SEA ANCHOR.

wreck previous to cutting it away, would make a capital seaanchor; however, should you not be able to make a hawser fast to the wreck, it takes very little to keep a ship head to wind; a few spars from the booms, a quarter, or stern boat might be so slung, as when sunk, to ride the ship well; even a small anchor and cable veered to about fifty or sixty fathoms, would be found most useful; whatever you put over the bows will tend to make the sea strike the ship in a better position for her safety. The less resistance a ship makes against the sea the better for her safety; consequently, the exposure of the whole broadside to the trough of the sea must be the most dangerous situation a ship can possibly be placed in. The next most dangerous position must be that of the sea striking her stern, this part being much weaker than the bows, and not shaped like the latter for throwing off the sea. We are strongly of opinion that if more attention were paid to having a stop-water of some kind from the head of the ship to make her ride head to wind, when from the loss of masts, rudder, sail, or derangement of engine, you cannot keep the ship out of the trough of the sea, it would tend to lessen the number of those melancholy shipwrecks that we so generally read of.

For description of a sea anchor, see ANCHORS (page 279).

PREPARATIONS FOR ROUNDING CAPE HORN.

When a boisterous passage is anticipated, as in "rounding the Horn," for instance, it is customary to make certain preparations, such as bending a new suit of sails, reeving new braces, tacks, and sheets, &c., striking some of the guns below, and passing shot with them. (See Ordnance Regulations on the subject.) Securing the forward guns amidships on main deck, and housing the others; caulking in the forward main deck ports, strengthening the fastenings of the bridle and bow ports; fitting leech lines to topsails, getting the stern boats in board; and making the usual preparations for bad weather as already given. Stump top-gallants are frequently sent up in place of the pole top-gallant masts.

CHAPTER XXX.

PARTING RIGGING.

REMARKS ON WEATHER BRACES BEING CARRIED AWAY.

WHEN this occurs, it is generally at the first burst of a squall, on a wind, nearly all the reefs out, and consequently, when there are no preventer braces or parrels on the yard; for, as the wind strengthens to stiff double-reefed topsail increasing breezes, all prudent seamen take the precaution of clapping on these additional supports. When a weather brace carries away, there being no preventer, the yard immediately becomes a lever; the stay, or parrel, or truss, being the fulcrum; the lee rigging, the weight; and the wind, the power.

The remedy will depend on the amount of power. If it be small, a new brace is rove, or the old one is repaired with a long splice.

In substituting new running rigging for old, when the run of the lead is not lost, the ends are spliced, or stopped together; and, as one is run off, the other enters its place; otherwise, men must be sent aloft to reeve the gear.

When the power is great, the yard or parrel will be the next thing to go; for the yard flies fore and aft, and even the mast as well as the yard is in such instant danger that the remedy must be quick as the order. The lee sheet must be eased off roundly, lee clewline and buntline hauled up. The danger would be increased by bearing up before this were done, for as the wind came abeam, it would act with still greater force upon the sail. Both clewline or downhaul tackle and lee bowline should then be hauled on, and, if necessary, about two fathoms of the weather clew raised, so as to throw the wind more out of the sail. If these measures fail to start the yard, the sail must be clewed up altogether, the buntlines being well manned while doing so; and then the bowline and downhaul or clewlines will bring the yard down; when it may be steadied by lashings from the rigging while the damage is being repaired.

Or, after starting enough lee sheet to save the yard, the course may be hauled up, and the lower yard squared, lowering the topsail as it comes aback; setting the course again when the topsail yard is lashed. Should the ship not be in the line or on a lee

PARTING RIGGING.

shore, she may, if preferred, be kept away (after the lee clew is run up) until the yard is down and secured.

If it be a lower brace, lower the topsail, letting fly the lee sheet and hauling in the weather brace if needful. Ease off the sheet of the course, short of spilling the sail, let go the tack (for the first important duty is to save the yard), and clew up. One scend might break the brace, the next would break the yard; but there would be just time enough between the scends for a quick ready officer to start all the principal gear that would relieve the yard.

If this accident occurs forward, the weather helm must be attended to.

Accidents to the tack of a course, clew-garnets, &c., being car-. ried away, may, when circumstances permit, be repaired by bearing up and hauling aft the sheet of the damaged side.

BY THE WIND, WEATHER MAIN BRACE PARTS.

Luff! Weather main clew-garnet! Let go the main tack, haul up! Weather topsail brace, topsail clewlines and buntlines! Clear away the main-top bo'line! Settle away the topsail halliards, brace aback! Ease off the main sheet! Haul out the reef-tackles, haul up the buntlines! Haul forward the lee main-top bo'line! Easing away the lee main brace, and hauling up the lee main clewgarnet. This, by throwing the main topsail aback, would steady the main yard sufficiently to allow hands to lay out with whips for the preventer braces. If the brace has not unrove through the block on the yard, a hand may secure the end to its own part, so that it may be hauled taut on deck.

