Sailing ships in port....

I know part of the answer is tide. A sailing ship is supposed to depart with the ebbing tide. As far as all the turning and manuevering, etc. someone else here will have that part of the answer.

 HI --- Most of the larger ports had large 6-12 man  cutters to shift a ship when it was getting ready to depart . If it was leaving on evening tide they would shift it about 1 or two in the afternoon so it could slip lines ,use the sail on the sprit and maybe a fore and aft trysail to move away from the dock . My first sailing craft ,from way back in the fifties (late ) was a burmuda yawl and although smaller than what you refer to , I would use the foresail to maneuver away from the mole or pier .The work back then was labor intensive and neverending . Although I started in sail , I would not have wanted to live around the sea or any sea related activities  back then .My family were all fishermen and ,yes one uncle still fished with a grand banks type fishing vessel until he could no longer find good sail related shipworkers . No yard that catered to sailing yaghts wanted to have a dirty smelly fishing boat in their yard .     tankerbuilder

Sailing off the harbor wall or a dock as Tankerbuilder describes is indeed a good way to go if the wind allows.   However, that doesn't work if you are in a crowded harbor, or rafted up to other ships (especially if yours is on the 'inside' of the raft)!  If you go to an old seaport that hasn't been updated in the last 100 years or so, you will notice large capstans and bollards located along the docks and harbor walls.  Ships would be pulled out of harbor, or turned around via these capstans manned by stevedores/longshoremen using long ropes known as 'warps,' and thus ships leaving port were 'warped out of harbor' to a point where they could set their sails to advantage and then leave under their own power.  Lines would also be tossed to other ships still moored to assist in pulling the ship around in a particular direction, or to thread through the other moored ships until reaching the main channel out.  In undeveloped harbors and anchorages, ships could either be 'kedged out'' (which means rowing an anchor and anchor line out with one of the longboats or cutters, dropping it, and then using the windlass/capstan aboard to crank the ship around and out.  And of course, if there was little wind available to interfere, the ship could be towed out with much effort by the oarsmen and longboats themselves..... Hope this answers your question!

Thanks for the all replies. This does answer my questions. I had never thought that the tide played a part in this, now I see how it helps. We sure do take for granted all the hard work involved in getting shipps out to sea back in the day.  Powered ships make it look all to easy.  Thanks again!

If you watch any of the sailing (Adventure, Pyrate) movies they ususally say "We sail with the tide".

E... 

If you watch the old Gregory Peck movie 'Moby Dick,' you will see the 'Pequod' being warped out of harbor from the quay wall and out of the harbor.....

Warping a ship up against a pier, dock, quayside, what have you is also why you will see a lot of the yards struck down, and jib booms hauled back over the bowsprit.

Now, this allowed for work to be performed on those vital pieces of equipment, as wrll as allowing for more ships in crowded spaces.

For some harbors and some ships, they did not dock at all.  Instead, they anchored in the anchorage, and lighters came along side to tranship the cargo.  Lighters had very simple sailing rigs, mostly to allow for more stowage.  Some were specialized, too, hauling water, or livestock. or chandlery items.  Very real advantage in using lighters is that you can unload from both sides of the ship.  Or you can load from one side and resupply from the other.

Yup, in those circumstances, lighters (or even 'bumboats!') would certainly be of advantage.  It all depends on the harbor involved, the cargo carried, the cargo to be picked up, what other ships were in the harbor, etc.