She was of about two hundred tons burthen, but
must have-been old and rotten. Tibbets was master, and Wilson was
chief-mate. I shipped as a sort of second-mate, keeping a watch, though I
lived forward at my own request. We must have sailed about January, 1818,
bound to Belfast. There were fourteen of us, altogether, on board, most of
us down-easters. Our run off the coast was with a strong north-west gale,
which compelled us to heave-to, the sea being too high for scudding.
Finding that the vessel laboured very much, however, and leaked badly, we
kept off again, and scudded for the rest of the blow. On the whole, we got
out of this difficulty pretty well. We got but two observations the whole
passage, but in the afternoon of the twenty-third day out, we made the
coast of Ireland, close aboard, in thick weather; the wind directly on
shore, blowing a gale. The brig was under close-reefed topsails, running
free, at the time, and we found it necessary to haul up. We now discovered
the defects of old canvass and old rigging, splitting the fore-topsail,
foresail, and fore-topmast-staysail, besides carrying away sheets, &c. We
succeeded in hauling up the foresail, however, and I went upon the yard
and mended it, after a fashion. It was now nearly night, and it blew in a
way "to need two men to hold one man's hair on his head." I cannot say I
thought much of our situation, my principal concern being to get below,
with some warm, dry clothes on.
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