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Updated: June 13, 2025
Well, we'd had gales and gales, but this here gale beat anythin' that I'd ever seen, and at seven bells in the first night watch, with a tremendious surge, the weather leech rope of the foresail giv' way, and in a jiffy away went the foreyard in the slings the foresail and fore-topsail goin' into ribbons.
Boats were lowered, and the crews of cut-throat Chilenos and Peruvians swarmed eagerly into them, and then waited for the signal to cast off. Suddenly the look-out on the barque, who was stationed on the foreyard, hailed the deck and reported that three canoes had pushed off from the beach and were paddling towards the ship. A savage curse broke from Porfiro Arguello.
Very placidly, and as if lost in thought, he insisted on having the foreyard squared. 'I don't know if there's anybody alive, said Mahon, almost tearfully. 'Surely, he said gently, 'there will be enough left to square the foreyard. "The old chap, it seems, was in his own berth, winding up the chronometers, when the shock sent him spinning.
In the morning we felt nervous and miserable; on the whole we weren't very gay till the sun was over the foreyard. Anyhow, we made it up to clear out and have the first go-in for a touch on the southern line the next week as ever was. Father was as eager for it as anybody.
Seeing that he meant to swim off, the skipper went in as close as possible, and backed his foreyard. Watching his chance for a lull in the yet fierce breakers, the native slid over the reef and swam out to us as only a Line Islander or a Tokelau man can swim. "How's Charley?" we asked, when the dark man reached the deck. "Who? Charley? Oh, he fine, plenty copra.
In another instant he was on board again, with the man in his arms. The helm was put up, the ship righted, the man had got off the foreyard, and away the ship new, with the fore-topsail wildly bulging out right before the wind. In a few minutes it was blown from the bolt-ropes in strips, twisted and knotted together.
Jim performed his duty, but instead of coming down as he ought to have done, remained seated on the foreyard, holding on by the lift to get accustomed to the violent motion, in which he seemed to take a pleasure.
The cap is a stout block joining the bottom of one mast to the top of another; as where the foretopmast joins the foremast. Foremast, foretopmast, etc. See Mast. Fore-reach. To gain upon or pass; to beat in sailing. Foreyard. The lowest yard on the foremast of a square-rigged vessel. Grapnel. A boat's anchor having more than two flukes. Come to grapnel, cf. Come to anchor. Half-galleys.
"Brace round the foreyard round with it; set the jib that's it fore-top-mast staysail haul never mind if the gale takes it out of the bolt-rope" a thundering flap, and away it flew in truth down to leeward, like a puff of white smoke. "Never mind, men, the jib stands. Belay all that down with the helm, now don't you see she has stern way yet?
On the tenth of May, at about 5 P. M., all hands were called to reef topsails, and a forecastle man, who was hurrying aloft to assist his companions on the foreyard, fell from only a few rattlings above the sheerpole upon the deck, and injured himself so severely as to cause his death early the next morning. Poor fellow!
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