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Updated: May 17, 2025
As soon as the prize surrendered, parties were put on board to take possession, while the rest of the men were engaged in attending to their own and the Dutch wounded. The next day jury-masts were got up, and the Jason, with her prize in tow, sailed with the rest of the fleet for England. When they arrived at Sheerness the Jason was found to require a complete refit.
The vessel was thrown on her beam ends, and we all gave ourselves up for lost. Fortunately the masts went by the board, and the ship righted. But when the hurricane abated, we were in an awkward predicament; the spare spars had been washed overboard, and we had no means of rigging jury-masts and making sail.
Some spare spars still remained, with which, when the weather moderated, jury-masts could be rigged; but with the heavy sea now running, nothing could be done. The wind kept veering about, sometimes to the southward and west, at others getting back to the north-west. "Provided it does not shift to the northward, we shall have room to run on till it blows itself out," observed the master.
Seeing the enemy set sail at the same time as the combined squadrons, and keeping to windward of us at the distance of about a league, I endeavoured to follow exactly your manoeuvres, and made all the sail possible to follow you; but the ship I had the honour to command, being absolutely disabled, having only jury-masts and the lower sails, I could not make that way which I wished.
Life was what Captain Ahab and I was thinking of; and how to save all hands how to rig jury-masts how to get into the nearest port; that was what I was thinking of." Bildad said no more, but buttoning up his coat, stalked on deck, where we followed him. There he stood, very quietly overlooking some sailmakers who were mending a top-sail in the waist.
We at length received our rudder from the hands of the dockyard mateys. They had made a good job of it, and it answered admirably. Return under jury-masts to England—Arrive at Spithead—The admiral, the middy, and the dirk—Join H.M.S. Diamond as first lieutenant—Attached to Lord St. Vincent’s fleet off Brest—A change of captains—Weary waiting for an enemy who never came.
"We must get jury-masts up," he said, "when the storm abates; and plying to the north, endeavour to regain the ground we have lost." "Verily we had a fierce gale, friend Christison," said Ford, coming up to Wenlock when the weather once more moderated. "Didst not thou fear greatly?" "No," answered Wenlock; "though it seemed to me that the ship might probably go down."
At daybreak the wind abated, and the sea went down: the ship was, however, still kept before the wind, for she had suffered too much to venture to put her broadside to the sea. Preparations were now made for getting up jury-masts; and the worn-out seamen were busily employed, under the direction of Captain Osborn and his two mates, when Mr. Seagrave and William came upon deck.
By this time the day was far advanced, and even Jim confessed that he must soon give in, while I could scarcely stand. The wind had continued to go down, but the sea still rolled the vessel about too much to enable us to get up jury-masts, even if we had had strength to move, before dark. "It's no use trying to hold out longer, I must get a snooze," sighed Jim.
Bravely and energetically the men laboured on. Once more the ship floated nearly at her usual level; but the continued clank of the pumps showed that it was only while they were kept going constantly that she would do so. The hurricane, with loud mutterings in the distance, died away, and the jury-masts being got up, a light wind from the eastward enabled a course to be steered for Jamaica.
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