| Sunday, 4th | Dead calm, but still the ship is rolling very heavily as there is a large swell on. We are in the middle of the Saracossa Sea and the Gulf weed is very thick. I notice it is in almost straight lines as far as the eye can see. It is not irregular and in clumps, and bears from N.N.E. to S.S.W. As there appears to be no current, I cannot account for this fact. | ||
| ⚪ | Monday, 5th | Dead head wind. We are away off for New York again. It is most annoying. Imagine the Old Man telling the steward today to put aside two 14 lb hams and a box of biscuits for him in the channel “as you know, Stewart, I will be on deck the whole night, and of course require something.” The box of biscuits is about 4½ feet long and two broard. It contains about five thousand crackers. When he succeeds in getting outside these, he will have just cause to call himself “A man in a hundred”. This is a favourite expression of his. | |
| Tuesday, 6th | Heavy swell, but no wind. We are all sick of this calm, and would much rather be in a gale that is if it were a fair wind. Dolphins round the ship all day. | ||
| Wednesday, 7th | Never saw such changable winds. The ship is sailing in circles. One minute square yards, the next “all aback”. Very heavy westerly swell. | ||
| Thursday, 8th | Same patent winds. Looks very stormy tonight. A lot of lightning, halo round the moon, etc. There's a “startler” nearby. | ||
| Friday, 9th | Twelve this morning we had all sail set. 4 a.m. we were under topsails with awfully wicked looking squalls coming up from all directions. 10 p.m. Lightning etc. Exceedingly heavy swell. All light sails fast. Ship travelling well. It is a treat to know we are once again going in the right direction instead of N.N.W. as it has been lately. Twelve this morning we had all sail set. 4 a.m. we were under topsails with awfully wicked looking squalls coming up from all directions. 10 p.m. Lightning etc. Exceedingly heavy swell. All light sails fast. Ship travelling well. It is a treat to know we are once again going in the right direction instead of N.N.W. as it has been lately. This is what a dead head wind means to us. Great excitement prevailed all over the ship today. The steward was seen to approach the half deck and fo'c'stle with two bottles of pickles. I would not have been more surprised if the fashion had changed again, and the’Old Lady’had sallied forth in bloomers. First of all we thought the Old Man must feel ill and was going to die, be he looks quite well. Then, of course, the only thing we could say was “They must be bad and he can't eat them himself.” Still they are good. Well, good for ships' pickles. So the only thing now that we can think is some of the other stores are just on the point of running out and this is kind of ways to pave the way to Heaven for us, as it is possible some very rude things would be said concerning the Old Man when the cook calmly tell us that half a dozen things are “done”. All this time the pickles were necessarily standing in the centre of the floor. We surveying them at a respectful distance. I say “reverently” because the pickles looked just like a minister in a “Smoker”. One was as much out of place as the other. |
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| ⚪ | Saturday, 10th Lat 31°17’N Long 40°48’W |
Awfully treacherous winds. All night and day we have been in awful squalls. Under topsails. High sea running. The mate's watch refused duty last night and he pretty nearly got a hammering as well. Gale suddenly shifted from S.W. to N.W. Glass is falling rapidly. | |
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