“Up at 7 for a cold bath

which is the best thing we get on board. After breakfast Arthur began a new trade that of washing his dirty clothes of which he did a goodish quantity. However he found it rather warm work. We are now of the Cape Verdi Isles but we shall not sight them as we are too far out. Our clock is also rather changeable being now 1 hour 35 mins after London time.

The sail maker has made us a set of quoits

with which we have been amusing ourselves all day.

Today, being fine weather they have changed a set of sails so as to keep the new ones in good order in case of bad weather.

We are running very short of provisions this week

as we have all good appetites now. However we have our reserve stores to fall back on & the fresh lot come in every Friday. Bed at 12 having spent a pleasant evening with the apprentices who are a decent lot of fellows”

This extract from A.Whelen’s diary was written when sailing from England aboard the Hesperides in 1878