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Updated: July 17, 2025
The foretopsail was next sheeted home and hoisted, and the head yards braced forward to help her round more quickly.
'Fire a gun at her! said the captain. Bang! The smoke cleared away, and the schooner's foretopsail, which she was in the act of clewing up, lay over her side. The shot had struck the foremast of the Enterprise, and cut it in two below the catharpings. The Enterprise was, for the time, completely disabled. 'Schooner ahoy! What schooner is that? 'His Majesty's schooner Enterprise.
There is to be no pressing when blue Peter flies at the fore and that was hoisted this afternoon, I know, and the foretopsail will be loose to morrow." "D n my wig, but the small chap is right," roared one. "I've a bloody great mind to go down with him," stuttered another, after several unavailing attempts to weigh from the bench, where he had brought himself to anchor.
Templemore appears to be aware of his error, I do not wish to press my complaint I have only to request that he will never laugh again. 'You hear, boy, what the first lieutenant says; it's very reasonable, and I beg I may hear no more complaints. Mr. Markitall, let me know when the foot of that foretopsail will be repaired I should like to shift it to-night. Mr.
But little occurred to destroy the usual monotony of a sea voyage. At long intervals "sail ho!" would be called out by the lookout on the foretopsail yard, and after a time our eyes would be greeted from the deck with the sight of another white-winged wanderer like ourself, steering for his distant port.
However, none of us could laugh now; we parted, jumped into our boat, and proceeded straight to the anchorage, where three British merchantmen were by this time riding all ready for sea. We got on board. "Mr Yerk," said the Captain, "fire a gun, and hoist blue Peter at the fore. Loose the foretopsail."
Scarcely had we recovered our senses before the foretopsail went into shreds, when we got up a storm staysail, and with this did pretty well for some hours, the ship heading the sea much more steadily than before. The gale still held on, however, and we saw no signs of its abating.
The gale was white with snow, and dark with the blinding fall of it too, when I came on deck at noon. I was in the chief mate's, or port watch, as it is called. The ship was running under a double-reefed topsail in those days we carried single sails, reefed foresail, close-reefed foretopsail, and maintopmast staysail.
But men were aloft, close-reefing, and preparing to furl the foretopsail, when a heavy sea struck the ship, and a sudden squall laid her over on her beam-ends almost. The sudden jerk carried away the topmast backstays. There was no rolling tackle on the topsailyard, which jerked violently as the ship fell over, and the mast snapped just above the parrell.
In taking in the foretopsail, Simms, one of the common hands, and belonging also to the cook's gang, fell overboard, being very much in liquor, and was drowned no attempt being made to save him.
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