The merchant vessel : a sailor boy's voyages around the world . wasI taken up with the meteoric fire-ball, that had the heavensburst with thunder I should not have known it. The violent hail, which lasted perhaps three quarters of anhour, had the effect of beating down the sea, so that even atthe height of the squall we were sailing through compara-tively smooth water. The first blast over, and our old gale returned, with thesame rolling, the same continual shipping of seas, the sametiresome labor at the pumps. We still ran before it, althoughwe overtook large ships hove-to. Our captain would
The merchant vessel : a sailor boy's voyages around the world . wasI taken up with the meteoric fire-ball, that had the heavensburst with thunder I should not have known it. The violent hail, which lasted perhaps three quarters of anhour, had the effect of beating down the sea, so that even atthe height of the squall we were sailing through compara-tively smooth water. The first blast over, and our old gale returned, with thesame rolling, the same continual shipping of seas, the sametiresome labor at the pumps. We still ran before it, althoughwe overtook large ships hove-to. Our captain would notheave-to — partly as he was actually afraid when the gale wasat its height to bring so small a vessel to the wind, andpartly because he was anxious to get across. On the twentieth night out, she broached-to with us. Thisis a most dangerous accident, and not unfrequently occasionsthe loss of a vessel. Fortunatelv we had but a rag of canvas,the close-reefed foretopsail, set, and in the moment of hercoming violently to the wind the braces were let go by the. jiKOACJj/x<;ru. ioi mate, so that the yards swung, and did not allow the sail toget aback. (By broaching-to is meant the act of awhich has been going before the wind turning violently about,and bringing the sails aback. Many a good ship, running undera press of canvas, has been sent down stern foremosl bvbroaching-to.) As our vessel lay in the trough of the sea fora few minutes, the decks, fore and aft, were entirely coveredwith an enormous wave, which boarded her in a body, andthreatened to send us all to the bottom. Here our low railwas again useful, the brig being able to clear herself muchquicker of the body of water than had she had higher bul-warks. Yet it was for some minutes green all around andover us, and we began to think we were going under. Thehelm had been put down in the moment of her broaching-to,.and she had sufficient headway to mind it, and gradually cameup to the wind, lying across the trough of the
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