Story: Seafarers

Working aloft

Working aloft

The perilous nature of everyday work on a sailing ship is graphically illustrated in this photograph of seamen handling the sails of the Garthsnaid in mid-ocean. This job involved climbing the rigging and then loosening or rolling the sails while balancing on foot ropes. Any miscalculation could mean a fatal fall onto the deck or into the sea.

Using this item

Alexander Turnbull Library, D. A. De Maus Collection (PAColl-3035)
Reference: 1/2-014494; G

Permission of the Alexander Turnbull Library, National Library of New Zealand, Te Puna Mātauranga o Aotearoa, must be obtained before any re-use of this image.

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How to cite this page:

Neill Atkinson, 'Seafarers - Life at sea', Te Ara - the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, http://www.TeAra.govt.nz/en/photograph/5373/working-aloft (accessed 4 May 2024)

Story by Neill Atkinson, published 12 Jun 2006