Information concerning St. Sebastians.

St. Sabastians is a very open bay. A vessel lying there must have, in some cases eight, but never less than six anchors out; two from the stern, two from the bow, and one from each beam. The anchors and cable necessary for mooring are large and expensive. Ships are supplied with them from the shore, for the use of which an established price is paid. Charges are also made for all chafes which they sustain while in use; which'damage is estimated by rope makers, who take special care to rate it high enough.

When you receive the cables, you are allowed to mark their old chafes; but as they are not taken up till your ship is under way going out, the boatmen, as I am informed, cut off the spun yarn which has been placed as marks of former chafes; and the old chafes are by this means paid for, as well as the new, by every ship that uses them.

On the Gibraltar Road.

In Gibraltar Road vessels lay in a line, extending from Gibraltar westwardly; because a large space of the bay on the inside of this line is too shoal; and, at a very little distance from the off side of the shipping, the water is too deep to anchor in. I have frequently known ships to run aground in this inside space, in endeavouring to obtain a clear birth. The least reflection would have informed their commanders that there must be some substantial cause for vessels lying further off. But on the off side, vessels running in have sometimes cast anchor, and veered out their cables to the bitter end, without reaching the bottom.

In running in to anchor at this place, in 1817, in the ship Mount Vernon, of Philadelphia, my second mate, in heaving the lead in seven fathoms water, by mistake mentioned seventeen fathoms.* Intending to come to with the ship's head off shore, and on hearing this, apprehending I was too near the verge of the bank, I had the ship wore round in shore, among a crowd of shipping, to my disadvantage.

There is a constant current running through the Gut of Gibraltar into the Mediterranean, which is occasioned by the water being warmer in the Mediterranean than in the Atlantic Ocean, and by its evaporation, the water runs from the Atlantic into it, to seek its level. The current runs 3 and 4 knots through this Gut, but weakens as it ascends the Mediterranean, till it arrives as high up as Cape de Gat, where there is no current, as I have experienced at different times.

ings.

Seventeen fathoms water in Gibraltar Roads, is near the edge of sound

Great caution is necessary for ships from the westward bound into the Mediterranean, at the approach of night, and when drawing near this place, for if a ship should heave to in a dark night, without making good allowance, in all probability she would be carried before daylight to the southward of Cape Spartel, (where the current divides,) and be imbayed where with a westerly wind it would be difficult to beat out. By neglecting the precaution as above, several vessels have been lost on the coast of Barbary.

Management of a Ship out of Trim, in a River.

If a ship be too much by the stern and beating in a narrow channel, making short tacks, and with light winds, it will be difficult to stay her. In such case, the boats ought to be got out to assist her in staying. After she is about she will fall broad off; and by this means be a considerable time coming to.

The head yards are kept square, the jib and fore topmast staysail flowing. But if she be too much by the head, after she is about, she will fly to. The head sheets are hauled aft as soon as possible, and the head yards are braced sharp up: notwithstanding this, she may come in the wind, may be boxed off, but by this means lay aback, and perhaps drift aground. By not paying proper attention to their trim, many vessels have got ashore, in narrow channels and light winds.

Remarks on the Trim of a Ship at Sea.

It is astonishing how very particular some persons are in having large sails to their vessels, to make them sail fast, and also in carrying a crowd of sail to make a short passage, and so little regard is paid to the trim of the vessel. It may sometimes happen that a vessel being but a few inches out of trim, will make a difference of all the light sails in her sailing-this is more sensible with a vessel that has a short floor.

A

REMARK. Being under convoy, in the brig Sylph, of Philadelphia, and coming to anchor in the Great Belt, it blowing a heavy gale, and being obliged to veer both cables out nearly to the bitter end, the next day moderate, the fleet got under way, the cables lying on the main deck, which brought the vessel by the head about three inches out of her trim. vessel which was in the fleet, and which I could spare my top gallant sails to the preceding day, now could spare me her top gallant sails. Perceiving the cause, I had the cables coiled down in their birth, and the Sylph sailed as before. If a sharp vessel, it is still more sensible. The Sylph was sharp built.

A vessel being in proper trim before she sails out of port, if by any means she become out of trim, it may be adjusted by

contriving a level, such as a trough, and putting it in one particular place in the ship, and putting a certain quantity of water in it when the ship is in trim, and having it marked where the waterline comes, then by putting exactly the same quantity of water in it, when there is a smooth sea, the ship by these means may be kept in trim. This method is preferable to putting water on deck. The former method I have found effectually to answer the purpose. Care should be taken always to put the same end of the trough forward.

The only exact method of finding a vessel's trim, is by sailing in company with others that sail about equal. For by sailing with others that sail much faster or slower, the trim cannot be so well ascertained.

I have noticed an absurd practice at sea which prevails among navigators, of keeping their ships, when in the middle of the wide ocean, as close to the wind as possible, with the sails as sharp trimmed as they can make them, which prevents them from going above three or four knots an hour, whereas by keeping their ships a point or two from the wind, they would be enabled to carry more sail, and make little or no lee way, and be going eight or nine knots.

