To prevent rolling away the Masts upon coming out of Port, with new Rigging, immediately into a high Sea.

Vessels have frequently rolled away their masts from coming suddenly out of port into a high sea with new rigging. On an occasion of this kind, if one of the bower anchors be let go, and a necessary quantity of cable wore away, it will bring the ship's bow to sea, when she will roll less, and afford an opportunity for securing the masts.

CONFORMABLY to the object of this work, which is to promote the safety of lives and property, the author inserts the following miscellaneous hints, which are principally deduced from his own experience. He does this in the trust that they may at least, on some occasions be found useful, and tend to the object for which they are intended.

Some Remarks on Sailing Schooners.

In a gale of wind a sharp built schooner is hove to under the double reefed foresail. After the bonnet is off, the sail is lowered down, and the sheet hauled aft: the reef earing or plat being reeved through the cringle, the sheet is to be eased off, while the cringles are hauled close together. Pass as many turns of the plat as may be necessary, reef the sail, and hoist ît up: haul the sheet as flat aft as you can get it, the flatter the better, to prevent her from head-reaching too much; and also, when she comes up, to prevent it from shaking. While the foresail is kept full, the vessel continues to head-reach, which keeps a constant action of the water on her rudder; and this prevents her from falling off into the trough of the sea. If she is very sharp, and it is seen that she head-reaches too fast, it is then necessary to hook on the weather sheet, and haul the sail amidships.

In some sharp built schooners, it is necessary to hoist the head of the mainsail, to assist in keeping them to. The helm must not be put hard down, but a little to leeward, or as circumstances may require. In sailing such a vessel by the wind, when it is blowing in squalls, it is usual to touch her up in the wind; but if the wind should be variable, sometimes coming on the quarter, and sometimes ahead, to luff her up in this manner would be attended with danger. Sail ought to be made snug; for if a squall should come suddenly on the quarter, it will be too long a luff before the sails touch; and if it come ahead, will take aback.

A flat built schooner is often hove to under a balance mainsail; but if this be done she must be very flat, and will not lye to, in any way, under a foresail; so that while she is lying to under a balance mainsail, she will come up and fall off; the after sail will bring her up in the wind: she will first lose her head-way, and afterwards get stern-way, and by her helm being to leeward, she will fall round off before she gathers head-way. The wind being then on the quarter, she runs ahead with violence, again comes up in the wind, and continues coming up and falling off; but on account of her being so flat, and consequently having little hold of the water, she will drift so fast that the sea will be made smooth: it therefore cannot reach her. But if a sharp built vessel should fall off in this way, in the trough of the sea, her decks would be in great danger of being swept.

Shallow flat built vessels are much more liable to be upset in a heavy sea than those of any other construction, on account of their having but little hold of the water, notwithstanding their great stability in a river, or smooth water. It is almost impossible to upset them by carrying sail.

Dutch galliots, being flat, and having but little hold of the water, are often upset at sea by a heavy lurch, when the sea strikes them under their bottom.

It must be recollected that the lee sheet of a schooner's topsail must be the first clewed up, otherwise the sail is liable to get over the lee yard-arm, on account of a schooner's topsail having proportionably more spread at the foot than square rig ged vessels. A schooner's weather braces must not be hauled too taught, otherwise they will be carried away or break the yard, by the spring of the masts, &c.

A careful person ought to be at the helm of a schooner carrying sail in squally weather, when it is necessary to luff up and touch the sails. At such times the square sails ought to be handed. At such times I generally took the helm myself.

In tacking a schooner much depends on working the lug foresail briskly. It ought to be hauled over, while head to wind, as quickly as possible, but not to make a back sail,

On Boat Sailing.

I shall insert only a few cautions on this subject, which are frequently neglected, and which are attended with danger.

A boat is very liable to be upset, by jibing with sail set, and by flaws, or shifts, or sudden gusts of wind. Persons unacquainted with boats frequently get on the weather side on those occasions; and the boat being taken aback, that side becomes the lee side, and the boat is upset by their weight, before they

can change their position. It is usual to luff, when sailing by the wind, when a puff of wind springs up; but if this puff should come abaft the beam, it will be too long a luff. It is better to let the sheet fly, or to keep off. I have seen a boat upset in a fresh breeze, by a number of people being to windward when the boat was luffed up. The boat, losing the wind out of her sails, canted over, before the people could change their position, without her being taken aback.

Necessity of attending to the Pump, on first coming out of Harbour.

After a vessel has laid a considerable time in port, the seams of her upper works in general become somewhat open, and by the rolling of the vessel, when at sea, they, being frequently wet, in a short time swell, and become tight. This, however, may not be the case, until she has admitted a considerable quantity of water, which, if no precautions are taken, may damage part of the cargo, before such a thing is expected. This may be prevented by pumping frequently on first leaving port, until the seams are perfectly tight.

Sailing in Shoal Water.

