[The Ship Refloated from Endeavour Reef]
Fortunately we had little wind, fine weather, and a smooth
Sea, all this 24 Hours, which in the P.M. gave us an Opportunity to carry
out the 2 Bower Anchors, one on the Starboard Quarter, and the other
right a Stern, got Blocks and Tackles upon the Cables, brought the falls
in abaft and hove taught. By this time it was 5 o'Clock p.m.; the tide we
observed now begun to rise, and the leak increased upon us, which obliged
us to set the 3rd Pump to work, as we should have done the 4th also, but
could not make it work. At 9 the Ship righted, and the Leak gain'd upon
the Pumps considerably. This was an alarming and, I may say, terrible
circumstance, and threatened immediate destruction to us. However, I
resolv'd to risque all, and heave her off in case it was practical, and
accordingly turn'd as many hands to the Capstan and Windlass as could be
spared from the Pumps; and about 20 Minutes past 10 o'Clock the Ship
floated, and we hove her into Deep Water, having at this time 3 feet 9
Inches Water in the hold. This done I sent the Long boat to take up the
Stream Anchor, got the Anchor, but lost the Cable among the Rocks; after
this turn'd all hands to the Pumps, the Leak increasing upon us.
A mistake soon after hapned, which for the first time caused fear to
approach upon every man in the Ship. The man that attended the well took
the Depth of water above the Ceiling; he, being relieved by another who
did not know in what manner the former had sounded, took the Depth of
water from the outside plank, the difference being 16 or 18 inches, and
made it appear that the leak had gained this upon the pumps in a short
time. This mistake was no sooner cleared up than it acted upon every man
like a Charm; they redoubled their vigour, insomuch that before 8 o'clock
in the morning they gained considerably upon the leak. We
now hove up the Best Bower, but found it impossible to save the small
Bower, so cut it away at a whole Cable; got up the Fore topmast and
Foreyard, warped the Ship to the South-East, and at 11 got under sail,
and stood in for the land, with a light breeze at East-South-East. Some
hands employ'd sewing Oakham, Wool, etc., into a Lower Steering sail to
fother the Ship; others employ'd at the Pumps, which still gain'd upon
the Leak.
Joseph Banks Journal
The people who had been 24 hours at exceeding hard work now began to flag; myself unusd to labour was much fatigued and had laid down to take a little rest, was awakd about 12 with the alarming news of the ships having gaind so much upon the Pumps that she had four feet water in her hold: add to this that the wind blew of the land a regular land breeze so that all hopes of running her ashore were totaly cut off. This however acted upon every body like a charm: rest was no more thought of but the pumps went with unwearied vigour till the water was all out which was done in a much shorter time than was expected, and upon examination it was found that she never had half so much water in her as was thought, the Carpenter having made a mistake in sounding the pumps.
We now began again to have some hopes and to talk of getting the ship into some harbour as we could spare hands from the pumps to get up our anchors; one Bower however we cut away but got the other and three small anchors far more valuable to us than the Bowers, as we were obligd immediately to warp her to windward that we might take advantage of the sea breeze to run in shore.
One of our midshipmen now proposd an expedient which no one else in the ship had seen practisd, tho all had heard of it by the name of fothering a ship, by the means of which he said he had come home from America in a ship which made more water than we did; nay so sure was the master of that ship of his expedient that he took her out of harbour knowing how much water she made and trusting intirely to it. He was immediately set to work with 4 or 5 assistants to prepare his fother which he did thus. He took a lower studding sail and having mixd together a large quantity of Oakum chopd fine and wool he stickd it down upon the sail as loosely as possible in small bundles each about as big as his fist, these were rangd in rows 3 or 4 inches from each other: this was to be sunk under the ship and the theory of it was this, where ever the leak was must be a great suction which would probably catch hold of one or other of these lumps of Oakum and wool and drawing it in either partly or intirely stop up the hole. While this work was going on the water rather gaind on those who were pumping which made all hands impatient for the tryal.
In the afternoon the ship was got under way with a gentle breeze of wind and stood in for the land; soon after the fother was finishd and applyd by fastning ropes to each Corner, then sinking the sail under the ship and with these ropes drawing it as far backwards as we could; in about ½ an hour to our great surprize the ship was pumpd dry and upon letting the pumps stand she was found to make very little water, so much beyond our most sanguine Expectations had this singular expedient succeeded. At night came to an anchor, the fother still keeping her almost clear so that we were in an instant raisd from almost despondency to the greatest hopes: we were now almost too sanguine talking of nothing but getting her into some harbour where we might lay her ashore and repair her, or if we could not find such a place we little doubted to the East indies.
During the whole time of this distress I must say for the credit of our people that I beleive every man exerted his utmost for the preservation of the ship, contrary to what I have universaly heard to be the behavior of sea men who have commonly as soon as a ship is in a desperate situation began to plunder and refuse all command. This was no doubt owing intirely to the cool and steady conduct of the officers, who during the whole time never gave an order which did not shew them to be perfectly composd and unmovd by the circumstances howsoever dreadfull they might appear.
Sydney Parkinson Journal
In the midst of these gloomy prospects and alarming apprehensions, we found means to stop the leak, by a method suggested to us by an officer, who had, in a former voyage, made use of it with success: we sewed a great quantity of hair and oakum to a large piece of canvas, which we let down by two ropes, one on each side of the bow of the ship: in making way, she sucked this under, close to her bottom; and, when it reached the leak, it was forced in by the intruding water, and obstructed its passage so much, that we kept it under with a single pump. Providentially, too, at this instant, a breeze sprang up, and we steered towards the land, the boats going before, in quest of a harbour, which they also happily found, at about two or three leagues distance.
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