Bowline loop may pass around or through an object during the making of the knot. The knot tightens when loaded at (pulled by) the standing part of the line. The bowline is commonly used in sailing small craft, for example to fasten a halyard to the head of a sail or to tie a jib sheet to a clew of a jib. The bowline is well known as a rescue knot for such purposes as rescuing people who might have fallen down a hole, or off a cliff onto a ledge. This knot is particularly useful in such a situation because
USS Tom Bowline (1814) The crew arrived at Bahia on 26 April. The war had already ended at the time of the encounter, but none of the vessels had received the news. Records giving details of "Tom Bowline's" subsequent service have not been found, but the vessel was apparently sold in 1818. USS Tom Bowline (1814) USS "Tom Bowline" was a schooner that the United States Navy used as a storeship during the War of 1812. The Navy sold her c.1818. The Navy purchased "Tom Bowline" in late 1814 at Portsmouth, New Hampshire, for use as a storeship, and put Lieutenant B. V. Hoffman