The Wheel

Who is steering the ship? Not the captain: he is busy with more important work. Not the sailing master, though he chooses the ship’s course. Nor the Lieutenant, though he gives orders to the men holding the wheel. No, steering is a job shared by Constitution‘s 150 able seamen. Every “able” man can “hand, reef and steer” handle the sails, and guide the ship in the right direction. It isn’t easy by day, and is harder still at night.