All masts need to be anchored to the ship. This is done physically where the mast meets the keel and also along the sides of the ship with heavy ropes. When you get to the bow there are fewer side attachment points, so we have the bowsprit jutting out of the front of the ship to help add attachment points for the foremast.

Since men are required to work on the bowsprit setting sails and stowing sails it is almost always angled upward from horizontal. There is also a safety net on each side of the bowsprit. This is one of the few places on a ship where there is a safety net around rigging. Some very large ships tilted the bowsprit at a higher angle and actually had sails hung from it. However this was not a very common practice.

Tradition dictates the very end of the bowsprit be painted white. Why this is, I could not find. The only change in this tradition being if a ship were to venture into Arctic or Antarctic water the tip is painted blue, hence Blue Nose. This tradition is carried on today on ships. The bull nose will be painted blue after returning from the same locations.

On today’s sailing vessels the bowsprit is mostly missing all together. The only exceptions are racing schooners and small dinghies. We will continue to move backward down the deck of our sailing ship as the week goes on.