may fly off from the wind, bringing it on the other quarter, and in consequence, make a long and dangerous sweep to leeward; therefore, the foretopmast-staysail must not be set too soon, and if the yards have been pointed to the wind, the after yards should be braced round and kept full, so that if the wind does come upon the other quarter, they may be pointed.

"Sometimes a laden ship will not keep in this position without frequently breaking her shear, and it is in this case that tending to windward becomes necessary-a very troublesome manoeuvre, and one where it is always requisite to have more canvas than the foretopmast-staysail. If when the buoy is on the weather quarter, a sufficient strain has been on the cable to warrant the supposition that the anchor has been slued to leeward, she can be set to windward, with the yards and staysails, without coming again astream of the anchor; but if the chain has not been very taut, it is always better to watch a lull, and set her to windward when astream of it. If this cannot be done, and she still keeps ahead of the chain, she may be set to windward; but while there, care must be taken that she does not drop astream of it, and when the lee tide makes, she should at first get a broad shear to leeward to insure the anchor being drawn properly round, and afterwards sheared windward if necessary."

If while riding on the weather tide and sheared to windward, she forges ahead and brings the buoy on the lee quarter, sufficient canvas must be kept set to keep her ahead of the buoy, lest by dropping astream and falling to leeward the bight of the chain be thrown round the upper fluke of the anchor. In light winds and slack tides the anchor is not drawn round at all, therefore, care must be taken to swing the vessel always on the same side of it, so that if, while riding on the weather tide, she was sheared and tended to windward, it becomes necessary to tend her again to windward when the lee tide ceases-a thing that is very difficult to do; if the wind is much across, she must be shot across the tide to windward with the main and foretopmast-staysails, assisted by the jib and other fore-and-aft canvas if necessary, and kept there till the weather tide makes. Except in light winds, it is not always prudent to sight the anchor very often, for in some places it is a chance whether or not it will take hold again, so that all attention should be paid to the tending or swinging." -The Mate and his Duties, pp. 25, 26.

DIAGRAMS IN ILLUSTRATION OF THE ABOVE.

Fig. I.-Represents a ship lying head to wind and tide, in which case all that is required is to give her a slight sheer to keep her steady. Fig. II.—This is the same ship swinging when the weather tide begins to make-the first of the tide having taken her on the starboard quarter and canted her with the port side to the wind. As soon as she begins to cant set the foretopmast-staysail sheet to windward; when she brings the wind abaft the beam, let the staysail sheet draw and brace all yards forward, and steer her taut ahead of her anchor; when the wind comes aft or on the starboard quarter, bring her to gradually

Ꭱ Ꭱ

with the starboard helm, haul down the staysail, brace the head yards by, and put the helm hard a-starboard. She will then be in the position indicated by fig. III.

Fig. III.-Riding weather tide with the wind on the port quarter and the anchor on the starboard quarter. If the first of the tide had taken her on the port quarter, she would have to be forged ahead with the wind on the starboard side, in which case she would lie with the helm a-port on the opposite side of the anchor to No. I. When the weather tide slacks set the foretopmast-staysail, and tend the helm, keeping her taut ahead of her anchor until she resumes the place of No. I again. On the lee tide haul down the staysail when she comes head to wind.

Fig. IV. Has anchored with the wind blowing across the tide, and a shoal on her starboard side. The rule is when the wind is before the beam, the ship lays to leeward of her anchor, and when the wind is abaft the beam she lays to windward of her anchor. In the case of No. IV, the wind is right abeam, in which case a ship is usually laid to leeward with the yards all braced aback, and the staysail set with the sheet to windward; there is also a shoal near her, and the rule in that case is to sheer towards the danger if the ship will lie that way, so that if she breaks her sheer she may go from the danger. But if a ship is riding near a shoal on a lee-tide it is safer to sheer from the danger, lest the combined force of wind and tide should start the anchor, and drive her on the shoal. In the case of No. IV, and the wind veering aft, the ship must be set ahead of her anchor by filling the yards, and hauling the lee-staysail sheet aft, and steering her taut ahead of her anchor through the positions of Nos. V and VI, until you get her laid to windward in the position of No. VII.

If No. IV should not be set ahead when the wind veers aft, she will break her sheer, and perhaps foul her anchor. See Nos. VIII and IX. The same thing will happen with No. III if the wind should haul on the starboard quarter, unless she is set ahead and laid at the opposite side of her anchor as soon as the wind begins to change.

Fig. VIII.-Represents a ship in the same position as No. IV, with the wind veering aft. No. IX is the same vessel just after she has broken her sheer. In this case a ship goes across to the opposite sido of her anchor, and must be kept there by changing the helm to leeward, and hauling the main-yard forward, keeping the fore-yard braced by. In all cases the mizzen-yards are laid the same as the main-yard. When a ship is riding on a weather tide in blowing weather, she should be very carefully watched, lest she should break her sheer and

foul her anchor, or break the chain. The mate should be called immediately whenever the wind changes, and when the tide slackens he should be called before the ship begins to cant, or else he will be too late to manœuvre the ship properly in swinging.

In moderate weather a ship will often require more sail than the foretopmast-staysail, to take her across clear of her anchor; in these cases the jib and maintopmast-staysail should be set.

MOORING,

*

UNMOORING, ETC.

UPON COMING TO AN ANCHOR.-When a ship is coming to an anchor, she should always be under easy sail-as the topsails, jib, foretopmaststaysail, and mizzen.

COMING-TO IN A TIDEWAY.-If a ship be running over a weather-tide, with the wind on her port quarter, and it be required to ride to leeward, it is plain that the port anchor will be most serviceable, as the chain will not cross the cut-water or touch the copper in bringing up. If the wind be so strong that she will stem the tide after the sails are clewed up, she will not lay astream of her anchor. To round her in the ordinary manner would not stop her way, until the anchor be let go, in which case, before she could get away from it, in all probability there would be a sufficient quantity of the cable paid upon the top of it to insure its coming up upside down; the helm, therefore, must be put hard up when the anchor is let go, and if the tide be weak, the port-staysail sheet hauled aft, when she will shear away from her anchor, and drop as nearly astream of it as the strength of the tide will permit. The helm, of course, must be afterwards eased, that she may not have too broad a shear.

If, with the like wind, it be required to ride to windward, the starboard anchor will be best. Furl all the square-sails, and come-to with only fore-and-aft sails set. Put the helm down, and keeping the staysails set after the anchor is gone will shear the ship to windward, the

The old fashion of mooring ships with an anchor on either side-that is to say, supposing the prevailing wind north, the anchors shou'd be laid east and west-has long been exploded. It has been shown that the combined strength of two cables so placed is equal only to one-sixth of a single chain laid in the direction of the wind. See An Enquiry relative to various Important Points of Seamanship, by Nicholas Tinmouth. The reader is strongly recommended to a perusal of Mr. Tinmouth's work, being a scientific enquiry into subjects with which it should be the object of every officer to make himself acquainted, but which few have the opportunity of practically investigating in the ordinary course of the merchant service.