The Carracks: Floating Castles of the High Seas

Picture this: the horizon bristles with the tattered sails of a rebuilt shipwreck. At its fore drifts a massive, square-rig. This ship is oak-planked, creaking in the swell, and laden with treasure. These were carracks — the giants of the sea in the 15th and early 16th centuries. Whether you’re imagining the haunting silhouette of the Pirate Queens’  Big Bertha, or the obsidian hull of a Portuguese India Armadas vessel, carracks deserve their place in maritime legend.

The carrack was a large, multi-masted ocean-going sailing ship developed in southern Europe — especially Spain and Portugal — during the late 1400s and dominant through much of the 1500s. These ships were far bigger than earlier vessels like the caravel, with three or sometimes four masts carrying a mix of square and lateen sails for trans-ocean travel. Their high forecastles and sterncastles made them look like floating fortresses.

So why all this history? When writing about pirates in worlds similar to our own, it’s easier to suspend our disbelief of a fantasy that’s partially grounded in reality. And because some people who read pirate books are fans of real pirates and sailing. They’re the ones I’ll probably get into trouble with when I accidentally place a galley where the head (that’s sailor speak for a bathroom) should be!

Eventually (and I’m not telling you when) Laura and crew go 'head-to-head' (nonsensical pun intended) with the pirates in Lost Port, it helps us feel a little savvy when we know what kind of ship she’s in, why her crew chose a carrack, and what its strengths and weaknesses are (so we feel in-the-know) when Laura and co. figure out ways to circumvent the vessel’s weaknesses while pressing in on the strengths of showing up in a massive, 200-year-old wreck that they’d salvaged off a deadly, treasure laden island.

Below are some facts that I’m guessing you either don’t care enough to read, or are a pirate enthusiast and already know. Regardless, I double sea-dog dare you to read the boring facts. And ye-be-warned: facts without a story to pull it through, can sometimes be more tedious than scraping barnacles off the hull of an old ship—with your fingernails.

Why Carracks Carried Treasure (and Pirates Loved Them)

Carracks were primarily merchant ships — the backbone of early trans-Atlantic and Indian Ocean commerce. With huge cargo holds, they transported everything from silver and gold bullion to spices, silk, gems, and exotic goods from distant ports. Their size and storage capacity made them ideal for treasure fleets.

Massive cargo space: Carracks were among the first truly ocean-going merchant vessels with deep holds capable of carrying tons of treasure—and they drew pirate attention like a beacon.

Heavily built and armed for their time: Although not purpose-built warships, later carracks were fitted with guns and cannons mounted low in the hull, giving them a fighting chance against attackers and defending valuable cargo.

Strategic targets for piracy: Pirates, privateers, and corsairs of the early modern era didn’t always pursue carracks—they often preferred smaller, faster vessels like sloops. But when a carrack slowed on approach to port or lagged behind a convoy, it became the ultimate score.

They may not have been the fastest pirate prey, but when a carrack slipped its anchor with gold strapped below decks — that was the moment legends — and blog posts — were made of.