There was one fairly dry
spot in the boat, under the solid original decking at the bows, and we
managed to protect some of our biscuit from the salt water; but I do
not think any of us got the taste of salt out of our mouths during the
voyage.
The difficulty of movement in the boat would have had its humorous
side if it had not involved us in so many aches and pains. We had to
crawl under the thwarts in order to move along the boat, and our knees
suffered considerably. When watch turned out it was necessary for me
to direct each man by name when and where to move, since if all hands
had crawled about at the same time the result would have been dire
confusion and many bruises. Then there was the trim of the boat to be
considered. The order of the watch was four hours on and four hours
off, three men to the watch. One man had the tiller-ropes, the second
man attended to the sail, and the third baled for all he was worth.
Sometimes when the water in the boat had been reduced to reasonable
proportions, our pump could be used. This pump, which Hurley had made
from the Flinder's bar case of our ship's standard compass, was quite
effective, though its capacity was not large. The man who was
attending the sail could pump into the big outer cooker, which was
lifted and emptied overboard when filled.
Pages:
267
268
269
270
271
272
273
274
275
276
277
278
279
280
281
282
283
284
285
286
287
288
289
290
291