There
is a constant heavy swell and very little wind. The
noise
below resembles a barrage. Of course, it is ruininq
the
gear and straining the ship, but I do not see how I can
avoid
it. With the trysail set instead of the mainsail
things
were nearly as bad and we made no progress. We
have
got to make port sometime or other, and there is no
reason
to believe that next week will be any better than
this.
My mother will probably go off her head if she does
not
hear from me soon, and she will probably worry Rab
into
chartering the English and American fleets to look
for
us. Rab has read all the stuff about the Northeast
Trades
in Ocean Passages: wind from north-east varying
only
a couple of points, force 3 to 6, cloudless, rainless
weather,
etc. This is how I would describe the North-east
Trades:
'Wind either north or east-north-east, or south or
east-south-east,
usual force either 1 or 7 with nothing in
between.
The normal condition is either heavy rain
squalls
or dead calms. The sky is usually covered with
heavy
clouds.' However, this is all by the way, I have
quite
started to enjoy life again, though I am becoming a
likely
candidate for the league of moral men. I am rationed
down
to four cigarettes a day, and I have not had a blind
for
twenty-eight days.'
On
November 19th we had a violent squall lasting
about
two and a half hours; it kicked up a most un-
pleasant
short sea such as you meet in the shallow waters
of
the Channel. Jenkins said it reminded him of the Port-
land
Race.
On
November 20th Jack scored the second gybe. The
wind
had dropped to nothing and then blew suddenly
from
three points nearer to the north. No damage was
done,
but I remember thinking: 'It will be my turn next,
and
I will probably carry away the boom.' My observed
position
that day at 4.55 p.m. was 11 degrees 20' North,
56
degrees 57’ West, about 240 miles from the north-east
58
A MODERN SEA BEGGAR
point
of Trinidad. The glass fell two-tenths that day, and
the
evening looked rather threatening. I noted in my log:
'Jenkins
is happy to-night, but I am slightly uneasy. As
soon
as we get near land I always begin to fidget. We are
so
near now, and I do so want to bring this voyage to a
successful
conclusion after all the croaking of the wise-
acres.
Trinidad was certainly a foolish place to make for
according
to the Pilot Book. I should think it is an even
chance
our getting swept past it. On the other hand, what
a
lovely place to go through-the Boca Grande of the
Dragon's
Mouth, christened by Columbus. Which re-
minds
me that we have come by almost the same route as
Columbus
came.'
On
November 21st, just as I was going to take my
meridian
altitude, I noticed a very thick rain cloud was
about
to cover the sun. I sent Jenkins below to clock my
observations,
as it was very important I should get my
true
latitude. Seven minutes before noon the sun's alti-
tude
was 58 degrees 52'. One minute later I took an altitude
again
while the sun was shining through the rain. The
altitude
had jumped to 60 degrees 1'-refraction, I suppose.
Estimating
my latitude from ex-meridian table, I made my
latitude
10 degrees 41', which put me twenty-two miles south
of
my dead reckoning. I ignored the altitude I had taken
through
the rain, which would have put me over sixty
miles
further south, but I was not able to get an observa-
tion
for a position line all that day, and I was rather
worried.
The alternation of calms and heavy squalls in-
creased
in rapidity and the wind was constantly shifting.
At
night steering was particularly difficult. The wind
came
from one quarter, then it would drop and every-
thing
would be blotted out. Then it would suddenly blow
hard
from another quarter, while you were quite blinded
by
the rain. A few minutes later you were tossed about in
the
calm by a heavy swell. Several times I ought to have
TENERIFE
TO TRINIDAD 59
lowered
the mainsail, but it would have been too great a
strain
on the crew. Jenkins was getting more and more
worn
and seldom smiled. It was at this time he swore he
would
never go to sea again. Of course, he had never been
to
sea in a small boat before and had never been hove-to
in
a gale. His chief worry was that we had not got a wire-
less
for S.O.S. purposes. However he did what had to be
done
with extreme efficiency. Jack cussed and damned
and
was fed to the teeth with the whole business, but he
never
showed any sign of alarm. We saw our first steamer
that
day.
I
was worried during the night of the 21st to 22nd, as
we
began to move at last and I was uncertain of my
position,
owing to the rain having obscured the sun just
before
I took my meridian altitude. I took a position line
at
eight on the morning of November 22nd, but I had
breakfast
before plotting it out. I found Jenkins' clocking,
although
I had taken eleven observations, was quite un-
reliable,
and there was no way of discovering the minute.
