CHAPTER VIII.
A SHORT CRUISE WITH A SLOOP-YACHT, ILLUSTRATING THE COMMON SEA-MANŒUVRES.
"Well, uncle Charley, when are you going to give me a sail in your yacht? You know, that, although I have sailed a little, I look forward with the greatest impatience to a trip with you; so that I may become posted in all respects, and finally turn out a first-class sailor."
"Your ambition is a worthy one, Tom; and I am willing to gratify it. But it is yet very early in the season; and I am afraid that we shall encounter some dirty weather, should we attempt now to make a trip."
"Well, that is the very thing that I want to encounter," said Tom. "Besides, you have quite a large yacht, and every thing in apple-pie order; whilst I only have a little bit of an open boat at my home, and really know but little of the science of boat-sailing, and nothing of the technical language or discipline of a well-appointed vessel."
Thus spoke Tom Coffin, a young man of some seventeen years, who was on a visit to his uncle, Capt. Charles Coffin, a middle-aged retired sea-captain, who knew a vessel from her stem to her stern, and who retained his youthful passion for the water, and enjoyed himself thoroughly during the summer months in his beautiful yacht "Nancy Lee."
"By the way, uncle Charley, you have not told me any thing yet about your yacht; and you know I have never seen her. How large is she?"
"She is about thirty feet over all," said his uncle.
"How is she rigged? Tell me all about her, uncle, won't you?"
"Well, the 'Nancy Lee' was built two years ago, and is what is called a 'centre-board sloop;' that is, she is shallow, and broad of beam, and is rigged as a sloop. She has a good comfortable cabin, and sound spars, and strong and durable canvas, and good ground-tackle, and I think she will compare favorably with any of her class. She is not so fast as some, being, as I said, of good beam, and her spars and sails are not too large for rough weather; but I consider her a first-class boat for outside work, safe, strong, and easily managed."
"How many crew do you carry, uncle Charley?"
"Well, as a general rule, I have only Bob Stevens with me, who made, if you remember, many voyages to sea with me, and is a true, able seaman in every sense of the word. He usually keeps the 'Nancy' in order for me, and acts as 'cook and all hands;' although, when I am going on a cruise of a week or two, I usually take with me also Widow Tompkins's son, who is smart and active, and who, if he will only take a voyage round the Horn, will, I prophesy, yet turn out a good sailor. But you shall take his place."
"Is the yacht all ready now?"
"Oh, yes!" replied uncle Charley. "She has been at her moorings the last two weeks. But I thought I would give you a day or two to get over your journey before speaking about a cruise; but I see that young blood will not be restrained."
"And have you every thing on board ready for a cruise?" asked Tom.
"Yes, every thing," replied his uncle; "for, being an old sailor, I like to have every thing prepared. Now, on board the 'Nancy Lee' you will find, I will be bound, every thing that is needful for a craft of her size; such as compass, charts, signal-lights, barometer, lead-line, log, and all that is needful to handle her in a seamanlike manner in all weathers."
"Well, uncle, when will you start? Have you provisions on board?"
"Every thing is on board; and, as you have inoculated me, I suppose we might as well get under way to-morrow morning on the young ebb: so take yourself up aloft, young man, and 'turn in,' and be prepared to turn out at about one bell in the morning watch; and I will go down to the landing, and see that Bob has every thing in ship-shape."
"Come, rouse out, youngster! it is past one bell," sang out the cheery voice of uncle Charley at Tom's door the next morning; and hurrying on his clothes, and taking a small valise filled with a change or two fit for sea-use, he was soon by his uncle's side.
"Well, it is going to be a lovely morning, if it is only the 10th of May," said Capt. Coffin.
"Why, how do you know, uncle Charley? It is as dark as pitch yet."
"Well, my boy, when you are as old as I am, you will know how, by many signs, to forecast the weather, even in the night-time. But let us hurry along, and get on board, as I want to take advantage of this ebb to get outside before the flood makes."
Arriving at the landing, the following conversation took place:—
"'Nancy,' ahoy!"
"Ay, ay, sir!"
"Is that you, Bob?"
"Yes, captain."
"Come ashore in the tender, and set us on board!"
"Ay, ay, sir!"
The small boat soon reached the landing; and our friends were soon alongside the "Nancy Lee," and quickly on board.
"Now, Bob," said Capt. Coffin, "have you got hot coffee and biscuit ready?"
