A great story and excellent photos, very atmospheric and capturing the event beautifully.
Did the Black Pearl capsize maybe because the lines of the rigging were too tight? I once sailed a red corsair and had the lines too tight so that when the wind blew she just capsized straight away. With them slack, so the sails could fill up with the wind and disperse its power, the problem was greatly reduced.
Well, there are a few reasons she capsized, lol. Being that she never capsized once I lightened her load by removing the gundeck, the cannons, the remaining cargo, AND the crew (save for the captain at the helm), one main reason is that on a full load, she has too deep a draft, causing the gunports to come very close to the waterline. She'll float, no doubt, but any trifle broadside wave that splashes in will cause her to take on water at the gun ports and then sink.
The other reason, somewhat related to what you suggest, is that any side winds will blow against the staysails (including the jibs) and cause the ship to list, again, submerging the opposite side's gunports that were already precariously close to the waterline due to the deep draft caused by the extreme load.
FYI, my crew and compliment (including additions to the ship that are not stock) include:
14 cannons
13 crew members (some in the ratlines and tops)
1 treasure chest
1 crate
3 chickens
1 sack of grain
3 barrells of rum(?)
1 loading pallate
1 added mizzen mast/yards, sails, ratlines
1 added forecastle
12 sails (versus 4 stock sails)
3 high profile lanterns at the stern
2 HUGE anchors at the bow
1 extra ballast from a 3070 ship, to counter top-end weight
Suprisingly, she CAN float in still waters with this on board, as long as water does not get in at the gunports. And she won't list in still waters as long as the ship is stocked evenly.
My square sails are not very taught, actually. The top gallant sails are designed so that even if the clews are pulled tightly, the middle of the sail is still rather "loose" and can still billow in the wind and catch it from multiple angles. I have the top sails and main sails both rigged by the sheets which dangle, so to speak, so they are far from taught. The only sails that are taught are the staysails, which DO contribute to the ship listing when encountering crosswinds. I suppose I COULD give them slack so they aren't so stiff, but it still doesn't take much to make the boat list.
The main problem is that the ship is really "missing" a true bottom and keel, since the Playmobil ships are designed to look like a real ship ABOVE the waterline; it's missing the entire part of the ship BELOW the waterline, causing to have too deep a draft, making the waterline too high and too close to ports and even the main deck.
SOLUTION: The ship needs its missing lower hull, AND a keel (which would help negate roll).
I'm working on that.
In the meantime, simply emptying the ship of all crew and cargo does nicely, as the empty ship actually floats much higher and is actually VERY shallow on the draft (only about 2 centimetres or so deep). I wish she'd sail like that on a full load.
