Newcomers have to learn the names of the 91 different sheets, halyards, clews, bunts, downhauls, and braces. There's 26 miles of rope on board, made of manila on a 140 year old ropewalk in Western Australia. The 16 sails are made of duradon, a synthetic material that has qualities very similar to the original canvas, but harder wearing. The oak and elm of the original ship are unavailable in Australia, so jarrah and oregan are used instead. Sailing the ship is still very much an eighteenth practise.
Manual labour is the original and current practise.
It can takes up to ten people to set a sail, and another ten to stow the larger sails against the horizontal yard arms. An ability to work 40 meters aloft in all weather, and in the dark, is essential. The only labour saving devices aboard are, as in the original, over 700 hand made wooden pulley blocks. The main complaint from the crew is when the Captain switches on the engine. Unfortunately, eighteenth century sailing doesn't match twentieth century schedules, and there's always people waiting for the ship to arrive.