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Updated: June 20, 2025
Some version of this tale is known to every whaler and I preserve Ben's story, as he told it, imitating the Down East twang as well as I may: "Forty-two days aout, an' not a drop o' ile in the tanks. I went for'ard. The lookaout he hailed. 'On deck, sir, says he, 'thar she blaows. "I went aft. 'Cap'n Symes, says I, 'thar she blaows; shall I lower? "Cap'n Symes he gin a look to wind'ard. 'Mr.
The Canaries were the nearest bits of dry land to us, but Mr Jellicoe, the third mate, reckoned that they were a good hundred and fifty miles away, and dead to wind'ard; so it was useless for us to think of reaching them in a boat with her gunnels awash, and not a scrap of food or a drop of fresh water in her.
"Now, sir," said he in a low tone to George, "you take these three, let Cross go with you and slide-to the lee-door with a slam, and then you slip in the wedges and jam them tight home, while I will do the same to wind'ard, as soon as I hear Cross close the lee-door."
Wind'ard! So at last says Eli, ''Tis heaven's voice bidding us ply to wind'ard. And so we did, and on the fourth day made Marseilles; and who should be first to meet Eli on the quay but a Frenchwoman he had married five years before, and left.
"As for me, I'm but a plain man wi' no time for vengeance and no whit o' pride about me anywhere. What I says to you is, get to wind'ard o' vengeance nay, heave it overboard, shipmate, and you'll ride the easier, aye and sweeter, and seek something more useful gold, for instance, 'tis a handy thing, I've heard say so ha' done wi' vengeance!" "No!" says I, frowning.
He fairly flew, but Lonesome split tacks with him every time, and kept to wind'ard, into the bargain. When they went out of sight amongst the sand hills 'twas anybody's race. I was scart. I knew what Lonesome's temper was, 'specially when it had been iled with some Wellmouth Port no-license liquor.
"The mischief of it is that there's no knowin' where to look for her, and it's as much as a man can do to make out the commodore in this murk." "Where is the commodore?" demanded I. "Out there, dead to wind'ard of us, and about four mile away," answered Simpson.
"I expect, Long, you sailors hev a drefful hard, onsartain time navigatin', don't ye?" "Well, skipper! that are depen's on folks. I don't calk'late to hev no sort of a hard time, ef I don't get riled with it; but these times I doo rile easy." "What onsettles ye, Snapps?" "Well, there's a squall to wind'ard, skipper; 'ta'n't no cat's-paw neither; good no-no-east, ef it's a flaw.
He's got some sort of a theory that, by hugging the coast close, and takin' advantage of the sea and land breezes, as they blows night and mornin', we shall do rather better than we should by thrashin' to wind'ard against the south- east trade. I don't know whether there's anything in it myself, but it's the first time that I've ever heard of the notion.
If a squall comes, keep a steady hand on the helm and a sharp eye to wind'ard, and you're safe as the Bank. If it's too strong for you, loose the halyards, let the sheets fly, and down with the helm; the easiest thing in the world if you only look alive and don't get flurried." "Very good," said Jack, and as he said so his pipe went out; so he knocked out the ashes and refilled it.
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