The great cabin served as a space for higher ranking members of the crew to eat, socialise, play games, and discuss plans. Aspects of navigation would have likely taken place in here, as well.
Among the crew of the Drake’s fleet were around 12 gentlemen – men of rank and standing on land who were aboard for adventure, glory and potentially financial gains. Among them was Lawrence Eliot, an amateur botanist; Thomas Doughty, a lawyer; John Doughty, his brother; and Francis Fletcher, the ship’s chaplain. These men would have occupied seats of honour during religious ceremonies.
There was some tension between the mariners and the gentlemen, the former believing the latter would be an unwelcome intrusion into their maritime world. The gentlemen had authority without experience, and on occasion refused to toil alongside the mariners. At one point in the voyage, the tensions bubbled over and the senior officers of one of The Golden Hinde’s sister ships stripped the gentlemen of their rations and gave them to the crew. The trouble was partially eased following the execution of Thomas Doughty, which you can learn more about on the Foredeck.
The doors on either side of the cabin lead to the gallery, a kind of balcony for viewing and fighting. It would have likely served as the gentlemen’s latrine – a slightly more private space to take a chamber pot, or to go in the sea.
In our great cabin is a replica of a chip log, a simple device used for measuring speed. The triangular ‘log’ would have been thrown into the water and the line allowed to unravel as the ship sailed away. Knots were tied into the line at regular intervals, and mariners would have counted how many passed through their hands in 30 seconds. The more knots, the faster the ship is going. We still measure ships’ speed in knots today. The average speed of our Golden Hinde is around 4-5 knots.
