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goldenageofpiracy.bsky.social
The Piracy Act 1670 was enacted during the reign of Charles II and its full name was 'An Act to prevent the delivery up of Merchants Shipps, and for the Increase of good and serviceable Shipping'.
#maritimehistory #AgeOfSail #piratehistory #history
November 14, 2025 at 4:40 PM
thoscochrane.bsky.social
OTD (14 November) in 1860 Thomas, Lord Cochrane was buried in Westminster Abbey.

The funeral procession, led by a hearse drawn by six black horses, took an hour and a half to travel from the house in Kensington, along Piccadilly,..
#LordCochrane #NavalHistory #AgeOfSail #EarlOfDundonald #RoyalNavy
November 14, 2025 at 6:17 AM
goldenageofpiracy.bsky.social
Made of wood or brass, a quadrant measures at 90 degree angles how high the sun or North Star is above the horizon in order to determine latitude.
#maritimehistory #AgeOfSail #history
Quadrant
November 12, 2025 at 4:55 PM
thoscochrane.bsky.social
#LordCochrane #NavalHistory #AgeOfSail #ChileanIndependence
🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 ⚓️ 🇨🇱
November 11, 2025 at 2:45 PM
thoscochrane.bsky.social
OTD (9 November) in 1846 the Earl of Dundonald, better known as Lord Cochrane was promoted to Vice Admiral of the White
#LordCochrane #NavalHistory #RoyalNavy #AgeOfSail #EarlOfDundonald
November 9, 2025 at 7:35 AM
goldenageofpiracy.bsky.social
A pelorus looks similar to a compass, but it doesn’t actually show directions. It is a simple, effective tool which is used to determine the bearing of a landmark or celestial body relative to the ship’s heading.
#maritimehistory #AgeOfSail #history
pelorus
November 8, 2025 at 10:33 AM
thoscochrane.bsky.social
Monument honouring Lord Cochrane, Valdivia, Chile
#LordCochrane #NavalHistory #AgeOfSail #ChileanIndependence #EarlOfDundonald
#Chile
November 8, 2025 at 10:07 AM
thoscochrane.bsky.social
x.com/petermoore/s...
A new biography about Thomas Cochrane....coming soon!

#LordCochrane #NavalHistory #RoyalNavy #AgeOfSail #EarlOfDundonald #ChileanIndependence #histbookchat #books
Peter Moore on X: "It's back to sea for me. Thomas Cochrane really did live the most astonishing of lives on a vast, global stage. Still a colossal figure in South America, everyone seems to have forgotten his story here in the UK. It's time, I think, to tell it again." / X
It's back to sea for me. Thomas Cochrane really did live the most astonishing of lives on a vast, global stage. Still a colossal figure in South America, everyone seems to have forgotten his story here in the UK. It's time, I think, to tell it again.
x.com
November 6, 2025 at 10:40 AM
thoscochrane.bsky.social
"Lord Cochrane is such a miracle of nautical skill and courage; his cause of banishment from his country is so lamentable - his adventures have been so romantic - and his achievements so splendid, that no Englishman can read them...
#LordCochrane #NavalHistory #RoyalNavy #AgeOfSail #EarlOfDundonald
November 6, 2025 at 10:12 AM
goldenageofpiracy.bsky.social
The octant was developed in the early 18th century and was a precursor to the sextant. It measured angles up to 45 degrees, making it ideal for determining the altitude of celestial bodies.
#maritimehistory #AgeOfSail #history
Octant
November 4, 2025 at 2:45 PM
philipkallan.bsky.social
Savannah by British Marine artist John Stobart.

Stobart is best known for his 19th century harbour scenes, many of American ports at night.

