs are the smallest seaworthy vessels that had naval rigging on two masts. Their tonnage did not exceed 350 tons, length - 30 m, width - 9 m and hold depth - no more than 6 m. The armament of the brigs consisted of 6-24 small cannons or carronades placed on the open deck.

At the UN, brigs were used for cruising and messenger service. Figure 46 shows the brig "Mercury".

The ship shown in Figure 47 is very similar to the brig. It is designated by the term brigantine.

It might seem logical that the word comes from "brig." But this is not entirely true. In the history of shipbuilding, there were two types of brigantines, two completely different sailing ships. For clarity, let’s look at the second volume of “The History of the Ship,” published in 1880 by the Russian naval historian Nikolai Bogolyubov:

"Brigantines" in sailing times were the same brigs, only smaller in size and with weaker artillery. Brigantines Mediterranean Sea had two or three single-tree masts with lateen sails and were used mainly by pirates."

A clearer formulation of the term “brigantine” is given by the Soviet Admiral K. Samoilov in his “Naval Dictionary” (1939):

"Brigantine" (brigandtine):

1. Small or medium sized brig. A vessel with two masts (foresail and mainsail). The foremast is rigged like a brig, and the mainmast is rigged like a schooner. Generally speaking, such brigantine armament is non-standard and can be slightly modified.

2. B early era sailing fleet, since the 16th century, the so-called light, high-speed pirate ships (from the word brigand - robber, pirate) with Latin weapons; Later, these ships became part of the fleet as messengers and reconnaissance ships.

We can conclude that the earlier brigantine got its name from the word “brigand” - robber, the second, later one - from the word “brig”.

However, contrary to established tradition, sophisticated experts on the history of the sailing fleet divide brigantines of the second type into two categories: “true brigantines” and “schooner-brigs” (Fig. 48).

They classify small brigs as “true brigantines”. On their second mast, the large lower rectangular sail - the mainsail - is replaced by a gaff sail, above which there are three rectangular sails of a smaller area on the topmast. Over time, sailors began to classify two-masted ships carrying exclusively oblique sails on the mainmast into the same category.

At first glance, the sailboat shown in Figure 49 looks similar in rigging to a brigantine. But it belongs to the category of schooners. Its sails are slanting. Because of the two straight sails raised on the topmast of the foremast (topsail), the ship is called a topsail schooner.

BRIGS AND BRIGANTINES

In Sevastopol, on Matrossky Boulevard there is a monument with a laconic inscription: “Kazarsky. An example for posterity"

For many years now, hundreds of people have been coming here every day - Sevastopol residents and guests of the city of Russian maritime glory. This is a monument to the commander of the Russian brig "Mercury" Alexander Ivanovich Kazarsky. What did Kazarsky and the ship’s crew do to earn the right to become an example to posterity?

On May 14, 1829, the 20-gun brig Mercury took on an unequal battle with two Turkish battleships armed with a total of 184 guns, and emerged victorious. Until then, the history of naval art had never known anything like this. A small brig - and two battleships. The courage and brilliant skill of the commander, multiplied by the heroism of the sailors and officers, negated the enemy's multiple fire superiority. "Mercury" with the cannonballs of its carronades inflicted heavy damage on the battleships and forced them to abandon the battle. On July 19, 1829, Russian Vice-Chancellor Nesselrode forwarded to Admiral A. Greig a letter from a Turkish navigator who participated in the battle with the brig Mercury.

Turk wrote:

“On Tuesday, approaching the Bosphorus, we saw at dawn three Russian ships, a frigate and two brigs, and we chased them; but not before, at three o'clock in the afternoon, we succeeded in overtaking one of the brigs. Captain Pasha's ship and ours entered into a heated battle with him, and - an unheard of and incredible thing - we could not force him to surrender. He fought, retreating and maneuvering with all the art of war so that we, ashamed to admit, stopped the battle, while he, triumphant, continued on his way. Without a doubt, he lost almost half of his crew, because for some time he was a pistol shot away from us and was getting more and more damaged every minute.

If ancient and modern chronicles show us experiences of courage, then this last one will eclipse all others, and the testimony of it deserves to be inscribed in golden letters in the temple of glory. This captain was Kazarsky, and the name of the brig was “MERCURY”.

