Arthur David LINKLATER

His ’Journal’

Apprenticed aboard British Princess

10.xii.1895 - 13.iii.1900

Wednesday, 21st Splendid day. Light winds. Reeving new braces on Fore and main. 1,800 miles from Newcastle.
Thursday, 22nd Shifting coal from fore hatch to the fore peak. We shifted in three days 10 tons. Bugs are terrible.
Friday, 23rd Fine breeze sprung up. Going ahead pretty fast. A lot of lightning tonight.
Saturday, 24th Good breeze. Going along pretty well.
Sunday, 25th No wind at all. Friging with yards all day. Caught a “Blue shark” today. She was lO½ ft. long. Very fierce on deck, grabing everything in reach. Broke most of her teeth. Managed to get four small ones (teeth).
Monday, 26th Turned house out today and killed hundreds of bugs. Of course it had to rain as usual. I fell over the step at the galley door, when the ship rolled, and let a whole bucket of boiling hot salt water go clean over one side of my head, face, arm, and chest. I never suffered so much pain in all my life. I lay in the sail locker for 2½ hours, kicking about in terrible agony. I put olive oil on.
Tuesday, 27th Lay up today. Skin coming off face. Taking all sail off. Under Main Lower Topsail. Rest of sails burst and we had to heave to. Blowing harder today than it has done before. A proper cyclone, glass very low. Terrible high sea running. Ship rolling terribly, and shipping continual green seas fore and aft. About a foot of water in the half deck. Curios, chest, bag, all soaked and floating around. It is a terrible night.
Wednesday, 28th Lat 22°49’S
Long 163°56’W
Cyclone
Cyclone moderating. Setting sail again. High sea running. Got into tropics today. Glass rising.
Thursday, 29th Turned to today. Good breeze, all sail set. High sea running.
Friday, 30th S.E. Trades at last. Going along about 9 knots.
MAY 1897
Saturday, 1st Run 204 miles today. Made up on a large 3 master, full rigged ship, and left her astern.
Sunday, 2nd Splendid day. Wind shifting ahead.
Monday, 3rd She is off her course a little now. Good breeze. Very hot.
Tuesday, 4th Squally. Going about 10 knots. The “Boswain” birds all with us again. Scraping topgallant rail.
Wednesday, 5th Have had a lot of rows with boswain. Had to walk the poop tonight.
Thursday, 6th 2 points off course. We had two of the heaviest rain squals that I have seen when I was at the wheel. From right aft the ship was all aback.
Friday, 7th Lots of squalls. Lot of lightning. Lot of rows with boswain.
Saturday, 8th
Weight 150 lbs.
Height almost
5’10”
Terrible row with boswain. I refused his job. We had a terrible argument with the mate. Just a little off Stubock and Maiden isle. If we had gone our course, we would have seen them.
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