Storm Warriors; or, Life-Boat Work on the Goodwin Sands — John Shaqi
Storm Warriors; or, Life-Boat Work on the Goodwin SandsGilmore, John
History
Storm Warriors; or, Life-Boat Work on the Goodwin Sands
Gilmore, John
Goodwin Sands (England); Lifesaving -- Great Britain; Shipwrecks
"Are they all saved?" No! three of the vessel's crew, Spaniards, are
still left in the rigging; they seem almost dead, and scarcely able to
unlash themselves, and crawl down the shrouds and await the return of
the boat.
Again the boat is alongside, and this time the peril is greater than
ever. They must place the boat close to the vessel, for the men are too
weak to make any spring to reach her; they must remain alongside for a
longer time, for two life-boatmen must get on to the wreck and lift the
men on board; but, as before, they go coolly, quietly, and determinedly
to work; the cable is veered out, the sail manoeuvred to make the boat
sheer, and again she is alongside; the men are seized by their arms and
clothing, and dragged into the boat.
The last one left is the cabin-boy; he seems entangled in the rigging.
The poor little fellow had a canvas bag of trinkets and things, he was
taking as presents to the loved ones at home, and all through the
howling storm, the rush and beat of the waves, as he held on exhausted
and half dead to the shrouds, he still thought of those loved friends,
and clung to the canvas bag.
God only knows whether the loved ones at home were thinking of, and
praying for him, and whether it was in answer to their prayers and those
of many others that the life-boat then rode alongside that wreck, an ark
of safety mid the raging seas.
They shout, the boy lingers still, his half-dead hands cannot free the
bag from the entangled rigging. A moment and all are lost; a boatman
makes a spring, seizes the lad with a strong grasp, and tears him down
from the rigging into the boat--too late, too late; they cannot get away
from the vessel; a tremendous wave rushes on: hold hard all, hold
anchor! hold cable! give but a yard, and all are lost! The boat lifts,
is washed into the fore-rigging, the sea passes, and she settles down
again upon an even keel! Thank God! If one stray rope of all the torn
and tangled rigging of the vessel had caught the boat's rigging, or one
of her spars--if the boat's keel or cork fenders had caught in the
shattered gunwale, she would have turned over, and every man in her been
shaken into the sea to speedy and certain death. Thank God, it is not
so, and once more they are safe.
The boat is very crowded; she has her own crew of thirteen on board, six
of the Margate boatmen and two Whitstable fishermen, who were left on
the vessel, the captain, mate, eight seamen and the boy; thus,
thirty-two souls in all form her precious freight.
The life-boatmen at once, without a second's delay, haul in the cable as
fast as possible, and draw up to the anchor to get clear of the wreck,
for they must get some distance away before they dare let go their
cable, or with the wind and seas setting directly towards the vessel
they would be driven upon her, unless they had plenty of room to sail by
her.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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