It is no coincidence that the outstanding Russian naval commander Admiral V. Istomin had every reason to say about the Mercury sailors:

“Let them look for such selflessness, such heroic value in other nations with a candle...”

Soon after the battle, the Mercury officers were awarded orders and promoted, the sailors received St. George's crosses and pensions. By a special decree, the brig was awarded the stern St. George flag - the most honorable distinction for a ship. In memory of the legendary brig, one of the ships of the Russian fleet began to be called “Memory of Mercury”.

What was a military brig of the early 19th century? First of all, this is a two-masted ship with a straight rig. Brigs are the smallest seaworthy vessels that had naval rigging on two masts. Their tonnage did not exceed 350 tons, length - 30 m, width - 9 m and hold depth - no more than 6 m. The armament of the brigs consisted of 6 - 24 small cannons or carronades placed on the open deck.

The brigs were mainly used for cruising and messenger service. Figure 46 shows the brig Mercury.

Rice. 46 Legendary brig "Mercury"

The ship shown in Figure 47 is very similar to the brig. It is designated by the term brigantine.

Rice. 47 "True Brigantine"

It might seem logical that the word comes from "brig." But this is not entirely true. In the history of shipbuilding, there were two types of brigantines, two completely different sailing ships. For clarity, let’s look at the second volume of “The History of the Ship,” published in 1880 by the Russian naval historian Nikolai Bogolyubov:

“Brigantines” in sailing times were the same brigs, only smaller in size and with weaker artillery. The brigantines of the Mediterranean Sea had two or three single-tree masts with lateen sails and were used mainly by pirates.”

A clearer formulation of the term “brigantine” is given by the Soviet Admiral K. Samoilov in his “Naval Dictionary” (1939):

"Brigantine" (brigandtine):

1. Small or medium-sized brig. A vessel with two masts (foresail and mainsail). The foremast is rigged like a brig, and the mainmast is rigged like a schooner. Generally speaking, such brigantine armament is non-standard and can be slightly modified.

2. In the early era of the sailing fleet, from the 16th century, this was the name given to light, fast pirate ships (from the word brigand - robber, pirate) with Latin weapons; Later, these ships became part of the fleet as messengers and reconnaissance ships.

We can conclude that the earlier brigantine got its name from the word “brigand” - robber, the second, later one - from the word “brig”.

However, contrary to established tradition, sophisticated experts on the history of the sailing fleet divide brigantines of the second type into two categories: “true brigantines” and “schooner brigs” (Fig. 48).

Rice. 48 Schooner-brig, or late brigantine

They classify small brigs as “true brigantines”. On their second mast, the large lower rectangular sail - the mainsail - is replaced by a gaff sail, above which there are three rectangular sails of a smaller area on the topmast. Over time, sailors began to classify two-masted ships carrying exclusively oblique sails on the mainmast into the same category.

At first glance, the sailboat shown in Figure 49 looks similar in rigging to a brigantine. But it belongs to the category of schooners. Its sails are slanting. Because of the two straight sails raised on the topmast of the foremast (topsail), the ship is called a topsail schooner.

Rice. 49 Marseille schooner

Well, it’s time for business, and time for fun. Therefore, let's start with business. So, what is a brigantine?

A brigantine is a small ship, a two-masted schooner. Straight sails are installed on the front mast (foremast), and oblique sails on the rear mast (mainmast). Straight sails lie in a plane perpendicular to the axis of the vessel, and oblique sails are parallel to this axis. This combination makes the brigantine fast (thanks to straight sails, which catch a lot of wind) and maneuverable (thanks to oblique sails, which allow the ship to sail at a greater angle to the direction of the wind).

Brigantines appeared on the Mediterranean Sea already in the 13th century. In addition to two masts, the ship could have from 8 to 12 pairs of oars. When rowing, the masts were laid on the deck. This allowed the brigantines to hide in coastal bays. The crew of the brigantine was small, up to 50 people, and the armament was no more than 10 small-caliber guns. Speed, maneuverability and ease of control made brigantines the favorite ship of pirates. The name "brigantine" comes from the Italian word "brigantino", meaning "robber, pirate". Pirate brigantines hid in the bays and bays of Croatia and Illyria, robbing Venetian ships. Corsairs of Tunisia and Algeria in the 15th – 17th centuries attacked European ships off the coast of North Africa. Both of them were caught every now and then by large fleets and, for a long time, maritime law hanged.

