“Leopard, Dungeness, June 23, 1804.
“Sir,—I have received your letter of 21st instant, relative to the paint and oil I have demanded for the preservation of the boats of his Majesty’s ship under my command, and in reply to it beg leave to inform you that I did not make that demand without having previously stated to the Navy Board by letter the situation of the boats of the Leopard, and the necessity of an extra proportion of paint being supplied for them; and as by their answer they appeared to have approved of my application, inasmuch as they told me orders had been sent to Deal to issue it, I concluded nothing more remained for me than to demand the necessary quantity. Presuming, however, from the tenor of your letter, that you have received no direction on the subject, I shall write to renew my application.
“With respect to ‘no colour than white being allowed for boats,’ I would only ask you, as knowing something of the King’s naval service, how long one of our six-oared cutters would look decent painted all white, and whether a darker colour would not be both more durable and creditable? If, however, such be the regulation of the Board (from which I know there is no appeal), I have only to request, when you receive any order to supply the paint, that you will give an additional quantity of white in lieu of black.
“The paint to which you allude in your letter as having been supplied on the 9th and 12th June, was sea store, and ought to have been furnished to the ship months ago. Nor is it more than sufficient to make her decent and fit for an Admiral to hoist his flag in.
“I am, Sir, your humble servant,
“Francis Wm. Austen.
“Geo. Lawrence, Esq., &c., &c.”
Shingle ballast was one of the grievances of naval officers at that time. It was, naturally, much cheaper than iron ballast, but it had a particularly awkward habit of shifting, and the larger stones occasionally drilled holes in the ship. It was also very bulky and difficult to stow.
Francis Austen was neither slow to enter a protest, nor easily put off his point. He writes:
“Though the ship is deep enough in the water, she can only acquire the proper stability by having the weight placed lower. By a letter which I have this day received from the Navy Board in answer to my request, I am informed that the Leopard cannot be supplied with more than the established proportion of iron ballast, but if I wish for more directions shall be given for supplying shingle. I have, therefore, to request you will be pleased to move their Lordships to give directions for the Leopard’s being supplied with the additional iron ballast as requested in my letter to the Navy Board.”
About this time Francis Austen began to keep a private note-book, which is still in existence, in which he recorded (not always seriously) points of interest in the places he visited. He seems to have kept this note-book while he was in the Leopard, then laid it aside for three years, and begun it again when he was Captain of the St. Albans. His notes on the “Anchorage Off Boulogne” contain some interesting details.
“Directions for Sailing into the Roads.—There is no danger whatever in approaching the anchorage usually occupied by the English squadron employed at the blockade of Boulogne, as the water is deep and the soundings are regular. There is a bank called the ‘Basse du Basse,’ which lies about a mile off Ambleteuse, extending in a direction nearly parallel to the shore, but rather diverging outwards to the westward of Boulogne Pier; on it there are in some places as little as three fathoms at low water, and within it considerably deeper water.” He goes on with some special advice for the various types of vessel.