I
took another series, and again found he had been mixing
up
the minutes. I then took a third series and fell down
the
companion after each one in order to note the minute
myself.
I got a good meridian altitude, and my observed
position
at noon was 11 degrees 5' North, 59 degrees 5' West,
and
the log read 2,676 miles. That made me about sixty miles
from
Tobago Island, and to our joy, we sighted it at two
o'clock,
on our starboard beam. I had got rather too far
to
the north, for we had been steering west north-west
during
the night, instead of west by north. I gybed and
altered
the course to west by south as soon as I got my
meridian
altitude. We made out Scarborough Light on
the
east side of Tobago Island at dusk, and Galera Light
on
the north-east corner of Trinidad a few minutes later.
We
had been sailing fast all day with a strong and steady
wind
which held till about ten o'clock that night.
60
A MODERN SEA BEGGAR
I
began to dance about like a cat on hot bricks as soon
as
we sighted land. My pleasure at having picked up land
as
I intended was swamped in my anxiety not to make
any
mistake now. I made Jack and Jenkins steer four
hours
on and four hours off, and spent my time taking
bearings
of the lights and poring over the charts. The
current
was setting very strongly over Wasp Shoal,
which
is off the south-east end of Tobago Island, and I kept
altering
my course to the south. By two in the morning,
we
were about two miles from the coast of Trinidad and
about
fifteen miles from the Dragon's Mouth, and the
wind
was very light and we were making about one knot.
I
got a couple of hours sleep and told Jenkins to wake me
at
dawn.
It
was a lovely dawn, the first we had seen over the
land
for thirty-five days. The north coast of Trinidad is
high
and steep. The mountain peaks were covered in
white
cloud and as the sun caught them they turned gold
and
rose. Jenkins and I both said it was a sunrise we
would
never forget.
Everything
then looked propitious. We had about
twelve
miles to go to the Boca Grande, and the tide was
due
to flow into the Dragon's Mouth at about ten o'clock.
According
to the pilot book, we should have had a fair
breeze
at about nine o'clock, increasing in strength till
midday.
But, as usual, the winds refused to follow instruc-
tions.
At eleven o'clock we were just opposite the Boca
Huevos,
or Umbrella Channel. Then at last we got a stiff
breeze
which was obviously a nice quartering wind to
take
us through this passage. The pilot book said that the
passage
through the Umbrella Channel was justifiable
with
a commanding breeze, which we certainly had. So,
as
it saved many miles, I decided to try it. We went up it
like
a train until we were about 400 yards from the end.
Then
the breeze fell light and we drifted back ignomini-
TENERIFE
TO TRINIDAD 61
ously.
Then to tantalize us, it blew hard again, and I
thought
I would try once more. We only got half way
through
that time, and then again drifted back. I felt
very
much like trying again, but all the time I was
remembering
that the tide turned the other way at about
four
o'clock. It was then one o'clock in the afternoon, so
I
thought I would just have time to get through the Boca
Grande,
which the pilot book said was a simple passage
when
the tide was with you. We arrived at its mouth
about
two o'clock, and with a light breeze and a slight
current
with us got two-thirds of the way through. But
this
time it was a dead beat. Then again the wind fell to
nothing.
We drifted on a little, but by about four o'clock
we
were back again at the entrance and were starting to
drift
rapidly towards the Punta de Penas. By this time I
had
quite given up hope and expected to go drifting down
the
Venezuelan coast, with little hope of beating back
against
wind and current. But when I was quite despair-
ing,
it suddenly started to blow really hard from the
south-west.
The current was running strongly against us,
but
the water was smooth and the wind was blowing so
hard
that we managed to beat through; just before dark
we
cleared the Diamond Buoy and before we lit our side-
lights,
were well within the Gulf of Paria.
The
wind was then blowing from the east and we had a
dead
beat to Port of Spain. I was not anxious to get into
port
before dawn, so I took the topsail off her and made a
long
leg on the port tack with the intention of getting
well
to windward and of floating in gently in the morn-
ing.
I kept Jenkins and Jack steering four hours on and
four
hours off, while I checked my position by bearings
on
the lights every half hour. We were all feeling dead
tired
by this time. The wind dropped during the night,
and
for once I was glad. Two hours before dawn, there
was
a light breeze and I was about twelve miles from
62
A MODERN SEA BEGGAR
Port
of Spain, well to the windward, so I went about.
The
wind veered more and more to the south and I ran
gently
into Port of Spain as the sun rose. We dropped
anchor
opposite the HarbourMaster's office about seven
o’clock,
thirty-five days out of Tenerife.
