“Up at 5.30 for a cold bath; after which Arthur & I took a hand at the pumps while the men washed down the poop. To-day we all miss the familiar cry of “Please to remember the 5th of November”. I think the nearest approach to a guy* (* Effigy of Guy Fawkes ) we had on board was Joey this morning with his hair cut short & his punjammies on (sleeping pants). The men are now amusing themselves by breaking up large ‘holystones’ into ‘prayer books’ with which they have to scrub the decks.
It has taken them 15 hours to do the poop alone, so that you can imagine that it would take some time to do the whole deck. We have been making preparations to-day in case of any more rough weather. We have put those boxes that we are not using down in the hold so that now it matters little if we are washed out or not. This generally takes place in rounding the Cape of Good Hope. Nice rooms these: no cats & only a few cockers & all for nothing. Brown & Clara are doing a little in the spooning line to-day & Joey expects to be invited to a wedding on his arrival. We are moving again today & expect to be at the equator tomorrow. After some cards & gymnastics to bed at 11.”
Extract from A.Whelen’s travel journal aboard the Hesperides sailing from England to Australia in 1878
