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Updated: June 3, 2025
The creaking and groaning of her timbers and bulkheads raised such a din that a novice would have been quite justified in fearing that the little hooker was rapidly straining herself to pieces, while more than one crash of crockery below, faintly heard through the other multitudinous sounds, told us that the wild antics of the barkie were making a very pretty general average among our domestic utensils.
She was very loftily and solidly rigged, and it did not take me long to ascertain that she had been most liberally maintained, much of her rigging, both standing and running, being new, while her ground tackle was ponderous enough to hold a ship of double her size. "Not much chance," thought I, "of this old barkie dragging her anchors home and driving ashore in anything short of a hurricane!"
Then, turning to the men, he continued "Now then, some of you, whip the tarpaulin off this after hatchway, and lift off the hatches. Mr Ritson, will you be good enough to rouse out a couple of fourfold tackles and get them made fast aloft? We shall require a chain strop also. That's right, lads; off with those hatches; we'll soon have the old barkie in fighting trim."
I hauled in the weather fore-sheet until it was just in the wake of the mast, and our little barkie was then left to take care of herself whilst we got the trysail bent and set. This done, we filled away again upon our course, with reduced speed, it is true, but very comfortably indeed.
"About ship! about ship! down with the helm!" he shrieked out in a voice of terrific loudness. "All right no fear, cap'en," cried the old mate, staggering up to him. "I've taken very good care of the barkie." At that instant a loud, grating, crushing sound was heard, and the brig seemed to be about to spring over some obstacle in her way. Then she stopped.
By the time that they had got the first boat up, and the second one out of the water, we were far enough to windward to render it necessary to tack in order to avoid putting the old barkie ashore on the northern beach.
We knew that every vessel with sharp lines must necessarily be wet, unless the weights she would have to carry were all concentrated about her midship section, or broadest part, so we decided that as far as was practicable such should be the arrangement with us; and we knew that, if we could succeed in this, our barkie might be as sharp as we could make her, and still be dry and comfortable.
That wouldn't do, so you had 'em stowed again; and stowed they will be for the rest of the watch, as far as I'm concarned. The night's fine, and the breeze as steady as a breeze can be, and the old barkie 'd carry r'yals and skys'ls too for the matter o' that, but if they was set we should have to stow 'em again five minutes a'terwards; so let 'em be, say I."
I sees nothing ahead, or anywheres else for that matter, on either bow but surf; and mind ye, lad, if we but touches once, the little barkie 'll be knocked into match-wood. We may still claw off if there's any doubt." "Port, hard!" answered I, too intent on the channel to enter into any explanation just then. "Steady!" "Steady!" responded Bob.
Poor old barkie! what a desolate and forlorn object she looked as we pulled away from her, with little more than her bulwarks showing above water, with the seas making a clean breach over her bows continually, as she rolled and plunged with sickening sluggishness to the great ridges of steel-grey water that incessantly swooped down upon her and into which her bows, pinned down by the weight of water within her hull, occasionally bored, as though, tired of the hopeless struggle for existence, she had at length summoned resolution to take the final plunge and so end it all.
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