Page 106 - Dutch Ships in Tropical Waters

‘old staff’, those who had been in Asia for some years being both experienced and acclimatised, or the new arrivals coming from Europe. Governor-General Van der Lijn clearly favoured keep- ing the old staff in Asia in concluding his letter to the VOC directors on this subject he wrote: ‘Echter verstaen wij dat de Comp van 't oude volck in India meerder dienst can trecken, als van nieuw in 't landt comen ende dat het evenveel is, off de retourschepen met out ofte nieuw volck thuysgebracht worden’ (We understand that Company receives better services in India from the old people, than the new coming into this country and that it is alike, that the retourschepen is brought home with old or the new people) (Coolhaas , p. ). Despite all the complaints about the availability of staff, the management seemed to have been able ‘to tie the ends together’ because there are only a few references to ships being laid up for a period owing to a lack of crew. If there was not enough crew for a longer voyage on a more demanding route, there were still plenty of possibilities for finding employment for a ship. A ship could be sent on a short or easy trip where a smaller crew was required. No records were found in which the loss of a ship was directly ascribed to a lack of crew. Vessels could, how- ever, face serious problems if illness or exhaustion reduced the number of capable crewmen. Sometimes it was not possible to continue to manoeuvre the vessel – as was the case for the flute Reiger (ID:) which drifted past Galle because the crew could not sail the vessel into the bay (NA .., VOC , fol. ). Most of the time the vessels under threat could sail on easy courses with the trailing wind to friendly coasts or destinations to seek help. The mini- mum crew that was required to sail the vessels was remarkably low (that means operate the vessel in a technical sense). The minimum crew size ranged from less than  to  for the   smaller yachts , and from  to  for the larger vessels . As the rigging was divided over more masts and many sails, this made it lighter and easier to operate. Serious problems were caused if the heavy anchor needed to be handled under difficult circumstances. Often a short- handed crew had problems weighing anchor, they would have to ask for assistance from other ships or cut the anchor cable. It could be fatal if the crew was not able to pump out incoming water and therefore, the vessel had to be abandoned. Striking in this respect is the history of the Dolfijn (ID:) that sank at the entrance of the Bay of Galle in . The yacht had arrived from Surat leaking seriously and had anchored awaiting instructions from the shore. Although it was still possible to save the ship by sailing it into the harbour, the yacht sank because the crew was too exhausted to weigh anchor after many days of constant pumping (see Case Study -). Case Study -. The wrecking of the Dolfijn Although the Dolfijn was leaking when it had called at Surat in , the local VOC official did not allow the crew to conduct any repairs. He ordered the skipper to sail to Galle to make his needs known there. There is a certain logic to this since Galle was developing as a logistical centre for the VOC. However, when the commander wrote a letter about the rich cargo they were about to send with the Dolfijn to Batavia, his wish that ‘The almighty would bring this \[ship\], free from disasters to the right destination’ was not granted (NA .., VOC , fol. ). Understaffed and leaking, the Dolfijn, with a rich cargo, left Surat in northwest India for Galle on th April . During the voyage, the crew had to pump, day and night, to keep the ship dry. On the third of May, the skipper discussed their difficult situation in the ‘scheepsraad’ (council of officers). On arrival at a VOC post on the Indian coast, the Dolfijn asked for assistance from a Dutch merchant stationed there. The Dolfijn requested  to  local men to pump the vessel in case of emergency. The locals, however, asked too high a price: one pagood per month, free water, firewood, and rice, plus the use of a galley and six months' pay in advance. The ship left for Cochin without assistance, but with  packets of opium. The Dolfijn arrived on May the th, ‘lek maar behouden’ (leaking but safe). Once again a request for assistance was turned down. The ship was told to sail on to Galle, and her problems intensified.  Dutch Ships in Tropical Waters