Chapter 5 Chapter 5 Full Tide Seawater

The capricious tailwinds blow wildly in April. The "Forward" was speeding across the sea, its propellers were moving crazily, without encountering any obstacles in its advance.About three o'clock it came upon a ship, which was going between Liverpool and the Isle of Men, carrying three sidings from Sicily divided into drum sections.It was the last sound of farewell heard by the crew of the Forward as the captain clapped his hands around his horn to call it. At five o'clock the navigator again relinquished command of the ship to Richard Sandon, and returned to his dhow, which turned around at the nearest point, and soon disappeared into the south-west.

Towards evening, the boat rounded the headland of "Isle of Men" at the southernmost tip of the island.The sea was choppy after nightfall; the Advancing, unharmed, left Cape El to the northwest behind and headed for the North Canal. Johnson had a point; on the surface, the mariner's marine instincts prevailed.As soon as they saw how good the conditions were on board, they forgot how unusual the situation was, and life on board became orderly. The doctor sucked the sea breeze fascinatedly; he walked vigorously in the strong wind, and as a scholar, it was not easy for him to walk as usual on a shaking boat.

"The ocean is a fine thing," he said to Mr. Johnson as he came on deck after lunch. "I'm late to it, but I'll catch up." "You are right, Mr. Crawburn; I would give all the land in the world for this sea. It is said that sailors soon tire of their profession; I have been at sea for forty years, and I Still feeling as happy as the first day." "It's a pleasure to have a good ship under your feet, and the 'Forward' is going merry, if I'm not mistaken." "You are right, doctor," replied Shandon, who joined the two men in their conversation, "it is a good ship, and I admit that there is no better equipped and crewed ship for sailing in the polar regions. .It reminds me of Captain James Ross 30 years ago in search of the Northwest Sea Route...”

"He was on board the 'Victory,'" said the doctor excitedly. "This ship is about the same tonnage as ours, and also has a steam engine." "What! You know this?" "Think about it," continued the doctor, "when the technology of the steam engine was still in its infancy. The steam engine on the 'Victory' made his ship run slowly and badly; Captain James Ross took the parts one by one. It was repaired extensively, but to no avail, and finally the steam engine had to be dismantled and thrown away during the first winter outage."

"Damn it!" said Sandon, "you know it all, I can see it!" "What do you think?" the doctor continued, "I have read the works of Barry Ross and Franklin, the reports of Mark Klure, Kennedy Kane, and Mark Clintock through reading, and I have left some Impression. I also know that this Mark Clindock reached his destination more easily and directly than all the pioneers in that propeller ship, the Fox, similar to ours." "That is quite true," replied Sandon, "this Mark Clintock is a brave sailor; I read it; and you must know that we, like him, wear Through Davis Strait, if we can get across the ice, we'll go farther."

"At least," said the doctor, "we won't be like the 'Fox', which was blocked by ice floes in the northern Baffin Sea from the first year in 1857 and spent the winter in the ice pack." "We hope we have better luck, Mr. Sandon," replied Johnson. "If you can't go anywhere with a ship like the 'Forward', don't use it at all." "Nevertheless," went on the doctor, "if the captain is on board, he knows what to do better than we do, precisely because we know nothing of it; and because his letters are surprisingly simple, we cannot guess the object of the voyage. .”

"That's quite rich," said Sandon with great emotion, "to know which way to go, and now, in just another month, I think, we'll be free from the supernatural interference and instructions of this stranger. .Besides, you know what I think of him." "Cough! Cough!" said the doctor, "I believe as much as you do that this man will put you in command of the ship, and will never come aboard, but—" "But?" Sandon retorted with a certain displeasure. "But since his second letter, I've changed my mind about it." "Why is that, Doctor?"