On Heaving Heavy Strains.

When a heavy strain is to be hove by a number of crabs or capsterns, their barrels ought to be of the same dimensions, and the tackle falls all of the same size, or you cannot heave an even strain.

On Pitch Pine Spars.

Virginia pitch pine spars, that are made of trees from which the turpentine has been extracted, lose their substance, and soon decay. I once had a foremast in a schooner, made of such wood, which broke a few feet above deck, with very little strain. The heart of the mast, which was about seven inches in diameter, was decayed entirely to dust.

On Using Black Varnish.

Nothing is more destructive to spars than black varnish. It will raise a shell, an inch thick round a spar, and separated a little from it. The water then entering the rents in this coat and surrounding the mast, rots it. Black or other coloured paint is, therefore, preferable to be used on masts.

On Gammoning Bowsprits.

The bowsprit gammoning should pass through a mortice in the cut-water, under the cheeks, for if it should pass through a

heart which is bolted through the cut-water, it is apt to break or draw; and thus the bowsprit be endangered, and the foremast perhaps, if there be not sea room to keep before the wind, until the damage be repaired.

In the ship Mercury, from Philadelphia bound to Bordeaux, in 1806, the bolt of the heart through which the gammoning passed drew; so that I was obliged to bear away before the wind, to save bowsprit and foremast until I had time to fit another. Had the shore been close under my lea, and the sea high, I could not have done this, and the consequence would probably have been the loss of both.

On Hawse-holes Steeving.

A cable, with a long scope out, may be damaged by the upper part of a hawse-hole that steeves much-which is often the On this account my cable had nearly suffered great damage in 1807, in a gale of wind, while lying in the ship Mercury, in Basque Roads.

case.

Necessity of Nailing Boats afresh.

In a very short time the nails in a boat become rusty, when fresh nailing is necessary: from neglecting which much suffering has been experienced. I am of opinion that if Captain Riley had taken this precaution, he would not have fallen into the hands of the Arabs. He says, in his narrative, that his vessel being ashore on the coast of Barbary, he pushed off the boat, but that her nails were so rusty that the plank bursted off. He was, therefore, constrained to remain by the wreck, and was soon after made captive.

On Sheathing.

After the copper on ships' bottoms is worn out, it is frequently replaced by wooden sheathing, nailed on with iron nails; but this is in the highest degree dangerous, as the copper water remaining in the vessel, which is continually kept up by the copper bolts impregnating the water in the hold, will destroy the nails of the sheathing, and cause it to drop from the bottom; at least such has been the case with many vessels. And even if such a vessel be iron bolted, the impregnation of the water in her hold from the copper on her bottom, and its nails, will have nearly the same effect. To provide against such effects in the first instance, the sheathing nails should be copper; and in the second, the sheathing should be fresh nailed the first time the vessel is hove out.

Sheathing nails of copper are cheapest in the end; for if they be of iron, some fresh ones must be driven every time she is hove out, as they very soon decay in salt water.

On Nailing Copper with Wooden Mallets.

It is usual, in coppering a vessel, to drive the nails with mallets of hard wood. But when these become worn and indented in the centre, they will not drive the nails home, and they are thus left partly sticking out. In such cases the cable often drags them entirely out, which besides damaging it, causes the copper to fall from the bottom; impedes the vessel's sailing, &c. Nails should therefore be drove with hammers faced with iron, such as are used by shoemakers, by which means these evils will be avoided.

On Spiking a new Ship's Deck.

In spiking a new ship's deck, the spikes ought not to be drove hard home, as is generally done, because this bruizes and brooms the plank, and admits water, which will rust the iron. This rust will afterwards come out, leaving a hole round the head of the spike. Whereas if the spike be not driven quite down, and afterwards punched, the plank round the spike will remain sound as long as the ship lasts.

Keeping every Seam and Rent tight

Is a great preservative of the timbers. The lower deck seams ought to be always kept tight, if it be only to prevent the water's damaging the lower deck beams.

Importance of Composition Chambers in Pumps.

If a ship should leak much, so as to require the pumps to be much used, and its chamber should be of wood, it will become so much worn that a spear box which will enter the upper part of the pump will be too small to fill up the chamber; and the pump will not therefore deliver water.

I experienced this effect in the ship Orion, on my passage from Philadelphia to St. Sebastians loaded with Indian corn. In order to remedy it I had canvass sewed up, in the form of a hose, about sixteen inches in length, which was put over the upper box; one end being woolded on the score of the box, and the other end tabled with grummet holes. Through these holes marline or spunyarn was rove, and made fast to the spear, about six or eight inches above the upper end of the hose. The hose, in the first place must be sufficiently large, when swelled full of water, to fill the chamber. Its lower end must be therefore plaited on the score of the spear-box. These things being done, the pump delivered water as well as ever.