It was a difficult
task in that heavy sea, and many times they failed, and we constantly
feared that men, boat, and all were gone. Half a dozen of the crew
caught hold of the rigging outside, put their backs against the yacht,
and with legs outstretched tried to keep the gig off the ship's side,
while all the loose gear was floating away out of her. At last there
was a shout of triumph. The rope was round her, the men jumped on
board the yacht again, whilst sailors, stewards, and passengers
proceeded to hoist and drag the boat in, with all their might and
main. Alas! she was only a wreck. Her sides were stove in, her planks
were started, there was a hole in her bottom, and the moon shone
through her many cracks.
_Saturday, January 27th_.--About two o'clock this morning the yacht
plunged so heavily into a deep sea, that the jibboom, a beautiful
spar, broke short off, and the foretop-gallant mast and topgallant
yard were carried away almost at the same moment, with a terrible
noise. It took about eight hours to clear the wreck, all hands working
all night; and a very forlorn appearance the deck presented in the
morning, lumbered up with broken spars, ropes, &c. The jibboom fell
right across the forefoot of the yacht, and now looks as if it had
been cut at for weeks with some blunt tool.
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