In the 17th century, brigantines slightly changed their sailing equipment. On the second, mainmast, in addition to the slanting sails, a straight sail was placed on top. This allowed the brigantines to enter the Atlantic. In the 18th century, brigantines became the most popular ships in the American colonies. In addition to traditional piracy, they were used as reconnaissance ships and for the rapid transportation of small quantities of commercial cargo. The carrying capacity of brigantines ranged from 50 to 200 tons.

In the navy, brigantines were used as escort ships. Several brigantines accompanied the large ship, serving as scouts and communications ships. They were also used for landing troops to capture the coast. A brigantine was larger than a sloop or schooner, but a smaller ship than a brig.

The last “real” brigantine was built in the 20th century, in Germany. Initially it was called “Friedrich”, then it underwent several renamings. This ship is still in service today. Now it is called “Eye of the Wind”, it is known to all sailors of the world and sails the seas under scarlet sails.

Well, now it's fun time

The word "brigantine" was very popular in the Soviet Union in the 1960s. Then the song “Brigantine” was resurrected. It was written before the Great Patriotic War poet P. Kogan and composer G. Lepsky (who has nothing to do with G. Leps). The second life of the song was largely ensured by its performance by Yu. Vizbor. On the one hand, Y. Vizbor was revered by lovers of romance and songs with a guitar around the fire. On the other hand, he worked at the Yunost radio station, which legalized Brigantine in the eyes of the Komsomol leaders. After all, Central Radio is not wrong!

Therefore, “Brigantine” became the first in a series of songs that began to be called “bardic”. Local amateur song clubs, youth cafes, cinemas, pioneer camps and hotels. It was performed almost like an anthem of the amateur song movement, without thinking too much about the beautiful words:

We drink to the fierce, to those who are different,
For those who despise penniless comfort.
Jolly Roger flutters in the wind,
The people of Flint are singing a song.

What is the Jolly Roger? Who are the people of Flint? However, as A.S. Pushkin said, “poetry should be a bit stupid,” and mass song even more so.

After all, no matter what, it turned out to be a good song, right?

Having decided to dilute the conversation about the intricacies of the modeling business with “billetrists,” I am opening a periodic series of stories about ships that are especially popular among ship modellers. As a rule, few of those who build a model of HMS Victory or the Black Pearl are familiar with real story prototype. But this story is often full of such mysterious twists and turns that it’s time to write an adventure novel, or even a detective story.

The starting series - “Mysteries of legendary sailing ships” will introduce the reader to facts from the structure and history of famous ships.

Few tourists walking along the Yalta embankment know that the Hispaniola cafe, stylized as a sailboat, was once a real ship. In the 60s of the last century, it bore the proud name of the first Soviet Marshal Voroshilov and transported cargo along Black Sea coast. And in the 70s he became an old two-masted sailing ship and went to “Treasure Island” for Flint’s gold, and then was shipwrecked off desert island with Robinson Crusoe on board.

In 1970, at the Yalta Film Studio, director E. Friedman filmed another film adaptation of R. L. Stevenson's novel "Treasure Island".
Wanting to achieve realism on the screen, Friedman requested a real sailboat, corresponding to the one described in the novel (before that, films either filmed any sailing ship, or models in a special pool and scenery in a pavilion).
To build the schooner Hispaniola, the film studio purchased an old motor-sailing schooner Klim Voroshilov (1953) from the Kherson winery. The project for the re-equipment of the ship and the general management of the work at the initial stage were carried out by A. Larionov, a researcher at the Leningrad Naval Museum. The sailboat was finally completed under the supervision of the film studio design engineer V. Pavlotos.

On the old Black Sea “oak”, the bulwark was increased, the central hold and stern part were converted to look like antiques, the ship was equipped with two masts with oblique gaff sails and straight sails on the front mast, which corresponded to the sailing rig of the schooner (although V. Pavlotos called “Hispaniola” a brigantine). The sailboat turned out to be successful and starred in several more films, including “The Life and Amazing Adventures of Robinson Crusoe” by S. Govorukhin (1972).

In another domestic film adaptation of Stevenson’s novel, filmed in 1982 at Lenfilm by director Vorobiev, the “role” of “Hispaniola” was assigned to the three-masted Jackass schooner “Kodor” (which viewers later saw in the “role” of “Duncan” in the film by S. Govorukhin's "In Search of Captain Grant" (1985). Episodes were filmed on "Kodor", and the entire "Hispaniola" appeared in the frame only in the form of a model.

