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Updated: June 15, 2025
Lying-to is putting the sloop's head to the wind, and placing the helm in such a position that it tends to turn the vessel in one direction, while the gale acting on the fore-sail tends to force it in another, and thus it remains stationary between the two opposing forces. Many vessels thus lie-to, and ride out the severest storm.
But the tide ebbing, cast the Parki's head seaward toward the outlet; and the savages, perceiving this, clumsily boarded the fore-tack, and hauled aft the sheet; thus setting, after a fashion, the fore-sail, previously loosed to dry. Meanwhile, a gray-headed old chief stood calmly at the tiller, endeavoring to steer the vessel shoreward.
Just then a sort of brightness fell upon me in the barrel, and looking up, I found the moon had risen and was silvering the mizzen-top and shining white on the luff of the fore-sail; and almost at the same time the voice of the lookout shouted, "Land ho!" Council of War THERE was a great rush of feet across the deck.
Still the former moved with the greatest velocity, carrying the most sail, and impelled by the greater momentum. When near enough, however, Sir Gervaise gave the order to reduce the canvass of his own ship. "That will do, Greenly," he said, in a mild, quiet tone. "Let run the top-gallant-halyards, and haul up the fore-sail. The way you have, will bring you fairly alongside."
We set the fore-sail, which immediately split; the mainsail, met with the same fate; the gaskets of the topsails gave way, and the sails split. At half past eight we found we had sprung a leak, owing to the ship's labouring so much; in the course of ten minutes we sounded, and found three feet water in the hold.
He did not wait for any further talk, but hoisted his fore-sail and put his helm up for Curaçoa, knowing that the other pinnace would not refuse to follow him. With "sorrowful hearts in respect of the weak pinnace, yet desirous to follow their captain," the weary crew stood after him on the same course.
The gale increased, and old Joe deemed it necessary to take down the last reef and lower the fore-sail, keeping only the small storm-jib set. The operation took some time, and while Stephen was assisting in shifting the jibs, a sea struck the bows, and carried him off his legs. Providentially he clung to the forestay, or he would have, the next instant, been overboard; but he saved himself.
I was afraid at one moment, that the Englishman intended to remain as he was, all night; but, about an hour before sunset, I had the gratification to see him set his fore-sail, and keep off. I had wore round, two hours before, to get the Dawn's head on the same tack with him, and followed under bare poles.
At day-light on the morning of the 21st, the fore, main, and mizzen stay-sails were all split by the violence of the wind; by this accident we were reduced to the reefed fore-sail and balanced mizzen; and for some time we were under the necessity of handing the fore-sail, the gale still continuing to increase rather than abate; and inclining to the eastward of south, was in our situation at this time particularly unfortunate: for we were now so far advanced to the eastward as to hope that in a few hours we should have been able to have made a fair wind of it, if it had continued to the southward.
"She'll bear the fore-sail on her, Mr Timmins, if we close reef it," said Bowse; "send some hands up and loose it, and hook on reef-burtons ready for reefing."
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