"Because, since this letter tells you which way to go, it doesn't tell you where the 'Forward' is going; but be sure to know where you're going. My question to you is, this first How will the three letters get to you, we are on the sea! In Greenland, the postal service needs to be improved. Think about it, Sandon, I think this guy is in Horsteinberg or Nippana We are waiting in one of Wick's ships; there he must have finished his seal-skins, bought sleds and dogs, and in a word, everything necessary for voyages in the polar seas. I wouldn't be surprised to see him step out of the cabin that morning and command the ship in the least supernatural way in the world."

"Possibly," replied Shandon in a dry voice, "but, in the meantime, the wind picked up, and it would not be prudent to risk the topmast in such weather." Shandon left the doctor and gave the order that the upper sails be furled. "He insisted on it." "Yes," replied the latter, "that's very annoying, because you have a good point, Mr. Crawburn." Towards evening on Saturday, the "Advance" rounded Cape Galloway, with the lighthouse towering to the northeast, leaving Cape Canthal to the north by night and Cape Fair on the Irish coast to the east, three o'clock in the morning At the time, the after half of the ship's starboard sailed along Rathlin Island, out of the ocean's northern canal.

The day was Sunday, April 8; a day strictly observed by the English, and especially by sailors; The wind turned into a hurricane, and had a tendency to blow the boat towards the coast of Ireland; the waves were rough, and the boat rocked badly, which the doctor was reluctant to do if he wasn't seasick, because nothing could be easier.At noon Cape Marinehead disappeared into the south; it was the last piece of European land these brave sailors could see, and more than one gazed long, doubtless never to be seen again. The observed latitude is 55°57' and according to the chronometer, the longitude is 7°40'.