We
were too tired to feel really excited. Jenkins
collapsed
on to the saloon sofa, too overcome with emotion
to
speak for a while. He said, eventually, when I sug-
gested
we should drink and rejoice, `Sir? I never, never,
expected
to see land again.'
IV
TRINIDAD
The
Customs came on board, and five negro searchers
turned
the whole boat upside down. I have never
known
such a thorough examination. I had some morphia
with
me which I thought I had better declare, although,
as
a doctor, I am entitled to carry it with me. They
insisted
on either sealing it up on the boat or taking it
away
with them and locking it up on shore. As I had no
convenient
place I let them take it away.
Queerly
enough, I did not feel excited or relieved, but
rather
apprehensive at having to face land life once
again-perhaps
I was conscious of thirty-five days'
growth
of hair and beard. Eventually I pulled myself
together
and drove in a taxi to the barber's. The one
thing
I did enjoy was some fresh fruit; I ate six grape-
fruit
before lunch.
The
arrangement I had made with Rab before I left
Tenerife
was that I should send Jack home and keep
Jenkins
with me if he were willing. I was to haul the
boat
up in Trinidad and await Rab's arrival somewhere
about
the beginning of January. The first thing I dis-
covered
was that it was impossible to careen a boat,
drawing
nine feet six inches, at Trinidad, as there was
only
about a four foot rise of tide. And, it was impossible
even
to get her on to the only existing slipway. There
used
to be a floating dock at Port of Spain, but they
omitted
to keep it in proper order and it had been con-
demned
some months before I arrived. Hauling her up
and
leaving her on shore was obviously impossible. If
she
had been left in the water, she would inevitably
have
been honey-combed with worm in three month's
64 A MODERN SEA BEGGAR
time.
The dock officials thought they might be able to
lift
her with their crane. They measured her and started
to
make elaborate calculations. In the meantime, Rab
wired
me to get her coppered. After much thought, the
government
decided that she was too heavy for their
crane.
I
did not want to set sail again. Jenkins was not cheer-
ful
at the prospect and Jack was mutinous. All they
wanted
was to go home as quickly as possible. However,
there
was nothing for it. I could not just let the boat rot
at
anchor. There were five places I could make for, where
I
could be sure of having her docked: Barbados, Mar-
tinique,
Demerara, Curacao and Panama. Barbados was
the
nearest, but it was dead to windward and the current
was
against us. It was impossible to make Demerara
against
the current. I would rather have liked to go
straight
to Panama, where we had to go eventually;
but
although it was dead to leeward, it was 1,200 miles
away,
and Rab had warned me it would probably be very
expensive.
I was tempted to go to Martinique, for I like
French
places and I knew that living would be very
cheap;
on the other hand, as I was going to have the boat
coppered,
I thought I would get the best work at a
British
port. My faith in my countrymen was to be
severely
shaken.
When
I announced to the crew that they were not
going
home from Trinidad, but that we had to go on to
Barbados,
there was a great scene. Jenkins was frightfully
upset,
and Jack refused to go. I said there was nothing for
it,
and I told Jack he could either get off or come along
with
me. The following morning Jenkins turned up
trumps
as usual. He came to me and told me that he was
very
anxious to get back home, but he quite saw that I
couldn't
let the boat rot in the water. More, that it would
be
very wrong of me if I did. He said that, of course, we
TRINIDAD
65
had
to take her to Barbados, and that he would do his
very
best to get her there. But he was still obviously very
sad
about it.
That
night, Mr. Hicks, the manager of Barclays Bank,
a
very keen sailing man, who had put me up for all the
local
clubs, took me to dinner at his home, having first
driven
me around the island. There was a wonderful
display
as we sat in his garden before dinner. The shrubs
were
surrounded with humming-birds, which I had
never
seen before, and after sunset, when the humming-
birds
disappeared, they were replaced by fireflies. After
dinner,
I suggested that he should come and look at the
boat.
When we got on board, I woke Jenkins and broached
the
last bottle of a case of whiskey which Walter had
bought
and paid for. After Hicks had talked to Jenkins
for
a bit, he was quite cheerful about things again.
*
*
*
TRINIDAD,
Monday,
24th November, 1930.
MY
DEAR Rab,
We got here this morning. I kept on putting off
writing
to you from Tenerife in order to give you a
proper
account of things and then never did. So this time
I
will write you just baldly and fill things in later. I have
kept
a complete log.
