Thrilling adventures by land and seaBeing remarkable historical facts, gathered from authentic sources . , consequently, weredriven nearer, every moment, toward the awfulstrand of rocks. The scene was now terrific; manyvessels were in sight, two of which we saw dashedon the rocks; with the tremendous roar of thebreakers, and the howling of the tempest, and theheavy sea, which broke as high as the fore-yard,death appeared inevitable. There was only onehope left, and that was, that, should the tide changeand take us under our lee-beam, it might possiblyset us off on the Nine-fathom bank, which i
Thrilling adventures by land and seaBeing remarkable historical facts, gathered from authentic sources . , consequently, weredriven nearer, every moment, toward the awfulstrand of rocks. The scene was now terrific; manyvessels were in sight, two of which we saw dashedon the rocks; with the tremendous roar of thebreakers, and the howling of the tempest, and theheavy sea, which broke as high as the fore-yard,death appeared inevitable. There was only onehope left, and that was, that, should the tide changeand take us under our lee-beam, it might possiblyset us off on the Nine-fathom bank, which is situatedat a distance of twelve miles north-north-west, offBoulogne harbor. On the event of reaching thisbank, the safety of the ship and lives of the crewdepended,â as it was determined there to try theanchors, for there was no possibility of keeping offshore more than two hours, if the gale continued. We wTere now on the larboard tack, and, for thelast half hour, it was perceived that the tide hadturned, and was setting to the northward; this wasour last and only chance, for the rocks were not. BY LAND AND SEA. bO more than half a mile under our lee, and as it wasnecessary to get the ships head round on the star-board tack, which could only be done by wearing,it was certain that much ground would be lost bythat evolution. The anchors were got ready, longranges of cables were hauled on deck, and the endswere clinched to the mainmast below; this beingdone, the axes were at hand to cut away themasts. Captain G. was an old, experienced seaman; andand I never saw, before or since, more coolness,judgment, and seamanship, than were displayed byhim on this trying occasion. In this perilous trial,the most intense anxiety was manifested by thecrew, and then was heard the deep-toned voice ofCaptain G., rising above the bellowing storm, com-manding silence. Take the wheel, said he to me;and then followed the orders, in quick succession:* Lay aft, and man the braces â see every thingc
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1800, bookdecade1850, booksubjectadventureandadventur
