United States or Lebanon ? Vote for the TOP Country of the Week !
The night was so tempestuous that it was impossible for any signal either to be seen or heard; and Nelson determined, as soon as it should be daybreak, to wear, and scud before the gale; but at half-past three the fore-mast went in three pieces, and the bowsprit was found to be sprung in three places. When day broke they succeeded in wearing the ship with a remnant of the spritsail.
In after years I remember well a wager which I lost at Honolulu to remain under water as long as a famous Kanacka diver: I rose just four seconds before him. When I was thirteen I could cast a line, manage a spritsail, pull an oar or handle a tiller as well as any boy on the north coast of England.
Then as we pressed on under the bowsprit, I looked up at the bob-stay and the rigging about that spritsail where I had climbed; and we began to go back on the other side, to find the hull intact, and no sign of damage, but here the side was decidedly warm. Then on to the stern and under the first window, where a rope was still hanging out. "Will you go first, Dale, or shall I?" said Mr Brymer.
I dare say I sat on the shore for an hour, staring at the boat before I made up my mind to risk it. There was a plenty of sharks, too. When I reached the boat and climbed aboard of her, I took a look around and saw their fins playing about in the shallows, being drawn off there by the dead bodies the gunpowder had blown into the water. The boat had a mast and spritsail.
A man on the spritsail yard with the lead, another on the cat-head with a handful of the line coiled up, another in the fore chains, another in the waist, and another in the main chains, each with a quantity of the line coiled away in his hand. ``All ready there, forward? ``Aye, aye, sir! ``He-e-ave! ``Watch! ho! watch! sings out the man on the spritsail yard, and the heavy lead drops into the water. ``Watch! ho! watch! bawls the man on the cat-head, as the last fake of the coil drops from his hand, and ``Watch! ho! watch! is shouted by each one as the line falls from his hold, until it comes to the mate, who tends the lead, and has the line in coils on the quarter-deck.
Commander Berry, a very young man, who had lately been first lieutenant of the "Captain," leaped actively into the mizzen chains, the first on board the enemy; he was quickly supported by others, who passed over by the spritsail yard. The captain of the ship was in the act of following, at the head of his men, when Nelson stopped him.
"I can take three," I answered. "Make it four," he suggested, "and I'll take Bill with me." The exchange was made, and the salmon boat got up its spritsail and headed down the bay toward the marshes off San Rafael. I ran up the jib and followed with the Reindeer.
There were several of his comrades standing on the forecastle looking at him, and he asked one of them to go out on the spritsail yard, and look round to see if there were any sharks in the neighbourhood; but all around was deep, clear, green water.
"But I see the heap of seaweed that the cunning dogs have raked over her. Downhaul; heave away at this weed, and show these gentlemen what is below it." The Coxswain began throwing away a pile of seatang heaped against a rock. Bit by bit was disclosed the clean run of a beautiful white whale-boat, which when turned over discovered her oars laid neatly side by side, with a small spritsail.
The 16th we had a great storm at W.S.W. by W. which came on about 6 P.M. and our men being very weak and unable to hand our sails, we that night lost our mainsail, foresail, and spritsail, and were obliged to lie hulling till the 18th, when we got up an old foresail; and finding ourselves now in the Channel, we bore up for the coast of England.
Word Of The Day