We
left Santa Cruz with a good breeze, but noticed the
squaresail
yard was not up to the job. We nursed it with
the
utmost care, reducing sail whenever we did more
that
five knots. The weather did not do at all what the
Passages
of the World said it should. The wind blew from
the
E., but usually just to the S. of E.; at times S. and
even
W. We alternated between (1) Strong breezes,
verging
into moderate gales, alternating with dead calms,
(2)
Dead calms, alternating with series of rain squalls
66
A MODERN SEA BEGGAR
when
it blew for a few minutes, god knows what
strength.
The latter was the predominant weather. Just
fourteen
days ago we were congratulating ourselves on
having
done 1,800 miles with 1,000 to go. We were
running
before a light breeze and I had just started to
have
my evening bath, when, crash, the yard went, just
in
the centre. It was only a fir stick, by the way, and
compared
with our mast and gaff and boom a mere
stick.
Well, I cursed you from the bottom of my soul.
You
first cut down her spars so that nothing short of a
gale
will drive her through the water, and so that she
won't
sail at all in light airs, and then you provide a bit
of
straw for a yard. You know the strength of a chain is
its
weakest link.
Well,
I got the trysail up for the night, and the following
days
we got a succession of very heavy squalls interspersed
with
prolonged calms, but always a heavy swell.
After
four to five days of this, we seemed to be getting
nowhere
in particular, so I got the mainsail up in spite of
alarm
and despondency amongst the crew. Then the fun
really
started. I guyed the boom out-her beam prevents
you
from doing this efficiently-but she would not sail
at
all, except with the wind two points on her quarter
and
the wind always seemed to be dead aft of our course.
Even
then the boom used to roll over about every two
minutes
and the whole ship groaned. Jenkins then began
to
think that she must be rather sound after all! More-
over,
we used to have to gybe her about four times a day,
which
was a lengthy business with the guy to be shifted,
the
topping lifts to be taken up, etc. But somehow or
other
we got along, and I continued to enjoy myself.
The navigation presented certain
difficulties. After
I
left Tenerife, I found my stop watch had departed – the
One
and only thing which went in Tenerife; after leaving
Vigo
I found myself short of Jean’s pen and about
TRINIDAD
67
400
Player's and four bottles of whiskey, but perhaps you
pinched
those. So I had to try and train Jenkins to take
the
time. He never learnt. He was a master on the
seconds,
but was never sure about the minutes. I used to
take
about a dozen sights and then go down and look at
Jenkins'
times. In his list there were always some
obviously
wrong ones-I' 50" followed by 1' 20"-
here
the clue was easy; but sometimes there was no
way
of telling. I used to plot the whole lot out and try to
find
the psychological key, but time and time again there
was
no way of telling. Joining my dots I could get two
perfect
lines 15 miles apart.
On
the Friday before we arrived, about fifteen minutes
before
noon, I saw a rain squall coming up so I stationed
Jenkins
at the clock and took a timed altitude. This was
58
degrees 52' about ten minutes from noon, S.A.T.* (D.R.);t
two
minutes later the squall came over and though I
did
not lose the sun the altitude jumped to 60 degrees 4'.
Refraction,
I suppose, but the books don't talk about it.
Well,
the first observation made me eleven miles south
of
D.R. and corrected by ex-meridian table, I was about
twenty-two
miles S. of D.R. Also as a current was taking
me
N.W. at a rate of twenty to seventy miles a day, the
S.A.T.
was probably later. I was rather worried but con-
cluded
the crew had been luffing without confessing to
save
trouble.
I
tried to get an observation for a position line at
2.43,
but could not get an accurate one and then the sun
went
for good.
Next
day I started to get observations at 8.00 a.m. I
took
eleven and put them on one side. Meanwhile I gybed
the
boat. After the meridian altitude the previous day,
I
had been steering N. by W. (mag.), about 5 degrees N.
of
W.(true). But I discovered the crew had been steering
W.N.W.
and God knows what to the N.
*
S.A.T."Standard Atlantic Time. t D.R.-Dead Reckoning.
68
A MODERN SEA BEGGAR
On
plotting out the observations, I found them hope-
less.
Took another series and, dashing down below, I
found
Jenkins two minutes out. Then the sun went.
Then
I tried again and took five and dashed down to see
time
of each. I estimated minutes as correct.
I
did not work position line -out at once, but waited for
meridian
altitude. I got a perfect one and was very re-
lieved.
