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At noon, our latitude was 15° 26' S. During all the rest of this day, and the whole night, it blew too fresh for us to venture from our anchor and run into the harbour; and for our farther security, we got down the top-gallant yards, unbent the main-sail and some of the small sails; got down the fore-top-gallant-mast, and the jibb-boom, and sprit-sail, with a view to lighten the ship forwards as much as possible, in order to come at her leak, which we supposed to be somewhere in that part; for in all the joy of our unexpected deliverance, we had not forgot that at this time there was nothing but a lock of wool between us and destruction.
It was a soft July night with a brisk offshore breeze and the moon had come up out of the sea to silver the highway and lay a strip of milk-white carpet over the waves. "Ahoy there, Lank!" shouted the bridegroom. "Can't we do better'n this? Ain't hardly got steerage-way on her." "Can't budge him, Cap'n. Hadn't we better shake-out the sprit-sail; wind's fair abeam." "Yes, shake it out, Lank." Mrs.
The pirates ashore on the island and on board the junks were all too busy to notice us, and indeed their eyes must have been wonderfully acute to have done so through the darkness that enveloped sky and sea alike, swallowing our little barque up in its folds; so, when we got well outside the reef and beyond the line of breakers Ching Wang put up a small sprit-sail, which he had been thoughtful enough to take out of the long-boat when he had secured the sampan, rigging it on top of one of his oars, and stepping it forward like a lug.
At this moment the Achille bore down on the Brunswick’s quarter, but was received by a tremendous broadside, which brought down her remaining mast, a foremast. The wreck prevented the Achille from firing, and she surrendered; but as the Brunswick was too busy to attend to her, she hoisted a sprit-sail—a sail put up under the bowsprit—and endeavoured to make off.
The part next the anchor secured by cordage wrapped round it. Ship of the line. See Line. Shrouds. The stout ropes that are stretched from a masthead of a vessel to the sides or to the rims of a top, serving as a means of ascent and as a lateral strengthening stays to the masts. Sling. A rope or chain by which a lower yard is suspended. Sprit-sail. Sprit-sail yard. Another name for the sprit.
He then mann'd his Bowsprit, brought his Sprit-sail Yard fore and aft, and resolved to board the other, which the Dutch perceiving, and terrified with the unhappy Fate of their Comrade, thought a farther Resistance vain, and immediately struck. Misson gave them good Quarters, though he was enraged at the Loss of 13 Men killed outright, beside 9 wounded, of which 6 died.
She had a high sprit-sail made of handkerchiefs and pieces of gunny-cloth or jute, forming irregular stripes, I am told these Indians commonly have pieces of squared timber, not unlike a three-inch plank, high and broad, perforated to shoot arrows through; this is fixed on the bow of the war canoe to serve as bulwarks in battle."
Webber, who had gone to Paris at the peace, had written but one letter; while, from the rest, a few straggling lines were all I received. In truth be it told, my own negligence and inability to reply cost me this apparent neglect. It was a fine evening in May, when, rigging up a sprit-sail, I jumped into my yawl, and dropped easily down the river.
"That's what I call real ship-shape," declared Captain Bean, viewing the result. "Got any more notions, Lank?" "Strikes me we ought to ship a mast so's we could rig a sprit-sail in case the old horse should give out, Cap'n." "We'll do it, Lank; fust rate idee!" So a mast and sprit-sail were rigged in the dory.
As my own situation, and that of every other person was very uncomfortable, owing to the tents being close to the sea shore, on which a heavy surf continually beats: I set the people to work on the 17th, to clear a piece of ground to the right of the garden, and a little above it; here I intended to move the tents, or to build houses; and having two sawyers and a carpenter, I set them to work in digging a sawpit, in order to saw pine for building a store-house for the provisions and stores, they at present being lodged in my tent, which was made of the Sirius's sprit-sail.