As Soon As She Was
Well Off From The Wind, We Filled Away The Head Yards, Braced All
Up Sharp, Set The Foresail And Trysail, And Left Our Anchorage Well
Astern, Giving The Point A Good Berth.
"Nye's off too," said the
captain to the mate; and looking astern, we could just see the
little hermaphrodite brig under sail standing after us.
It now began to blow fresh; the rain fell fast, and it grew very
black; but the captain would not take in sail until we were well
clear of the point. As soon as we left this on our quarter, and were
standing out to sea, the order was given, and we sprang aloft,
double reefed each topsail, furled the foresail, and double reefed
the trysail, and were soon under easy sail. In those cases of
slipping for south-easters, there is nothing to be done, after you
have got clear of the coast, but to lie-to under easy sail, and wait
for the gale to be over, which seldom lasts more than two days,
and is often over in twelve hours; but the wind never comes back
to the southward until there has been a good deal of rain fallen.
"Go below the watch," said the mate; but here was a dispute which
watch it should be, which the mate soon however settled by sending
his watch below, saying that we should have our turn the next time
we got under weigh. We remained on deck till the expiration of
the watch, the wind blowing very fresh and the rain coming down in
torrents. When the watch came up, we wore ship, and stood on the
other tack, in towards land. When we came up again, which was at
four in the morning, it was very dark, and there was not much wind,
but it was raining as I thought I had never seen it rain before.
We had on oil-cloth suits and south-wester caps, and had nothing to
do but to stand bolt upright and let it pour down upon us. There are
no umbrellas, and no sheds to go under, at sea.
While we were standing about on deck, we saw the little brig
drifting by us, hove to under her fore topsail double reefed;
and she glided by like a phantom. Not a word was spoken, and we
saw no one on deck but the man at the wheel. Toward morning the
captain put his head out of the companion-way and told the second
mate, who commanded our watch, to look out for a change of wind,
which usually followed a calm and heavy rain; and it was well
that he did; for in a few minutes it fell dead calm, the vessel
lost her steerage-way, and the rain ceased. We hauled up the
trysail and courses, squared the after yards, and waited for the
change, which came in a few minutes, with a vengeance, from the
north-west, the opposite point of the compass.
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