OFFSHORE SAILING LOG OF USS CONSTITUTION

Today is St Patrick's Day and a "Nip of the Cruel" is traditional. Some may even do it to excess.

But if there are any out there who boast of their ability to "hold" their liquor?

This will illustrate that it is entirely doubtful that they are even in the running.

(The following tale is from the history of the oldest commissioned warship in the world,
the USS Constitution. It comes by way of the National Park Service, as printed in "Oceanographic Ships, Fore and Aft", a periodical from the Oceanographer of the US Navy.)

On 23 August 1779, the USS Constitution set sail from Boston, loaded with 475 officers and men, 48,600 gallons of water, 74,000 cannon shot, 11,500 pounds of black powder and 79,400 gallons of rum. Her mission: to destroy and harass English shipping.

On 6 October, she made Jamaica, took on 826 pounds of flour and 68,300 gallons of rum. Three weeks later, Constitution reached the Azores, where she provisioned with 550 pounds of beef and 6,300 gallons of Portuguese wine.

On 18 November, she set sail for England where her crew captured and scuttled 12 English merchant vessels and took aboard their rum. By this > time, Constitution had run out of shot. Nevertheless, she made her way unarmed up the Firth of Clyde for a night raid. Here, her landing party captured a whiskey distillery, transferred 40,000 gallons aboard and headed for home.

On 20 February 1780, the Constitution arrived in Boston with no cannon shot, no food, no powder, no rum and no whiskey. She did, however, still carry her crew of 475 officers and men and 48,600 gallons of Stagnant?water.

Tracked to
OTA Weekend at The Crazy Rants of Samantha Burns

Technorati Tag:***USS CONSTITUTION ***St Patrick's Day ***Rum ***Firth of Clyde ***Whiskey

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