Foreign films based on the novel “Treasure Island” are also not distinguished by their originality. In the 1990 American film adaptation, an expedition for Flint's treasure sets off on a three-masted sloop (a remake of the historical sailing ship Bounty, built in 1961, was used for the film). The three-masted ship was also featured in the 2012 English mini-series...

Illustrators also do not clarify the question of the appearance of “Hispaniola”. Louis John Reid (Louis Rhead)

Zdeněk Burian and Geoff Hunt show a three-masted sailboat in their drawings. Robert Ingpen, Henry Matthew Brock, Igor Ilyinsky depict a two-masted schooner.
But the greatest confusion was caused by the first illustrator of the novel, Georges Roux. In his drawings, the Hispaniola appears... as a brig!

So, to what class of sailing ships should the famous Stevenson “Hispaniola” be classified? Let's try to figure it out.

Perhaps we should start with the fact that R. Stevenson himself clearly outlined in the novel the type of sailing ship chosen for the treasure voyage. Squire Trelawney describes the acquired ship in a letter to Dr. Livesey as follows:

"You never imagined a sweeter schooner—a child might sail her—two hundred tons; name, Hispaniola."

"You will never imagine a more beautiful schooner - a baby can control the sails. Displacement - two hundred tons. Name - Hispaniola."

Commenting on the first edition of his book with illustrations by Georges Roy, Stevenson writes in a letter to his father on October 28, 1885:

"... The illustrated edition of "Treasure Island" will be published next month. I received an advance copy; these French drawings are delightful. The artist understood the book exactly as I intended it, but made one or two small errors - so he did "Hispaniola" "brig..."

Considering the fact that the brig is a two-masted sailing ship, and this does not bother Stevenson, we can conclude that it is a two-masted schooner that is described in the novel.

In the essay “My First Book: Treasure Island” (1894), Stevenson, who had practical experience of sailing the 16-ton schooner Heron, reveals the background to the novel:

"... This will be a story for young readers - which means I won’t need either psychology or a refined style; there’s a boy living in the house - he’ll be the expert. Women are excluded. I won’t be able to cope with the brig (and the Hispaniole, to tell the truth, you're supposed to be a brig), but I think I can get by with a schooner without public disgrace..."
For the reader for whom “schooner”, “brig”, “brigantine” are just romantic names, let us explain the difference between these sailing ships.
All three types of ships can be classified as small and medium-sized sailing ships having two or more masts.
The main difference lies in the features of the sailing armament, i.e. in the shape and number of sails raised on the masts of a particular vessel.

Brigantine- a two-masted ship with a front mast (foremast) having a full straight (i.e. two to three rectangular sails located transverse to the axis of the ship, one above the other) sailing rig and with a rear mast (mainmast) having a longitudinal a gaff (i.e. placed on yards located behind the mast along the axis of the ship) lower sail (mainsail) and straight sails (topsail and, possibly, topmast) on the topmast (an additional element of the mast).
Brigantines were widely developed in the 17th century. Somewhat later, on the lower yard of the mainmast of the brigantine, which was called “dry”, since it was not used to set the sail, but served as a support for the rigging, the sail - the topsail - stood above it, they began to install a straight sail - the mainsail. Retrofitting the brigantine with a full sail rig on the mainmast increased the windage of the ship and the power of its sails.

A sailboat with a full square rig of both masts and a gaff mainsail began to be called brig. In the second half of the 18th century, when brigs began to be widely used in the navy, brigantines began to be called brigs, which was greatly facilitated by writers who confused these ships.

Schooners, originate from small ships with longitudinal sails, which in the 16th - 17th centuries were widely used by Dutch and North American traders, fishermen, privateers and freebooters. The schooner, as a specific type of sailing ship with two masts and a gaff sailing rig, appears off the coast of the Netherlands in late 17th century. In 1695, the Royal Yacht "The Transport Royal" was built in England, equipped as a schooner. The Admiralty model of this ship is the earliest documentary depiction of the schooner to date.

