- Coming On Deck, Find It Is Blowing Harder,
And An Ugly Head Sea Is Running.
- Instead of having all hands on the
forecastle in the dog watch, smoking, singing, and telling yarns,
one watch goes below and turns-in, saying that it's going to be an
ugly night, and two hours' sleep is not to be lost.
Clouds look black and wild; wind rising, and ship working hard
against a heavy sea, which breaks over the forecastle, and washes
aft through the scuppers. Still, no more sail is taken in, for the
captain is a driver, and, like all drivers, very partial to his
top-gallant sails. A top-gallant sail, too, makes the difference
between a breeze and a gale. When a top-gallant sail is on a ship,
it is only a breeze, though I have seen ours set over a reefed
topsail, when half the bowsprit was under water, and it was up
to a man's knees in the scuppers. At eight bells, nothing is said
about reefing the topsails, and the watch go below, with orders to
"stand by for a call." We turn-in, growling at the "old man" for
not reefing the topsails when the watch was changed, but putting
it off so as to call all hands, and break up a whole watch below.
Turn-in "all standing," and keep ourselves awake, saying there is
no use in going asleep to be waked up again. - Wind whistles on
deck, and ship works hard, groaning and creaking, and pitching
into a heavy head sea, which strikes against the bows, with a
noise like knocking upon a rock.
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