Should it be blowing too hard to risk backing the main top-. sail, take in mainsail, clew down main topsail, and haul up the weather clew. Haul the lee reef tackle well taut, and lee main top bowline.

When a brace parts, the yard is first in danger and then the mast; therefore it is necessary to relieve the yard of the sails immediately.

BY THE WIND, WEATHER MAIN TOPSAIL BRACE PARTS. Luff! Flow the head sheets! Weather main brace! Main clew-garnets and buntlines! away the topsail halliards! tackles, haul up the buntlines!

Up mainsail! Brace aback! Settle
Clew down! Haul out the reef
Square the main yard, and haul

PARTING RIGGING.

taut the lee main-top bowline. The ship is now "hove to," with the main topsail to the mast. If the yard binds in clewing down, ease off the lee sheet.

If not possible to get the topsail aback, clew down and haul up the weather clew-line.

With the wind quartering, if the weather main-topsail brace goes, Hard up! brace in, up mainsail (lee clew), and clew down as before, easing off lee main-topsail sheet as necessary.

WEATHER REEF TACKLE CARRIED AWAY.

This occurs generally while reefing, in consequence of undue strain produced by want of skill in not placing the yard so that the wind will nearly be thrown out of the sail. The men should be ordered in off the yard instantly; the weather clewline, and as much as can be got of the buntlines hauled up, and enough of the sheet clewed up to admit of bracing the weather arın aback or nearly so; the men may then venture out, and pass a sea-gasket working from the arm inward, until the reef-cringle is reached, when the tackle can be rove afresh. Starting gear with men on the yards is one of those fearful blunders which always inspire topmen with such distrust of the officer who commits them, that they never work well aloft in his watch on deck.

WEATHER TOPSAIL SHEET AND CLEWLINE CARRIED AWAY.

When this happens on a wind, the clew flies forward and may be steadied by the bowline, but as the yard might be sprung on the weather quarter from the upward pressure of the sail, it should immediately be relieved by checking a couple of fathoms of the lee sheet. The lee clew, buntlines, reef tackles must then be hauled up, the yard lowered and squared, the bowline being eased away as the sail comes aback; when so it will lie quiet, and the bowline may be sent with a hauling line from the foretop into the main, rove before the sail through a leading block on the topmast, and the leech thus hauled in along the yard, so that the sail may be handed if needful, and new gear rove; an attempt to "hand the leech in" before lowering, clewing up and squaring, would not only be useless but dangerous.

If the course is not set, check lee sheet as above, round in weather lower and topsail braces, lower and throw the sail aback, easing away the bowline.

PARTING RIGGING.

MAIN TACK AND CLEW-GARNET GONE.

Check main sheet to ease the yard, for the same reason given in taking in a course. The danger of the sail being split will depend much on the position of the mainstay. In many ships it would bring the tack up, so that the tack could be steadied by the weather sheet, and a new rope rove; if not, the topsail would have to be clewed up, and then the course, the main yard squared, and the weather sheet gathered in same time, or, circumstances permitting, bear up and haul weather sheet aft.

TOPSAIL BRACE AND PARREL CARRIED AWAY.

This rarely happens where the security of the parrels, tacks, and sheet fastenings, and all that gear which is likely to be handled while exercising, are made matters of special report.

In a strong breeze on a wind, when the yard is nipped so hard by the lee rigging and stay that it cannot be got down by the clewlines or downhaul, after clewing the sail up, send the end of a hawser up abaft the top to the topmast head; pass it round both tyes, and make it fast to the after lower cap-bolt. Haul down on the hawser, easing away the halliards until the yard is on the cap; clap on the new parrel; lash the yard by the quarters to the topmast rigging, and then repair the braces.

When this accident occurs under low sail, the yard would fly so far forward as to suggest considerable danger to it and the mast from the force with which the yard would fly aft, if the sail were thrown aback by squaring the main yard. This latter mode is, however, recommended by some of the best seamen, who, having tried it successfully, are best able to judge of its merits.

If the wind is aft, clew up, hoist the yard close up to the ginblocks and haul the lifts taut. This will keep it steady until the hawser is passed round the tyes.

TOP-GALLANT BRACE AND PARREL CARRIED AWAY.

In this case, where sending men to the mast-head is out of the question, and clewlines have failed, there is every chance of losing the mast if you hold on, and of the clews getting round the stay if you let go the sheets. The lower and topsail yard must be braced by, and the ship, if necessary, sufficiently touched with the helm, to throw the top-gallant sail slightly aback.