Ballast

Not a good picture -- the flash caught too much light stuff in the foreground. We are looking down from the first deck into the cargo hold, at a stack of iron pigs used for ballast. These 'big bricks' of solid iron were distributed about the hold as necessary to balance the cargo so the hull would ride level and true. A sailing hip's performance depends on correct trim so this was an important, as well as a back-breaking, exercise. You can imagine how the men must have cursed when the skipper or sailing master said thoughtfully, 'No, no, I think she is still down by the head a tad. Best shift another hundred pigs aft of frame 50.'