One Of The
After Berths, Too, Leaked In Very Bad Weather; So That In A Ship
Which Was In Other
Respects as tight as a bottle, and brought her
cargo to Boston perfectly dry, we had, after every effort made
To
prevent it, in the way of caulking and leading, a forecastle with
only three dry berths for seven of us. However, as there is never
but one watch below at a time, by 'turning in and out,' we did
pretty well. And there being, in our watch, but three of us who
lived forward, we generally had a dry berth apiece in bad weather.(1)
- - - - - - - -
1. On removing the cat-head, after the ship arrived at Boston, it was
found that there were two holes under it which had been bored for the
purpose of driving tree-nails, and which, accidentally, had not been
plugged up when the cat-head was placed over them. This was sufficient
to account for the leak, and for our not having been able to discover
and stop it.
- - - - - - - -
All this, however, was but anticipation. We were still in fine
weather in the North Pacific, running down the north-east trades,
which we took on the second day after leaving San Diego.
Sunday, May 15th, one week out, we were in latitude 14° 56' N.,
long. 116° 14' W., having gone, by reckoning, over thirteen hundred
miles in seven days. In fact, ever since leaving San Diego, we had
had a fair wind, and as much as we wanted of it. For seven days,
our lower and topmast studding-sails were set all the time, and our
royals and top-gallant studding-sails, whenever she could stagger
under them. Indeed, the captain had shown, from the moment we got
to sea, that he was to have no boy's play, but that the ship had
got to carry all she could, and that he was going to make up, by
"cracking on" to her, what she wanted in lightness. In this way,
we frequently made three degrees of latitude, besides something
in longitude, in the course of twenty-four hours. - Our days were
spent in the usual ship's work. The rigging which had become slack
from being long in port was to be set up; breast backstays got up;
studding-sail booms rigged upon the main yard; and the royal studding-
sails got ready for the light trades; ring-tail set; and new rigging
fitted and sails got ready for Cape Horn. For, with a ship's gear,
as well as a sailor's wardrobe, fine weather must be improved to
get ready for the bad to come. Our forenoon watch below, as I
have said, was given to our own work, and our night watches were
spent in the usual manner: - a trick at the wheel, a look-out on
the forecastle, a nap on a coil of rigging under the lee of the
rail; a yarn round the windlass-end; or, as was generally my way,
a solitary walk fore and aft, in the weather waist, between the
windlass-end and the main tack.
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