| ⚪ | Tuesday, 4th | Not a breath of wind today. Yards square. Hove up the cable. It is like a June morning instead of a January one. The surface of the sea is quite calm, but of course the famous North Atlantic roll is on. Everything is in an awful mess, all the paint work is covered with rust. The first day our food has not had the taste of salt in it for a week. It also is a pleasure to be able to go about without oilskins and seaboots. A week ago we were 400 miles off, now we are over 500. All sail except Royals set. Captain told Auld it was a proper West India hurricane and we would go a long time to sea without getting another like it. | |
| Wednesday, 5th | Fine breeze. All sail set, going six knots. All hands clearing ship after gale. It is in an awful state. Something like a spring cleaning in a big scale. | ||
| Thursday, 6th | Good breeze. Kind of squally. Caught a large porpoise and cut him up in steaks which looked and tasted just like beef. It is called the sea pig, and is extremely like one. It had a terrible lot of blood in it. Second mate kept the skin and also the head which had a splendid set of teeth. | ||
| Friday, 7th | 9 a.m. Sighted south coast of Ireland. Noon she was much closer. It does not seem to be very high land, but very irregular up and down like. No vessels in sight. 3 p.m. fishing boat came to us, told us the good news the most of our Frisco friends were in. 4 p.m. Gallow Head right abeam (40 miles off Queenstown). We can see the light quite plainly, seven flashes and then a spell. Steamer on Port Bow. 6 p.m. Kinsale light right abeam. Steady light. Burning blue lights but no pilots will come off. 7.30 Within a mile of light, and we went round and stood off. Blowing pretty hard from now until 4 a.m. 2 a.m. All hands on deck to go round. | ||
| Saturday, 8th | Foggy, raining, lashed anchors, cables, etc. There is a barque going along the coast, we are away somewhere in mid-channel. Gone round 4 times. Hove lead about 90 times. Lee wheels again. Western ocean liner passed firing her rockets. | ||
| ⚪ |
This is Dum's last entry till the journal resumes on 11 June 1898, for the voyage from Liverpool to Melbourne. However, inserted at this point is an article from the Times of 17th March 1898 detailing a collision between the BRITISH PRINCESS and an ’unknown’ steamer which sank with the loss of all 19 hands. STOP PRESS! |
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