However, the schooner received greater development in the North American colonies. Rumor has it that a certain Andrew Robinson from Gloucester in Massachusetts built such a successful sailing ship that spectators who watched the ship's trials compared it to a flat stone sliding over the water with a skillful throw, exclaiming: “Scoon! Scoon!” Other researchers refer to the laudatory Dutch "schoone Schip" (beautiful ship). One way or another, already in 1716 the name “schooner” appears in the records of the Boston port. And in 1769, William Falconer described the schooner in his maritime dictionary, A New Universal Dictionary of the Marine.

Thus, in the first half of the 18th century, to which the novel “Treasure Island” dates, schooners were already quite common in England, while the brig was just beginning to be used as a warship. And it is quite natural that the miser Trelawney purchased a cheap, most likely fishing schooner, which was converted into the Hispaniola.

Another argument in favor of the schooner is the smaller requirement for a crew than for a brig or brigantine (recall that the crew of the Hispaniola was 26 people, of which 19 were sailors).

Researchers of the novel consider the route of the expedition to be the most significant objection to using a schooner to travel for Flint's chests.
This route ran from Bristol to Martinique at the latitude of Lisbon under the backstay (the trade wind blowing astern) along the North Trade Wind Current. Next, the ascent to the north, to Treasure Island and the return journey along the Atlantic to the north, along the Bahamas and Florida to Cape Hatteras and further along the Antilles Current and the Gulf Stream... Thanks to the Atlantic carousel of winds and currents, the Hispaniola, having made a clockwise turn, returned home.
This is where, the researchers believe, an unpleasant surprise would await the schooner - to sail under the powerful, steady winds of the Atlantic, the schooner, adapted for efficient tacking and sailing steeply to the wind, would be forced to yaw full courses, losing speed and, accordingly, increasing the duration of the flight. In addition, the Hispaniola, according to Squire Trelawney, was threatened by “pirates and the damned Frenchman,” and the schooner’s armament was a single small-caliber swivel cannon (the cannon will be discussed later). The brig Hispaniola could have escaped from the brig (private or pirate), but the schooner had no chance.
But researchers again lose sight of the fact that there were not so many brigs at the time of the Hispaniola, and pirates preferred sloops (Charles Johnson writes about this in " General history robberies and murders committed by the most famous pirates", published in London in 1724). The author of "Treasure Island" was well acquainted with Jones' book and even (it seems) "copied" Flint from Edward Teach, who bore the formidable nickname "Blackbeard".
In addition, by 1720 piracy was in severe decline. Former “gentlemen of fortune” either transferred to serve in the state fleet, or drank themselves to death without work in port taverns where, by the way, they were recruited into the Hispaniola crew.

So Stevenson's Hispaniola was a schooner. Moreover, most likely Marseille, i.e. which had a straight sail (topsail) on the topmast of the front (fore) mast. The presence of topmasts on the masts of the Hispaniola is indirectly indicated by the mast salingas, which are mentioned several times in the text of the novel. Saling provides fixation of the topmast and spacing of the topmasts and shrouds for more effective strengthening of the topmasts. A special platform was installed on the salings of the lower masts - the mars.
In addition, a straight sail made it possible to somewhat reduce yaw when moving into the backstay (i.e., with a tailwind on the course), as mentioned earlier.
By the way, one of the main arguments of researchers of the novel who adhere to the “three masts” version is connected with the salings.
Sailboat masts have their own names, determined by their placement on the ship. The front mast is called the foresail (German) or fore (English), i.e. "first". The middle mast is called the main (German) or main (English), which means “main”. There can be several mainmasts if the ship has more than three masts. The rear mast is called mizzen (German) or mizzen (English) - “small, last”. The mizzen is sometimes called a cruising mast, but this name refers to masts with a full yardarm.

Two-masted ships most often have a fore and a main mast. At the same time, the mainmast is located closer to the middle of the hull and has a greater height than the foremast. The exception is two-masted ketches and iols, the front mast of which is higher than the rear one, located approximately in the middle of the hull and, as a result, is called the mainmast. The second, rear mast of such sailboats is called a mizzen mast.

In the text of the novel, Stevenson calls the rear mast of the Hispaniola a mizzen a couple of times:
"...It became light in the barrel. Looking up, I saw that the moon had risen, silvering the mizzen mars and the swollen foresail..."

"...The shrouds of the mizzen mast hung over my head. I grabbed onto them, climbed up and never took a breath until I sat down on the salinga...".

