“Left my coffin at 8 after nearly 12 hours shaking. I’m afraid Joey & I made use of some ugly words during the night when the rolling landed us suddenly all of a heap at the foot of the bed & then with your feet onto the pillow. The cook however says that the prayers of the righteous availeth much; but I say, did you ever hear me cuss?
Joey caught a stormy petrel this morning & after measuring his wings we let him go again. They measured 16 feet from tip to tip.
Today was store day but now the ladies are about again they attend to this matter taking it off Arthur’s & my hands. He also caught a small albatross but somebody let him go; so the sport was all for nothing. In the afternoon we had a squall for a short time. Went to bed at 9 & read & smoked till 10.30 & by that time by the aid of my long German pipes we had managed to make a tidy smoke. The guv’nor who had been next door visiting, returned at a late hour & said the place smelt like a dirty pot-room. Got to sleep by about 12.30am”
Extract from A.Whelen’s travel journal aboard the Hesperides sailing from England to Australia in 1878