This made my latitude 11 degrees 4'; 10' N. of Galera
Point,
the place I wanted to hit, and by D.R. sixty miles
away.
We were running before a strong breeze. Jack
then
served lunch and I let position line wait.
After
lunch I sighted land on our starboard beam,
about
thirty miles away. Concluded it was Tobago. Took
bearing
and worked out position line which agreed
within
five miles. Told crew they would see Galera
Point
Light on port beam at dusk and they did.
I
made Jack and Jenkins steer all night, alternately,
while
I took cross bearings every half hour or so, since the
current
is anywhere between twenty and seventy miles
a
day. Pilot book said wind rose every day at 9.0 a.m.,
full
force at noon. Tide started to run into Dragon's
Mouth
at 7.0 a.m. Timed to be thereabouts at ten
o'clock.
At ten, attempted Huevos Channel with strong
and
commanding breeze. Got half way through when
breeze
dropped to nothing. Drifted slowly back again;
made
another abortive attempt. Then decided to try the
Boca
Grande. Got there with an hour of tide to go. Got
half
way up, the wind dropped again and we drifted
back
again. Got worried as we were due to drift down the
north
coast of Venezuela at twenty to seventy miles a day.
But
about 4.00, we got a strong wind right in our teeth
and
beat through. Wind then shifted a little and we had a
dead
beat to Port of Spain. I was taking no chances, so
made
crew steer while I navigated. Jolly party. This
was
my second night without sleep and I had had little
TRINIDAD
69
two
nights before. My temper was not sweet and they
had
been having four and four, and they complained, and
I
was bloody.
Anyway,
we dropped our hook in Port of Spain safely
at
9 a.m.
Jenkins
then proceeded to have mild hysterics from
sheer
relief, but there was no joy in him. He almost went
down
on his knees to me to send him home as quickly as
possible.
Swore he would never go to sea again. I cursed
them
both-offered to send them ashore for a meal, which
they
refused-and went off and had a good lunch. I had
five
weeks' growth shaved off first.
I
don't want you to think that Jenkins was not a
damned
good man. He was, and he is really an old dear
and
I owe him a lot. But his nerves suffered as we went
along.
The truth is he had never been to sea in a small
boat
before and he is old for the game. Nevertheless I
take
off my hat to him. He wants to come and see you
when
he gets home. If he does, tell him I think the world
of
him.
Well,
Rab; you must come out as quickly as possible
and
get me away from these islands. With L1,000 a year,
a
car, and dress suit, they would be lovely. But they are
sahib
places with an ex-slave population. No place to go
native
by yourself.
All
my love,
TEMPLE.
P.S.
Send this letter on to Mother, will you?
TRINIDAD,
28th
November, 1930.
MY
DEAR MOTHER,
You were the only person from whom I did not
find
a letter waiting when I arrived, but if anything had
70
A MODERN SEA BEGGAR
been
wrong I suppose I would have heard from Rab or
B.
Well,
my dear, we got here all right and with singular-
ly
little trouble too, and I thoroughly enjoyed myself. I
lived
without clothes for five weeks in the sun, and I have
put
on half a stone and have forgotten how to cough. In
the
end I was not lonely and did not regret having no
companion.
When Rab left me in Vigo, I protested my
loneliness.
Rab told me it was not true, and that I was
`tickled
to tears' at the idea of crossing the Atlantic with
two
paid hands. I did not believe him at the time, but
found
he was quite right later.
Having
the sole responsibility, and having two anxious
and
depressed seamen was great fun. However, for the
next
stage I would like some congenial companion. Also, I
am
rather lonely here. This is a big city, and very expensive
-`white
man's burden'-where you need clothes and even-
ing
dress, etc. Altogether, thoroughly English. Whereas
Tenerife
was foreign, very cheap and happy-go-lucky. In
fact,
I have never had a better time than I had there.
But
this place is very lovely all the same. I have made
friends
with my bank manager, who has a nice house
outside
the town, to which he takes me. There is a lovely
garden,
which is a blaze of tropic flowers, with scarlet and
crimson
predominating. Round these flowers fly hum-
ming-birds,
which I have never seen before. As night
falls,
the fire-flies come out. In a way, I would not mind
settling
down in one of these islands.
I
may have to go to Barbados to-morrow. It is a
damned
nuisance, but the floating dock here is out of
order.
It is only 200 miles to go, but dead to windward.
The
ship's bottom is foul and I have to drive an unwilling
crew-heaven
knows what Freda would think of me.
It
will probably take a week. There is just a faint chance
I
may not have to go.