mizen-yard

Updated: May 1, 2025

Scoones, completely beside himself, was hurrying off the deck, apparently for the purpose, from the words he let drop, of getting his pistols, when a long thin line of hissing foam was seen rushing across the ocean. "Down, my lads, down, quick," cried the mate. The boys rapidly descended from the mizen-yard. Then the voice of the hurricane was heard, and a fierce wind struck the ship.

William Henry Giles Kingston - Owen Hartley; or, Ups and Downs: A Tale of Land and Sea

Having well ballasted the holds of our human vessels, we weighed anchor, hoised up sail, stowed the boats, set the land, and stood for the offing with a fair loom gale, and for more haste unpareled the mizen-yard, and launched it and the sail over the lee-quarter, and fitted gyves to keep it steady, and boomed it out; so in three days we made the island of Tools, that is altogether uninhabited.

François Rabelais - Gargantua and Pantagruel, Illustrated, Book 5

The next day I made another voyage, and now having plundered the ship of what was portable and fit to hand out, I began with the cables, and cutting the great cable into pieces, such as I could move, I got two cables and a hawser on shore, with all the iron-work I could get; and having cut down the spritsail-yard, and the mizen-yard, and every thing I could, to make a large raft, I loaded it with all those heavy goods; and came away; but my good luck began now to leave me; for this raft was so unwieldy, and so overladen, that after I was entered the little cove, where I had landed the rest of my goods, not being able to guide it so handily as I did the other, it overset, and threw me and all my cargo into the water; as for myself, it was no great harm, for I was near the shore; but as to my cargo, it was a great part of it lost, especially the iron, which I expected would have been of great use to me: however, when the tide was out, I got most of the pieces of cable ashore, and some of the iron, though with infinite labour; for I was fain to dip for it into the water, a work which fatigued me very much.

Daniel Defoe - The Life and Adventures of Robinson Crusoe of York, Mariner, Volume 1: With an Account of His Travels Round Three Parts of the Globe,: Written By Himself, in Two Volumes

The next day I made another voyage; and now, having plundered the ship of what was portable and fit to hand out, I began with the cables; and cutting the great cable into pieces, such as I could move, I got two cables and a hawser on shore, with all the iron-work I could get; and having cut down the spritsail-yard, and the mizen-yard, and every thing I could to make a large raft, I loaded it with all those heavy goods, and came away: but my good luck began now to leave me; for this raft was so unwieldy and so overladen, that after I had entered the little cove where I had landed the rest of my goods, not being able to guide it so handily as I did the other, it overset, and threw me and all my cargo into the water.

Daniel Defoe - The Life and Adventures of Robinson Crusoe (1808)

During the whole action she kept the Spanish flag flying at her mast-head. We could observe that we had shattered her sails and rigging very much, and had slain two men in her tops, besides bringing down her mizen-yard; but this was all the visible damage we had done them, though we certainly placed 500 round shot in her hull, which were six-pounders.

Robert Kerr - A General History and Collection of Voyages and Travels — Volume 10 : Arranged in systematic order: Forming a complete history of the origin and progress of navigation, discovery, and commerce, by sea and land, from the earliest ages to the present time.