In which pajh geeks out

[gominokouhai]

Today (by which of course I by now mean yesterday, due to Dreamwidth posting weirdness) is the 214th anniversary of the battle of Cap St. Vincent. Happy Battle of Cap St. Vincent Day, everybody!

It was at St Vincent, when 15 British sail of the line went up against 27 Spanish, that a youngish Commodore Nelson personally led the boarding party that captured the Spanish ship San Nicolas. From there he hopped over the rail onto the San Josef next to her, and captured that, too. After the battle they called it Nelson's patent bridge for boarding enemy vessels.

This is HMS Victory. She was the flagship at the Battle of Cap St Vincent, commanded by Admiral Sir John Jervis. He became Earl St Vincent after the battle.

When you see that bearing down on you with the guns run out, you know it's time to panic. This is one of the first things we learn as sailors.

This is the upper gun deck of HMS Victory. You're not allowed to take photos here, but I was. On this day 214 years ago, this picture would have looked a great deal messier than it does here.

There are two more such gun decks below. The guns get progressively bigger as you go down.

Eight years later, at the battle of Trafalgar, Admiral Sir John Jervis Earl of St Vincent was First Lord of the Admiralty. It was to him that the schooner HMS Pickle reported the news of the victory at Trafalgar and Nelson's death. By that time Nelson had himself been in command of Victory for two years. He got himself injured by a sniper because he insisted on poncing about on the quarterdeck in full dress uniform looking like a target, then lived just long enough to be told that he'd won the battle, and promptly expired. I swear he used to plan these things.

I'm told that today is also Crass Commercialization Of Basic Bodily Functions Day, but I prefer to talk about things that are actually important.