A vessel sailing in water so shoal that the keel is near the ground, will sail badly, steer badly, and stay badly, if she will stay at all. This is occasioned by the counteraction on the rudder of the eddy water which runs near the ground. A vessel, in this case, is best stayed by dropping an anchor, as soon as she is luffed head to wind, (if it is perceived that she is not likely otherwise to stay ;) and as soon as she takes the other way, to heave up the anchor briskly. The Bordeaux pilots are very expert at this manœuvre, which they find frequent occasion for in some of the passes at the mouth of the Bordeaux river. I was beating out of Bordeaux river by Pass de Grave, in 1807, with the ship Mercury, at nearly low water, when this expedient saved me from the necessity of either anchoring or running back in either of which cases I should have been obliged to wait the whole flood tide.

Some assert that a vessel in shoal water will draw more water than when she is in deep water, intimating that the vessel is attracted by the bottom, when thus near, to a very sensible degree; and they claim as a proof of this fact, that when a vessel comes suddenly on the ground, the water rises up about her. But this may be accounted for in another way. It is a well known fact, that a vessel going fast through the water, always carries with her considerable eddy water. When, therefore, she is suddenly checked, this eddy water continues for a short

time after its cause ceases, and consequently produces a momentary swell of water about the vessel. On such occasions I have sometimes seen it rise as high as the mizen chains. In order to do away any possible doubt on the subject, I sounded with the lead in the ship Mercury, on the Pea Patch, at slack water, when the vessel touched the bottom; and found no increase of her draught.

On Running for Land,

It is highly important that only such sail should be kept on the ship as she may be able to bear close hauled. During thick weather or night, it ought always to be considered whether the ship be running towards a bight or projecting land: for if you get into a bight, you may find it difficult to get out again.

It is imprudent to run for land in the night, without it may be such land as may be seen from a considerable distance; and even if it be high land, situated at a distance in the interior, you may be deceived, and run your ship on shore, as it is impossible to know from the chart, how far from the shore those mountains may be.

If you run for land at night, on the faith of a good lunar observation, taken during the day, you may be deceived by a current running towards the land. Among the West India Islands, there are regular tides, which run six hours to windward and six to leeward, in many places at the rate of three, and sometimes four miles per hour. In many places currents have been known to run towards the land, at the rate of five miles per hour; and a lee current will often be running for several days together, which may overcome the weather tides, mostly among the Windward islands and keys. If, therefore, you should get into these lee currents or tides, in the night, near the land, you may by them be carried on shore.

From these causes, heaving vessels to, when land is near, may be attended with danger. Several cases have been related to me wherein ships heaving to, where no land was seen before night, have drifted ashore before day-light; and the following instance will further exemplify these facts.

In 1797, when in the schooner Commerce, of Philadelphia, bound to Cape François, in running down for Turks Island, my reckoning being nearly out, I went up to the topmast head about sunset, but could see no land. Nevertheless, having some fears of a lee current, I did not heave the vessel to, but beat her under a press of sail during the night; and the next morning at day-light, the land was under our lee, not more than two leagues distant. If I had hove to, I should have been driven ashore. A flat bottomed vessel, in a common trade wind, if hove to,

will drift at least three miles per hour. If this be combined with a lee current, it is dangerous.

Some navigators when expecting themselves to be near land, are in the habit of running after sunset, as far as they can see. But this ought to be avoided as dangerous.

When running for places of which the longitude is not well established, great caution ought to be used in thick weather, or at night.

On looking over the Side for White Water in the

Night.

In running towards land among the West India Islands, or any tropical islands or land, where the banks extend off to any considerable distance, a change in the appearance of the water, will sometimes warn you of danger. It is of a lighter colour than it is off soundings. In consequence of neglecting to notice this indication, I was cast away in the brig Active, of Philadelphia, Captain Nathaniel Gardner, of which vessel I was mate. She ran on a reef one league to the eastward of the Hogsties, and was lost, an account of which is given hereafter. Cautions on Lying to at Night, where Shipping are expected to run.

In the British Channel, and all other places where shipping frequently pass, a ship lying to at night, ought to have a light hung up in her weather rigging, or some other convenient place; and in either lying to or running in a fog, the bell ought to be rung, a conch blown, or some other kind of noise made, to warn others that they may not run foul of you.

Caution on Vessels meeting at Sea.

When two vessels are running towards each other, and are very close before they are perceived, the vessel having the starboard tacks on board ought to keep the wind, and that on the larboard tack to keep away. If this become a universal rule, it will save many vessels, and the lives on board. This rule is said to be strictly adhered to by English vessels, though it is not many years since I have heard it mentioned.

A Ship being near a dangerous Lee Shore, in a heavy Gale of Wind.

If a ship should be caught near a dangerous lee shore, in a heavy gale of wind, in endeavouring to keep her off, sail should be carried as long as the hull and masts will bear it; as the wind may abate, or take a favourable change, even when you