Narratives of Shipwrecks of the Royal Navy; between 1793 and 1849Gilly, William O. S.
History
Narratives of Shipwrecks of the Royal Navy; between 1793 and 1849
Gilly, William O. S.
Great Britain. Royal Navy -- History -- 18th century; Great Britain. Royal Navy -- History -- 19th century; Shipwrecks
The well was reported dry; orders were given for the small bower
anchor to be let go, but it was found covered with the wreck of the
bowsprit, and it was necessary to cut away the best bower in order to
keep the ship off shore; and for the same purpose every spar that
could be obtained was made use of to bear her off the rocky cliffs,
but in vain, for from the depth of the water, the anchor did not reach
the bottom, and the stern tailed upon a shelving rock in spite of all
their efforts. The men were next ordered to clear away the boats and
get them ready--but they were found totally destroyed. Those on the
quarters had been smashed by the rocks, and those on the booms and
stern by the falling of the masts. During the whole of this anxious
period, the conduct of the men was most exemplary. Aware that all
depended upon individual exertion, each one appeared to emulate the
example set by his officers, and worked with hearty good will; not a
single instance of anything like bad conduct occurred.
Their condition was most disheartening; the boats were no longer
available; the water was gaining on the vessel; and the rockets and
blue lights, as they darted into the air, served but to show them the
rugged face of the high rocks, which appeared to afford no footing by
which the summit could be gained, even if they should be so fortunate
as to reach them at all.
Whilst all on board were weighing these chances of destruction or of
safety, the vessel's head had gone round off, and a few succeeding
heavy surfs threw her again with her starboard quarter upon the rock,
and whilst she was in this position, there appeared a possibility of
getting some of the people on shore. Captain Burgess, therefore,
ordered Lieutenant Hamilton to do everything in his power to
facilitate such a proceeding, and shortly afterwards that officer, Mr.
Mends, midshipman, and about seventy others, effected a landing by
jumping either from the broken end of the mainyard, which was lying
across the ship, or from the hammock netting abaft the mizenmast;
several others who attempted to land in the same way were less
fortunate; some were crushed to death, and some drawn back by the
recoil of the surf and drowned.
From the time the ship first struck, the current had been carrying her
along the cliffs at the rate of at least a quarter of a mile an hour;
it now carried her off the rock, and she drifted along shore, a
helpless wreck, at the mercy of the winds and waves. The captain saw
that nothing more could be done for the vessel, and therefore he
directed all his energies to the preservation of the crew. The marine
who had been appointed to guard the spirit-room still remained at his
post, and never left it till commanded to do so by his superior
officer, even after the water had burst open the hatch. We mention
this as an instance of the effect of good discipline in times of the
greatest peril.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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