"Yes, captain, all ready, and humming hot on the stove."
"Well, then, we will go below, Bob, and you can serve it in the cabin; for it is well to get something hot down before facing this damp morning air."
After each had drunk a good hot mug of strong coffee without milk, and eaten a good large sea-biscuit, Capt. Coffin and Tom appeared again on deck, and preparations were made to get under way.
"Have you got the stops off of the mainsail, Bob?"
"Yes, captain: they are all off."
"Then go forward, you two," said Capt. Coffin, "and hoist away the mainsail. You take the peak-halliards, Tom; and you the throat, Bob. That's the way! Up she goes! [Cheerily.] Avast, there, Tom! you are hoisting too fast on the peak, and have jammed the hoops round the mast, so that Bob can't get an inch on the throat-halliards. Slack away a little! Handsomely: there, that will do! Now hoist away. Belay the peak-halliards! Now go over and take in the slack, whilst Bob swigs off on the throat-halliards: that will do. Belay! Now over to the peak, and stand by to peak it up, whilst I let go the main-sheet, and lift up the main-boom. So! That will do. Belay! Now coil the halliards down snug, and lay aft here, Tom, and tend the jib-sheet.—Are the gaskets off the jib, Bob?"
"Ay, ay, sir! All off!"
"Then let go your down-haul, and run her up!
"Now, Tom, I want to cast to starboard; and, as the yacht is now lying head to wind, when Bob has the jib up, I want you to trim down flat on the port jib-sheet, and hold on till I tell you to let go.—Now, Bob, is that jib chock up?"
"Yes, captain."
"All right, then; slip your moorings, and let her slide! Haul aft the port jib-sheet, Tom; and lay aft here, Bob, and help shove this boom out to starboard, whilst I put the helm to port. There, she pays off all right! Down with the centre-board, Bob!—Let go the jib-sheet, and trim down to starboard, Tom! That will do. Belay!
"There! Don't she move through the water well? Just a nice working-breeze. And see the glimmer of the breaking day over there to the eastward! I wonder if we can fetch by Rouse's Point without going about. I fear not; but we shall see long before we get there. There is plenty of time.
"Now, Tom, do you see that little light on shore, just forward of the weather fore-rigging? Come and stand just where I am, and see if you see it."
"Yes, uncle, I see it all right."
"Well, take the helm, and keep her just as she goes, with that light cutting the weather-rigging, as a course. She steers like a pilot-boat, and you will have no trouble.—Bob, keep a good lookout there forward, whilst I go below to have a look at the chart."
"Ay, ay, sir!"
"Now, Tom, I have looked carefully at the chart, and I know this harbor well; but the wind is so scant, that I am afraid that we shall not be able to lie by Rouse's Point without going about; and I had rather do it now than when we get farther down, and nearer to the point, for there are some bad rocks make off: so I think that we will go about to make all sure.
"Ready about!
"Come aft, Bob, and tend the lee jib-sheet!—And you look out for the weather one, Tom! All ready! Hard a-lee! Let go the jib-sheet! Avast hauling, Tom: you are too quick!—Trim down, Bob!—Now let draw, and trim down flat, Tom, and belay! There, she begins to trot again! We can't stand very far in this direction; for we are crossing the channel at about right angles, and it is not more than a mile and a half wide hereabouts; and I don't want to be picked up by any of these flats on an ebb tide, and don't mean to; and yet I want to stand over just as far as I can, so as to clear Rouse's Point on the next tack. There comes the daylight at last! Is it not a beautiful sight, Tom?—Come, Bob, jump below, and get up the hand lead, and give us a few casts from the weather-rigging.
"Are you all ready?"
"Ay, ay, sir!"
"Then cast."
Bob.—And a quarter less five.
"That is plenty of water; isn't it, Tom? But then you can't be too careful, and there is nothing like the lead. We only draw eight feet and a half with the centre-board down, and only three and a half with it up: so we have little to fear yet. Keep casting, Bob!"
Bob.—By the deep, four!
"There, you see Tom, we have already commenced to shoal our water."
Bob.—And a quarter less three!
"Still shoaling, and pretty fast too."
Bob.—And by the mark, two!
"We are getting well over, Tom; but we will have a cast or two more from Bob."
Bob.—And a quarter less two!
Bob.—And a half one!
"Ready about!
"Hard a-lee!
