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Updated: July 17, 2025
Hands were sent aloft to furl the foretopsail; and he then directed that the boats on the starboard side should be brought over, so as to be launched into the smoother water under our lee where, on sounding, we found that there was sufficient depth to float them without risk of their striking the coral below.
The foretopsail was alone set; to have lowered that would have caused the vessel to be pooped, and so more speedily to have sealed her fate. On she flew to destruction. The dreaded crash came. She quivered from stem to stern. Both the masts went by the board, carrying several of the seamen with them, as well as the young commander.
The vessel was thus, by the consummation of these orders, quickly reduced to her mainsail, foresail, and foretopsail, while she flew before the on-coming gale at the rate of seventeen or eighteen knots an hour, being actually much faster than the sea.
"Oui, oui; je comprende," answered one of the few white men on board probably the master and, the schooner's helm being put down, she came up head to wind, with her foretopsail to the mast. The corvette, which had by this time shot a little way ahead, also hove-to, and the commander directed Rayner, with a boat's crew, to go on board the prize and take possession.
So, fearing that we might get pooped, we now furled the foretopsail and lay-to under our close-reefed maintopsail and storm staysails; thus awaiting what might further be in store for us, although it did not then seem possible that anything could be worse!
When "all hands" were called to get the Stirling under way, Cooper, with another boy, was sent aloft to loose the foretopsail. With eager will he tugged stoutly at "the robbins," when the second mate appeared just in time to prevent him from dropping his part of the sail into the top.
"She's hull down on the weather bow!" "Where away, my man?" shouted Commander Nesbitt, who, at the same moment, came up on the poop and was scanning the horizon on his own account. "How does she bear, eh?" "Two points off the weather bow, sir," replied the lookout from the foretopsail yard.
All seemed going on well for a short time after this; and he and Uncle Jack thought they had weathered the worst of it, when the foresheet parted and the clew of the foresail, going through the lower foretopsail, split it in ribbons.
The mizzen-topsail, which was a comparatively new sail and close reefed, split from head to foot in the bunt; the foretopsail went in one rent from clew to earing, and was blowing to tatters; one of the chain bobstays parted; the spritsailyard sprung in the slings, the martingale had slued away off to leeward; and owing to the long dry weather the lee rigging hung in large bights at every lurch.
At 6 the Gale increased to such a height as to oblige us to take in the Foretopsail and Mainsail, and to run under the Foresail and Mizen all night; Sounding every 2 hours, but found no ground with 120 fathoms. At 6 a.m. set the Mainsail, and soon after the Foretopsail, and before Noon the Maintopsail, both close reeft.
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