Like, how did they get out of port? Just wait for the wind to change? Or did they hook up smaller boats that were rowed? I'm just trying to imagine such large ships pushing off, and it confounds me how they would do it.
Most of the time tall ships aren't docked, they're moored in a more accessible area and then when they push off, it's mostly a question of letting the wind and the tides do the work.
However, if that's not good enough, there is also a particular anchor called a kedging anchor which is taken out by longboat in the direction the ship wishes to go and dropped as far as they can get it away from the ship, and then the ship is warped, or pulled, over to it by hand. Rinse lather repeat until the ship is where you want her. It's a similar process if the ship does actually have to be docked - a rope is wound around something solid onshore on one end and the ship's capstan (a large drum that can be turned by hand) on the other, and the ship is warped in and out.
I had to actually do this as a trainee sailor. If you would like to learn more about it without having to pull a ship by hand, however, you can do so here.
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