Remember that Hugill was sailing on the really big square riggers, not the little buggers like the vessels at Mystic. We used a walkaway (aka stamp and go) at the braces when I was sailing on the Norwegian ship Sorlandet, not a huge ship, but much bigger than any of the ships that sail in the U.S. (with the exception of the Eagle and the Star of India). Walkaways at the braces were not just for "taking slack out." When you're tacking or wearing a big square rigger (over 200 feet) you really need to haul those braces cheerily. Swinging those yards around from one tack to another requires a lot of line, so the braces are really long. The coordination required for tacking or wearing a ship that size requires a lot of coordination and speed, and the stamp and go technique is really efficient for that sort of operation. Of course, on Sorlandet the chanteying during maneuvers was kept at a minimum, because the crew of greenhands needed to be able to hear the mates instructions. But we did use chanteys at the capstan, the halyards, and bunting chanteys aloft.
Rev