Dana, Richard Henry, 1815-1882; Sailors; Seafaring life; Voyages and travels
scuttled-butt, and the cook scraped his kids (wooden tubs out of
which sailors eat), and polished the hoops, and placed them before
the galley to await inspection. When the decks were dry, the lord
paramount made his appearance on the quarter-deck, and took a few
turns, eight bells were struck, and all hands went to breakfast.
Half an hour was allowed for breakfast, when all hands were called
again; the kids, pots, bread-bags, &c., stowed away; and, this
morning, preparations were made for getting under way. We paid out
on the chain by which we swung, hove in on the other, catted the
anchor, and hove short on the first. This work was done in shorter
time than was usual on board the brig; for though everything was
more than twice as large and heavy, the cat-block being as much as
a man could lift, and the chain as large as three of the
Pilgrim's, yet there was a plenty of room to move about in, more
discipline and system, more men, and more good-will. Each seemed
ambitious to do his best. Officers and men knew their duty, and
all went well. As soon as she was hove short, the mate, on the
forecastle, gave the order to loose the sails! and, in an instant
all sprung into the rigging, up the shrouds, and out on the yards,
scrambling by one another,-- the first up, the best fellow,-- cast
off the yard-arm gaskets and bunt gaskets, and one man remained on
each yard, holding the bunt jigger with a turn round the tye, all
ready to let go, while the rest laid down to man the sheets and
halyards. The mate then hailed the yards,-- ``All ready forward?''--
``All ready the cross-jack yards?'' &c., &c.; and ``Aye, aye,
sir!'' being returned from each, the word was given to let go;
and, in the twinkling of an eye, the ship, which had shown nothing
but her bare yards, was covered with her loose canvas, from the
royal-mast-heads to the decks. All then came down, except one man
in each top, to overhaul the rigging, and the topsails were
hoisted and sheeted home, the three yards going to the mast-head
at once, the larboard watch hoisting the fore, the starboard watch
the main, and five light hands (of whom I was one), picked from
the two watches, the mizzen. The yards were then trimmed, the
anchor weighed, the cat-block hooked on, the fall stretched out,
manned by ``all hands and the cook,'' and the anchor brought to
the head with ``cheerly, men!'' in full chorus. The ship being now
under way, the light sails were set, one after another, and she
was under full sail before she had passed the sandy point. The
fore royal, which fell to my lot (as I was in the mate's watch),
was more than twice as large as that of the Pilgrim, and, though I
could handle the brig's easily, I found my hands full with this,
especially as there were no jacks to the ship, everything being
for neatness, and nothing left for Jack to hold on by but his
``eyelids.''
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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