“Had a fearful nights rest & the sea is running very high. During the night we woke up by hearing our pails basins & boxes floating up and down our cabin at each lurch; but we fared well to what the ladies did, for on going aft to see them we found that the whole of our weeks stores had gone to glory. About 2 in the morning everything got loose and fell to the ground, viz: Bread, Limejuice. Coffee sugar pepper mustard & the slop pail, where there was very soon one of the finest mixtures you ever saw.

Guv’nor and the ladies not visible all day so that we had the plantation pretty well to ourselves. Today the sheep was killed and I hope we shall be in a condition to eat and enjoy it tomorrow. They say it has had the foot disease.”

Tales from the high seas as recorded in A.Whelen’s travel diary back in 1878