The Streight of Magellan
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little of the gale, but that she had been very near being loft, in pushing through the Islands two days before, by the rapidity of the tide: that notwithstanding an alteration which had been made in her rudder, she steered and worked so ill, that every time they got under way they were apprehensive that she could never safely be brought to an anchor again; I was therefore requested, in the name of the captain, to consider that she could be of very little service to the expedition, and to direct what I thought would be best for the service. I answered, that as the Lords of the Admiralty had appointed her to accompany the Dolphin, she must continue to do it as long as it was possible; that as her condition rendered her a bad sailer, I would wait her time, and attend her motions, and that if any disaster should happen to either of us, the other should be ready to afford such assistance as might be in her power.
We continued here eight days, during which time we completed our wood and water, dried our sails, and sent great part of the ship’s company on shore, to wash their cloathes and stretch their legs, which was the more necessary, as the cold, snowy, and tempestuous weather had confined them too much below. We caught muscles and limpets, and gathered celery and nettles in great abundance. The muscles were the largest we had ever seen, many of them being from five to six inches long: we caught also great plenty of a fine, firm, red fish, not unlike a gurnet, most of which were from four to five pound’s weight. At the same time, we made it part of the employment of every day to try the current, which we found constantly setting to the eastward.
The master having been sent out to look for anchoring places, returned with an account that he could find no shelter, except near the shore, where it should not be fought but in
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Voyaging Accounts |  |
© Derived from Volume I of the London 1773 Edition: National Library of Australia call no. FERG 7243, page 397, 2004
Published by kind permission of the Library
To cite this page use: https://paulturnbull.org/project/southseas/journals/hv01/397.html