"There, Tom, you did better with your jib-sheet that time, and did not try to haul it over too quick, and before Bob had trimmed it down again to make her pay off.
"See, Tom, the day is breaking fast, and there is Rouse's Point well on our lee. If the wind holds, we shall not have the slightest difficulty in passing it on this tack. And now, as we are going to make a long leg, we will let Bob go below and get breakfast ready. Do you think you can eat any thing, Tom?"
"Yes, uncle, I think I can; but this is just splendid. But tell, me, why do you trim down the jib again on the same side, after letting it go? Would not the yacht come about without it?"
"Yes, she would," replied Capt. Coffin, "easily; but I wanted you to see how a craft should be put about in a seamanlike manner, and how she would have to be put about in heavy weather. It is well to know how to do a thing well, and what will be necessary in times of emergency."
"Thank you, uncle: I shall remember. Is it not a lovely morning, and how nicely we are slipping along! I think I could eat a piece of whale's blubber, I am so hungry."
"Are you, Tom? Well, so am I. But here comes Bob up the companion-way, to say that breakfast is ready.
"Now, Bob, keep her full and by; and, if she breaks off any, call me at once, for we shall have to go about again.
"Let's get below, Tom, and get our breakfast; for I must not be long below till we get well outside.
"Is this not a snug little cabin? and haven't I got things handy around me? I like to have things where I can put my hand upon them quickly.
"If you have finished, we will go on deck again.
"Well, Bob, has she held her course?"
"I don't believe she has changed it a pint, Capt. Coffin."
"Well, go below and get your breakfast, and clear things up. We will look out for her. In an hour or two we shall be out in the sound all clear."
"See, uncle, how we have gained upon that fishing-schooner! Are we not going to pass too near him? He evidently is beating out as well as we."
"You are right, Tom. If we should keep on, there would be a collision; but as we are on the port tack, and the fishing-schooner on the starboard tack, and both of us close-hauled, he has the right of way; and it is therefore for that reason that I gracefully ease off the main-sheet, as you see, and keep her off, so as to pass under his stern, whilst he passes saucily on his course and to windward. But it is his right, and we must not hesitate. When we are on the starboard tack, we will demand our rights just as strongly."
"I am afraid after all, uncle Charley, that it is going to be rough; is it not? The day is not as pleasant as it was an hour ago, and it seems kind of overcast and cloudy to windward."
"Yes, Tom: the weather does look a little dirty to windward, but nothing to speak of; but, as you started to see some fun, I hope that you will see it."
"How far do you call us now from the land?"
"Well, I should say that we were a good ten miles from the southern light. I can tell you exactly by cross-bearings, if you really want to know very much."
"No, uncle, I do not care enough to give you that trouble; and, besides, I only wanted to know about how far off you estimated it. We must be going through the water pretty fast, as she is well heeled over."
"Yes, she is jumping along now, and the wind and sea are both getting up fast. I think that I shall take in a reef.
"Never be ashamed, Tom, of reefing early: it is a simple matter if undertaken in time; but, if neglected too long, is a difficult, and at times a dangerous job.
"In the first place, you and Bob get hold of that tender, and draw her up on the lee-side, and get her aboard forward, where she belongs, and lash her down. Don't get overboard!
"Be careful of the rail, Bob: don't chafe it. Now lash her down snug, and, as soon as you are ready, man the jib-halliards and down-haul. All ready?"
"Ay, ay, sir!"
"Then let go the jib-halliards. Down with it, Bob!—Lend a hand on the down-haul, Tom! There, that will do! Make fast!
"Stand by the throat and peak-halliards! lower away! That will do. Well of all. Belay! Come, lay aft here, and bowse out on this reef-pennant! That will do! Lay out on the boom, Bob, and pass this earing! All fast?"
"All fast, sir."
"Then come in and get another earing for the luff, Bob, and hurry up!
"That's the talk; make fast! Now tackle the reef-points, and knot as fast as you can. Now lay forward, and off with the bonnet, off the jib! And sing out when you are ready.
"Now lay aft, and hoist up the mainsail! That will do. Belay! Now up with the jib!
"There, off we go upon our course again. Do you see how much better she stands up to it, Tom? and how much better weather we are making? I don't like the looks of things to windward, however; and I guess that we will square away for a harbor that I know on the other side of the sound, unless you would like to heave to out here, and ride it out. But we should make nothing by that, and we may as well get in smoother water as to jump about here; for it is coming on to blow fresh, if I know any thing about weather. My barometer is falling too, which is also a warning sign.
