“Up at 7.30. A fine day, dry but cold wind & going along beautifully. We have now only 800 miles to do & if the breeze continues we are certain of arriving there this week. Some very large seas have been over today & one came through the ventilators on the roof swamping Joey & one of the apprentices while playing cards. This wave also filled the ladies berth & went into the cabin. In the evening we had some visitors in & spent a very jolly time together by 12.
One of the apprentices was found lying in the scuppers afterwards & I was rather fresh as were the others. They gave the apprentice one of his Wellington boots to be queer in. This is the way things are done on board ship so do not go & do likewise should any be on a similar voyage. The sailors got grog tonight being Christmas Eve & now we will turn in it being 1.30am & wishing you all a Merry Xmas I shut this up for the day”
Extract from A.Whelen’s Australia travel journal aboard the iron clipper “Hesperides” sailing from England to Melbourne in 1878
Brilliant piece 🙂 Unique view into the raw and courageous world of earlier explorers. Sounds like they had a rather pleasant evening, outside of the large seas.
T.W. Anderson @ Marginal Boundaries recently posted..Comment on “We Are The Gods Now” by T.W. Anderson
The journal is a remarkable insight into what it was like to spend 93 days aboard a sailing ship to travel from one side of the world to the other!
The entry for 11th October where the cook throws a cat overboard for a fair wind is pretty startling too!
https://journeyjottings.com/blog/2009/10/11th-october-1878-15th-day/