Tender again sails for the Rock.
The operations at the Rock, during the last spring-tides, had exhausted the stock of timber, of which a great quantity could not be kept either on board of the Tender, or on the Beacon, while much loss and inconveniency had frequently been experienced by attempting to keep it afloat in rafts. At 5 o’clock this morning, the boats left Arbroath with seventeen artificers, and two rafts of timber, which were taken on board of the Tender, when she immediately sailed for the Bell Rock. But there being little wind, it was 7 in the evening before she was made fast to her moorings; and, from the state of the tide, no landing was made this evening.
Monday, 22d.
Great exertions made in laying the circular track of Railway.
The weather was moderate to-day, and, at 9 A. M., Mr Watt and the artificers left the vessel for the Beacon; but the wind having been at S.E., it was with great difficulty that a landing was effected. At half-past 11, the masons and other low-water artificers landed, and proceeded with the operations of the railways; but the spring-tides being as yet very languid, little work was done, and the boats returned to the Tender in about an hour and a half. The joiners and smiths, however, continued their operations on the higher parts of the Beacon till 9 P. M. Had it not been a matter of extreme importance to get the circular track of the Railway completed, so that the waggons might be wheeled round the site of the building, and the materials brought within reach of the building-cranes in every direction, as will be understood from Plates [VI.] and [IX.], the artificers, at this period of the tides, would not have remained at the Rock, but have returned to the work-yard at Arbroath. In this stage of the work, however, the gaining of a single tide was an object of great moment to its future progress.
Tuesday, 23d.
Attempt made to erect one of the cranes.
The artificers employed at the Beacon, landed upon it at 6 o’clock A.M., being then high-water. At 12 noon, one of the building cranes was brought to the Rock in a praam, by the landing-master’s crew; but, as the water did not leave the Rock sufficiently for getting hold of the ring-bats of the guy-tackles, the crane could not be set up: it was therefore laid upon the building, and made fast to Lewis-bats fixed in the upper course, and left in that state for the present. The praam-boat was towed to her moorings at 2 o’clock P. M., but the joiners and smiths continued at work till 10 o’clock, when they came on board of the Tender.
Smeaton sails with the first stones this season.
Things being now in a state of preparation for commencing the building operations for the season, the sloop Smeaton was loaded with twenty-six blocks of stone belonging to the Fifth course. She had also on board a few casks of pozzolano, cement, lime, and sand, with trenails, wedges, and other materials connected with the building. At 5 P. M., the writer embarked with Mr Peter Logan the building-foreman, Captain Wilson the landing-master, and fifteen masons, and sailed for the Bell Rock with the first cargo of stones for this season’s operations. The wind was moderate, but being easterly, it was not till 9 o’clock that the vessel reached the floating-light, when the writer, accompanied by the landing-master, went on board to examine her moorings after the gales of winter, while the Smeaton continued her course to the Bell Rock.