#MaritimeArt #Tallships #Ageofsail
November 4, 2025 at 10:48 AM
thoscochrane.bsky.social
One of my most prized possessions: A first edition of Cochrane's OBSERVATIONS ON NAVAL AFFAIRS which belonged to his youngest son Ernest who entered the navy the same year the book was published.
#LordCochrane #NavalHistory #RoyalNavy #AgeOfSail #histbookchat
#books #EarlOfDundonald
November 1, 2025 at 8:24 PM
goldenageofpiracy.bsky.social
The nocturnal used a set of dials with pointers showing months, hours, and the location of stars, and is important when calculating tides. It is thought to have been first developed in the 12th century.
#maritimehistory #AgeOfSail #history
Nocturnal
October 31, 2025 at 4:24 PM
thoscochrane.bsky.social
My 1861 edition of Cochrane's THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF A SEAMAN including charts of Basque Roads.
#LordCochrane #NavalHistory #RoyalNavy #AgeOfSail #EarlOfDundonald #histbookchat
#books
October 30, 2025 at 4:23 PM
goldenageofpiracy.bsky.social
A risky business.
#maritimehistory #AgeOfSail #history
To take a risky course of action with no margin for error, which could come close to breaking the law or leading to a calamity. In the Age of Sail, it meant to steer the vessel into the direction the wind was blowing from. Doing this would fill the sails and move the vessel along at a faster pace. However, any small error in adjustment would cause the ship change direction and promptly lose speed, it not being possible to sail directly into the wind. Also known as sailing close hauled. The expression was first recorded in A Sea Grammar, a training manual for sailors written by Captain John Smith in 1627, in which he explains the techniques of sailing close to the wind, describing it as sailing against the wind or maintaining one's course without falling leeward or backward.
October 30, 2025 at 12:08 PM
thoscochrane.bsky.social
"He was an ideal officer, and was so beloved by the men that his name on the lower deck was 'Dad'. He would not allow flogging, greatly to the disgust of some of the other officers, who considered that leniency was bad....
#LordCochrane #EarlOfDundonald #RoyalNavy #AgeOfSail #NavalHistory
October 29, 2025 at 2:50 PM
thoscochrane.bsky.social
My first edition copy of 'The Autobiography of a Seaman with a Sequel' written by Cochrane's grandson Douglas, 12th Earl of Dundonald
#LordCochrane #EarlOfDundonald #NavalHistory #RoyalNavy #AgeOfSail #historybook #books
October 28, 2025 at 3:40 PM
thoscochrane.bsky.social
#LordCochrane #NavalHistory #AgeOfSail #ChileanIndependence
#SouthAmerica
October 27, 2025 at 5:51 PM
goldenageofpiracy.bsky.social
Cross staff - Also known as a Jacob’s staff, fore-staff, or ballastella, this device was the more basic predecessor of the backstaff used to determine latitude.
#maritimehistory #AgeOfSail #history
October 27, 2025 at 4:14 PM
daveshootsbooks.bsky.social
This #scarce 2017 #book tells about one of the more than 500 #ships built in #StMartins, #NewBrunswick. The #author is a descendant of the #shipbuilder. $20. #Booksky #signed #giftworthy #PrinceVictor #LocalHistory #SocialHistory #AgeofSail #maritime
October 27, 2025 at 1:57 PM
thoscochrane.bsky.social
A small monument honouring Lord Cochrane for his service as first admiral of the National and Imperial Navy of Brazil.
Location:
Rua Almirante Cochrane, Tijuca, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

#LordCochrane #NavalHistory #AgeOfSail #SouthAmerica #AlmiranteCochrane
#EarlOfDundonald
October 25, 2025 at 8:26 AM
dockyardtalk.bsky.social
Amazing day today — and even managed to add a few autographs to my collection of naval literature! ⚓️📚

Also came away with a new direction to explore French naval signals! 🇫🇷📖

#NavalHistory #Signals #AgeOfSail
October 24, 2025 at 5:52 PM
thoscochrane.bsky.social
Culross Abbey House as it looked when Lord Cochrane spent his boyhood there. It had to be sold to pay his father's debts shortly after Cochrane, at the age of seventeen, joined the Royal Navy.
#LordCochrane
#EarlOfDundonald
#Culross
#Fife
#NavalHistory #AgeOfSail #RoyalNavy
October 24, 2025 at 3:27 PM
thoscochrane.bsky.social
I have been absent for a while due to moving to the north of Germany, but now my cabin is restored to its beauty and I will resume posting again.

#LordCochrane
#EarlOfDundonald
#NapoleonicWars
#AgeOfSail
October 24, 2025 at 2:09 PM
goldenageofpiracy.bsky.social
The chronometer was an accurate timepiece which was used to establish longitude and/or give an exact measurement of the passage of time. From 1735 onwards, John Harrison’s groundbreaking invention allowed sailors to calculate longitude accurately.
#maritimehistory #AgeOfSail #history #c18th
Chronometer in a wooden box.
October 23, 2025 at 11:13 AM