At nine o'clock in the evening, the hurricane subsided, and the good sailing ship, the Advance, headed northwest.One can judge the ship's seaworthiness by the day's sailing; Liverpool connoisseurs consider it a sailing vessel first and foremost. In the days that followed, the "Advance" steamed northwestward, the wind was blowing south, and the sea was choppy; the ship raised her sails.Several petrels and fulmars were circling over the poop; the doctor shot a fulmar with great tact, which happened to land on board. Whale Gunner Simpson picked it up and handed it to its owner. "An ugly prey, Mr. Crawburn," he said. "On the contrary, it makes for a good meal, my friend!" "What! You want this?" "You must taste it too, my honorable sir," said the doctor, laughing. "Bah!" retorted Simpson, "but it's greasy like all sea-birds, and smells like hay." "Okay!" the doctor objected, "I have my own way to cook this prey. If you believe it is a seabird, I promise that I will never kill another one in my life." "Are you a culinary expert, Mr. Crawburn?" Johnson asked. "A scholar should know a little about everything." "Well, don't be so stubborn, Simpson," replied the boatswain, "the doctor is a wise man, and he can make the best partridge out of this fulmar." In fact the doctor is completely justified on the bird problem, he removed the fat very skillfully, all the fat is under the skin, mainly distributed in the hip, so that the smell and fishy smell are gone, people have every reason to complain about seabirds .After this treatment, the fulmar was well received, and even Simpson nodded in approval. During the last hurricane, Richard Sandon recognized the outstanding qualities of his crew; he analyzed his men one by one, as any commander would do if he wanted to avoid future danger; what. James Wall, completely devoted to Richard's second mate, is empathetic and quick, but he may lack grit; Johnson, tried and tested in his struggles with the seas, the ancient way-guides of the northern seas, had nothing to learn in coolness and bravery. Whale gunner Simpson and carpenter Bell are trustworthy men who are at their beck and call about responsibility and discipline.Foucault, the ice floe pilot, was an experienced sailor, educated at Johnson's school, and expected to bear the weight of his duties. Of the other sailors, Gary and Bourdain appeared to be the best: Bourdain was witty and talkative; Gary, a lad of twenty-five, had a resolute face, but a little pale and sad. The three sailors, Clifton, Gripper, and Payne, seemed less enthusiastic, less determined; they preferred to whisper.Gripper even wanted to break the contract when the "Forward" set off; he stayed on board out of a sense of shame.If things go well, if there is no danger, no labor, these three can be counted on; but they need a lot of food, and they are big eaters.No matter what had been prescribed beforehand, it was difficult for them to get used to abstaining from alcohol, and at mealtimes they missed brandy or gin terribly; they made up for it in coffee and tea, which were plentiful on board. As for Brenton and Prover, the mechanics and Warren the fireman, they were content to have so far been idle. Sandon knew what to expect from everyone. On April 14, the "Forward" cut off the huge waves of the Gulf Stream, which first went up the east coast of the Americas to the beaches of the New World, then turned northeast and sailed along the coast of Norway.The latitude of the ship is 51°37', the longitude is 22°58', and it is 200 nautical miles from the Cape of Greenland.The weather turned cold, and the temperature on the thermometer dropped to 0°C, which is the freezing point. Doctors did not yet wear arctic winter suits, but nautical suits like sailors and officers.Jumping down in a heap in high boots, a wide oil cap, a pair of trousers and a frock coat of the same fabric, he looked amused; In the waves, the doctor looked like a sea animal.Such a comparison would not arouse his pride. For two full days, conditions at sea were rather rough; the wind turned to the northwest, preventing the Forward from sailing.From April 14 to 16, the waves were rough; but on Monday, there was a shower of rain and the sea calmed down almost immediately.Sandon called the doctor's attention to this peculiar phenomenon. "Yes," answered the latter, "it corresponds to the spectacle observed by the whaler Scoresby. He was a member of the Royal Society of Edinburgh, of which I had the honor of being a correspondent. You see, in the rainy Sometimes there are no waves, even when there is a strong wind. On the contrary, in dry weather, when there is a slight breeze, the sea will rise and fall." "But how to explain this phenomenon, doctor?" "It's very simple, just don't explain it." At this time, the ice floe pilot, who was on duty at the tiller of the third sail, called everyone's attention that a pack of ice floe passed the starboard side 15 knots downwind. "There's an iceberg in the nearby sea!" cried the doctor. Shandon pointed the telescope at the designated direction and confirmed the pilot's words. "That's very strange!" said the doctor. "Does that surprise you?" the commander said with a smile. "What! We're glad to see what else surprises you?" "It surprises me, but it's not a miracle," the doctor replied with a smile. "Because the 'Underpool' from Greenspond was surrounded by a real ice field at latitude 40°4'N in 1813, Captain Delment counted hundreds of icebergs!" "That's right!" said Sandon. "What else can you tell us about that?" "Oh! nothing," replied the good-natured Crawford, humbly, "if icebergs had not been found in lower latitudes." "You didn't tell me about that, my dear doctor; because I was an apprentice sailor on the battleship 'Flying'..." "In 1818," went on the doctor, "at the end of March, some say April, you passed two large floating islands of Iceland, at a latitude of 48° 2'." "Ah! It's simply marvelous!" exclaimed Sandon. "But it's true, and it's nothing I'd be too surprised to see, since we hit an iceberg 2° more north near the 'Advance'." "You are a well, doctor," replied the commander, "for you it is only a bucket." "Well! You can't imagine how quickly I do it; and now, if we can observe this curious phenomenon nearby, Shandon, I shall be the happiest physician." "True, Johnson," said Sandon, addressing the boatswain, "the wind tends to pick up, I see." "Yes, Commander," replied Johnson, "we are going very slowly, and the tide in Davis Strait will soon be felt." "You are right, Mr. Johnson, if we want to see the Cape of Good Hope on April 20, we must use the steam engine, or we will be thrown on the coast of Labrador. Mr. Wall, you give the order to light the fire. " The commander's order was carried out; an hour later, the steam had gained sufficient pressure; the sails were furled, and the blades of the propellers beat the current, propelling the Forward violently against the northwest wind.