Until the advent of the sloop, pinnaces were the primary small craft of the
Caribbean. Like a sloop, a pinnace is very fast, very maneuverable, and with a
draft that permits sailing in shoal waters. Sailing upwind (close-hauled) it is
even faster than a sloop, and much faster when rowing into the wind.
However, a pinnace is also much smaller than a sloop, with minuscule
capacity for cargo and guns. Still, many a pirate raid was conducted in tiny
pinnaces crammed with fighting men. Drake himself abandoned his merchantmen in
favor of pinnaces when raiding on the Spanish Main.