Most likely, in this case, Stevenson made a mistake, confusing the sailing rig of a schooner with an iole.
The decisive argument in determining the number of masts on the Hispaniola should, however, be considered that in the period described in the novel, schooners, as a rule, were two-masted, as well as brigs, which never had a third mast at all (and Stevenson, like us already said, I believed that the Hispaniola should have been a brig). Another quote from the novel speaks in favor of the two-masted option:

"... The mainsail hid part of the stern from me... At the same instant the main boom leaned to the side, the sheet creaked against the blocks, and I saw the stern...".

Those. At the rear, closest to the stern, there was, nevertheless, a mainmast. And Hispaniola was two-masted topsail schooner.

Large fishing schooners (and the Hispaniola, let me remind you, had a displacement of 200 tons) had two decks, the lower of which was divided into three compartments: the bow, where the crew members were located; the central one was a hold for cargo, which had a hatch into the space below deck, which was also a hold; the stern, where the galley and the foremen of the crew, including the captain, were located. The upper deck, rising above the lower deck by about 1.6 - 1.7 meters, was flat (sometimes it had low stepped elevations in the bow (forecastle) and in the stern (half-deck)). The deck had three or more hatches (in each of the compartments of the lower deck) with ladders, which were covered with ruster gratings. The hatches in the bow and stern compartments could have so-called “similar vestibules” - small booths above the hatch.

During the reconstruction of the schooner purchased for the trip, similar vestibules, judging by the text of the novel, were expanded to the size of deck superstructures, slightly raising the deck. The crew and galley were placed in the forward superstructure - the forecastle, and in the rear, which was a similar vestibule extended to the sides - two hammocks for the captain and Mr. Arrow. In addition, the aft compartment of the lower deck was expanded due to the hold and cabins (three on each side) were enclosed in it for passengers of the Hispaniola. In the stern, due to the enclosure and raising the deck, a fairly large room was formed for the wardroom. Finally, in the middle part of the lower deck, a separate room for storing treasures was fenced off, leaving a passage on the left side connecting the aft compartment with the bow.

Studying the structure of the ship built by Yalta filmmakers for the 1971 film, it is not difficult to notice that its appearance largely corresponds to that described in the novel. We see the spars and rigging corresponding to the sailing rig of a two-masted topsail schooner, superstructures in the bow and stern...
As a complaint, one could point to the dimensions being too small (for a 200-ton ship) and the cannon mounted on a carriage.
But the issue with the gun is controversial. And it seems that the Yalta shipbuilders are closer to the truth.
The fact is that Stevenson described in the novel a “9-pound swivel cannon”, the cannonball for which gunner Israel Hands “rolled along the deck.” After a successful shot at the nimble skiff with the heroes of the novel, the cannonball, whistling over the fragile boat, raised such a wind that it capsized the skiff with passengers! Apparently, Stevenson had little understanding of artillery.
There are no nine-pounders on a swivel! A swivel is a metal pin with a “horn” at the upper end, in the fork of which a cannon was attached. The swivel was installed in a special socket on the gunwale (rail along the top of the bulwark) or in the deck. With this installation method, a heavy gun with a heavy core (and a 9-pound core weighed about four kilograms) and powerful powder charge would break the swivel and fly off when fired. Therefore, the maximum caliber of swivel guns was 4 pounds. Most often, 1-2 pound cannons were used to fire grapeshot (small balls, akin to a musket bullet) at the enemy crew and boarding crew.
Nine-pound cannons were mounted on a wheeled carriage and, when it was necessary to fire a shot, their barrel was pushed into a special opening in the side - the cannon port. In addition, the carriage was equipped with a special cable fastening to the side - trousers and hoists, which made it easier to roll the gun away from the side for maintenance and roll it into the port for firing.
Such guns were aimed at the target, as a rule, in a vertical plane using a special wedge placed under the breech of the gun. So, Hands could only have gotten into the skiff maneuvering on the waves by accident.
On the other hand, a nine-pound cannonball would not be able to raise a wave of air powerful enough to capsize the boat. To do this, the gun would have to have a caliber of 32 pounds. But such a cannon would be difficult to place on a relatively small schooner, and even if fired, it could easily capsize the ship.
Most likely, the Hispaniola was also armed with light swivel cannons with a caliber of 1 - 2 pounds,

and a nine-pounder gun. True, it is not clear - why roll a relatively light cannonball along the deck, which a child could carry in his hands?

