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Updated: July 10, 2025
"Beat to quarters, then, Tailtackle; all hands stand by to shorten sail. How is she standing?" "Right down for us, sir." I went on deck, and there was the Guineaman about two miles to windward, evidently cleared for action, with her decks crowded with men, bowling along steadily under her single reefed topsails. I saw all clear.
Sometimes several seas following each other with great rapidity and thundering down on our decks filled them full to the bulwarks, but soon they were discharged through the lee scuppers. To reef the mainsail we were forced to run off before the gale under the single reefed jib. By the time we had finished the wind had forced up such a tremendous sea that it was impossible to heave her to.
In five minutes the ship was round, with everything trimmed on the other tack; close-reefed mizzen, and double-reefed fore and maintop-sails a reefed mainsail, with other sails to suit. As she was kept a rap full, or a little off, indeed, to prevent the lugger from slipping past, she might have gone from five to six knots.
"Don't you cal'late we can beat down there under a reefed mainsail and jib? It'll take time, but she's the sweetest sailing craft I was ever in in my life," he said. "She's certainly all right, 'cept for that pull to sta'bbo'd," muttered Horry. "Humph! Three men to sail a schooner of this tonnage. And this isn't any capsize wind at that," murmured the captain of the Seamew.
French Pete followed her admiringly, though he said ominously: "Some day, pouf! he go just like dat, I tell you, sure." A moment later the Dazzler's reefed jib was flung out, and she was straining and struggling in the thick of the fight.
The pilot took his precautions in advance. He reefed all sail, the pole-masts were dispensed with; all hands went forward to the bows. A single triangular sail, of strong canvas, was hoisted as a storm-jib, so as to hold the wind from behind. Then they waited.
Pete called Code, and together they read it like a book favorable fishing ground, though not the best. While the second half ate, the first half took in all canvas and reefed it with the exception of the mainsail. This was unbent entirely and stowed away.
Two hours of terrible work followed, in which all hands of us two hunters, three sailors, Wolf Larsen and I reefed, first one and then the other, the jib and mainsail. Hove to under this short canvas, our decks were comparatively free of water, while the Ghost bobbed and ducked amongst the combers like a cork.
The courses were furled, the main-topsail closely reefed, and the ship flew onward on her course. The good ship Nieuwland made rapid progress. Though I was flying away from home and all I longed to be with, yet anything was better than moving slowly.
Finding it impossible to lay her to under the foresail, they had been compelled to set the main-topsail, reefed; but even this was too much for the weak mast, and it had gone by the board, carrying the second mate and five men with it. The Sylvia was old, and the captain acknowledged that she was hardly sea-worthy.
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