"A schooner is a type of sailing vessel characterized by the use of fore-and-aft sails on two or more masts with the forward mast being shorter or the same height as the rear masts. Schooners were first used by the Dutch in the 16th or 17th century, and further developed in North America from the early 18th century onwards. During the 16th to 18 centuries, the golden age of piracy, the schooner was a popular craft for pirates, as it could carry up to eight or more cannons. It was sleek and fast despite the fact it weighed around 100 tons. It had a crew of about 75."
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Schooner