One way or another, the Yalta shipbuilders installed a small (between 2 and 4 pounds) gun monitor on their Hispaniola. The same one was present in the frame during the filming of episodes on board the schooner "Kodor" in 1982.

Unfortunately, time, bureaucratic bureaucracy and business interests did not spare this interesting ship, which confidently plowed the waves of the Black Sea under full sail. In addition, the Hispaniola was the first sailing ship specifically built for filming, and the Yalta Film Studio became a pioneer in film shipbuilding.
In 1972, the Crimean Maritime Register Inspectorate, which did not have a column in its instructions regarding the operation of wooden sailing ships, demanded that the hull be sheathed with metal with asbestos gaskets (to avoid fire) and that radar equipment be installed on the masts, which would be incompatible with appearance old sailboat.
Not wanting to disfigure the beautiful Hispaniola, the film studio transferred it to the balance of Intourist, which installed the schooner on the Yalta embankment near the Oreanda Hotel and converted it into a cafe.

A similar fate befell the training sailing ship Kodor.
The Canadian "Bounty", who starred in several films, died with the captain and one of the crew in October 2012 off the coast of North Carolina during Hurricane Sandy.

Beauty "Swan Fan Makkum"

This sailboat carefully preserves all the solutions found over many centuries of the sailing fleet. The largest brigantine in the world " Swan Fan Makkum“outwardly it looks very traditional, but this is exactly what the passengers of the sailboat like, because they are not random tourists, but people who went on a charter voyage.

Dutch brigantine " Swan Fan Makkum» built in 1993 at the Gdansk shipyard. She became the second Dutch sailing ship certified for worldwide sailing.

This sailing ship is the largest brigantine in the world, as well as the largest two-masted sailing ship. The vessel's hull is made of high-strength steel.

The sailing vessel has a sailing rig characteristic of its type - there are five straight sails on the foremast and five oblique sails on the mainmast, total area 1300 sq. m. The height of the masts reaches 45 meters, which makes the sailboat one of the tallest sailing ships of the Tallships.

Being the largest brigantine in the world " Swan Fan Makkum" is a unique sailing vessel designed in the style of traditional sailing ships under the direction of naval architect Olivier van Meer. In style and atmosphere, the brigantine gives the impression of a sailing ship that went down in history in the last century.

Sea voyages on a brigantine are an ideal place for a varied holiday and successful business presentations, the impressions of which will remain in the memory of family, friends or colleagues for a long time. The interior of the ship is designed for 120 passengers, including 18 double cabins with a separate shower and latrine. Under the main superstructure of the ship, where the wheelhouse is located, there is a spacious salon. From here a wide staircase leads down to a cozy living room.

Actually a brigantine " Swan Fan Makkum"This is a very large cruising yacht. Many guests of the ship independently work on the yards with sails and stand watch in the wheelhouse at the helm. The business of the owner of the brigantine is built on this, because the full-time crew consists of only 14 people. But do not think that sailing on this sailboat can be as difficult as on sailboats of the Sedov or Kruzenshtern class; in fact, this is a very modern vessel. Most of the work with sails is automated. All household premises are suitable for relaxation.

Besides its home port in the Netherlands brigantine is a frequent visitor to the ports of Great Britain, as well as the Baltic, Mediterranean and Caribbean.

The two-masted brigantine crossed the Atlantic 18 times and, as of 2007, since its launch, had left more than 300,000 kilometers of sea route astern. Brigantine is a regular participant in the Tall Ships Race, major events in the sailing world, and often becomes a strong contender among its competitors.

In February 2006, the brigantine was acquired by the Italian Navy and is currently used as a training cruising yacht in one of the yacht clubs in Italy “Yacht Club Italiano” with a new name “ Nave Italia" Under the Italian flag sailing ship in 2007 he took part in the crowd competition in Toulon.

Technical data of the two-masted brigantine “Swan Fan Makkum”:

Displacement - 600 tons;

Length - 61 m;

Width - 9.2 m;

Draft - 3.6 m;

Sail area - 1300 sq.m;

Crew - 14 people;

Sailing speed - 15 knots;

Power plant - diesel with a power of 480 hp;

Engine speed - 10 knots;

Number of cabins - 18 (double occupancy);

Number of seats for passengers - 120 people;