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To this end, one night while Tummels was sleeping, he unmoored the Fly tender a twenty-foot open boat carrying two sprit-sails, owned by him and Dan'l in common, and used for all manner of odd jobs worked her down to Old Lizard Head single-handed, and crept up to the sunk crop of brandy.
On its abatement they again spread their foresails; and falling calm towards night, the ships astern spread out all their sprit-sails to overtake the rest. On Sunday the 24th the wind again increased, and all the sails were furled. Between ten and eleven o'clock of that day a water-spout was seen in the north-west, and the wind lulled.
The positions of these yards and the form of the sails may be more easily understood by a glance at our woodcut than by reading many pages of description. Sprit-sails are sometimes used in boats. These are fore-and-aft sails, which are kept distended by a sprit instead of a yard.
Upon the clearing up of the smoke, eight or ten French ships were seen, some totally dismasted and others with only one mast standing, endeavouring to make off under their sprit-sails. Seven of these were taken possession of; one, Le Vengeur, sank before the whole of her crew could be taken out, not more than 280 being saved.
W. F. Gooding, our Goderich store-keeper, who was one of the party, which consisted of nine persons, including myself. All things being in readiness, Mr. Fullarton was dubbed Captain for the occasion. At an early hour one fine sunny morning in June, we stood out of the harbour with a light breeze, having rigged up two blankets as sprit-sails.
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