"Here comes an extra puff, rather more than we can stand even with this reef in; but you see, by shaking her up into the wind, I have allowed all its force to pass us without damage.
"Well, I think that we have had enough of this: it is cold, and the water that we are taking on board will soon chill us more. Here goes for squaring away before it!
"Stand by the main-sheet and jib-halliards!
"Ease away on the main-sheet, Tom! handsomely! Keep a good turn! Don't let it get away with you. That will do!—Ease off the jib-sheet, Bob! Make fast!"
"All fast, sir!"
"Why, uncle Charley, what a change! I should think there was scarcely any wind at all."
"Yes, that is a most common impression when a craft is kept off before the wind after pounding into it; but you should not be deceived. Now is the time that you must pay great attention to the helm; for the waves lift the stern so far out of the water, that the rudder acts, as you see, in an irregular and unequal manner, causing me to meet her as she yaws with a quick movement of the helm. I don't like the looks of the weather at all.
"Look out! Hold on, everybody! There, that sea has pooped us, and we are all afloat! This will never do.
"Stand by to haul aft the main-sheet! We must shake out this reef, Bob, if it is blowing fresh, so as to go faster before the wind, and not get pooped again."
[The reef is shaken out, and the yacht again kept away.]
"There, Tom! see how she runs away from those large seas, now! No more danger of their coming on board again.
"You see, the tide was against us, and the wind astern; and the 'Nancy' moved too slowly forward to escape those big fellows. This is one of the times that it is good seamanship to clap on more sail, although the sea is getting up. If we should haul on a wind now, we should need two reefs in; but, running before it, she is doing very well.
"There is the headland that we shall have to leave on the port side. Do you see it, Tom? We shall have to jibe before we can run in, and that is a manœuvre that must be nicely executed in such a sea-way as this. But we shall execute it all right, as you shall see.
"Lay aft here, Bob, and stand by the peak-halliards! Let go! That will do. Belay! Now clap on this main-sheet, and get it aft, steadily. Round it in!
"Keep a good turn at the cleat! Don't let the boom get away with you! Now slack the lee jib-sheet off, so that the jib can work itself. Now look out for the jerk when the boom goes over, and stand by to slack the sheet at once. Handsomely done! Slack away the main-sheet! Belay! There, that is a good job! Up with the peak! Belay!
"Go forward, Bob, and stock the second anchor; and bend on the cable, and have it all ready for anchoring; for we shall not find very much lee in this harbor till the wind shifts. But there is good holding-ground, and we shall be all right.
"As soon as we pass that lighthouse, Tom, and get in the bight of the bay you see ahead on the starboard side, I shall round her to, and let go the anchors. There are two fishermen at anchor there now. Do you see them?"
"Yes, uncle, I see them; and they seem to be laboring pretty heavy."
"Yes. That is because they are loaded deep; but we shall ride like a bird.
"Haul down the jib, and stow it! Lend Bob a hand, Tom. Now come aft here!
"Stand by the anchor, Bob!"
"Ay, ay, sir!"
"Now you see, Tom, how I round her up under the stern of this fisherman, and bring her head to wind.
"Let go the anchor!"
"All gone."
"Don't check her too quick, Bob! Pay out! pay out! Now snub her, but not too sharp. Does she hold?"
"Yes, sir. She has brought up."
"Then let go the second anchor, and pay out on both. Give your cables plenty of scope. That will do. Make every thing fast.
"I can see by the land that she does not drag. But jump below, Bob, and hand me up the hand lead, that I may throw it over the side, and see that she is holding all right.
"There, Tom! don't she ride easily?
"Now down mainsail, and stow it, before it is slatted to pieces by the wind, and lash the helm amidships. We shall ride here like a Mother Carey's chicken.
"Now let's sound the pumps, and then we will go below, and take things easy till this wind moderates; have a good, nice dinner; and then we will proceed upon our cruise. Well, Tom, do you think you have smelt salt water, boy?"
"Yes, uncle; but I like it, though, and the way you manage, in spite of the elements. We have not started a rope-yarn, and are lying here as snug as a bug in a rug."
And thus we will leave them, wishing them good weather, and a pleasant ending to their cruise.