Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
ever I had seen it at sea. This wind made that the ship come up with her
head, right against this great and mighty sea, which the NW wind had
raised. It was now, I thought all our masts would have been carried
away, and at that instant, I would willingly have compounded with the
loss of the topmasts, (to have insured the lower ones) to have eased
the ship, which I was much afraid would have foundered, for at every
pitch she made, against this terrible high sea, it was with the end of her
bowsprit under water, over which (and the forecastle) these mighty
great seas broke in as far aft, as the main mast, and as if it had been
over a rock; so that we were quite under water, and had not the ship
been an extraordinary good sea boat (which was the only good quality
she had) she could never have outlived this storm ... it was really won-
derful, how well this little vessel rose and cleared herself, from these
high mountainous seas, which broke so furiously, occasioned by the
sudden shifting of the wind, from one quarter of the compass to the
other, without ceasing blowing with the same violence, that no canvas
could withstand its force. Notwithstanding this was a fair wind, yet I
did not dare to put the ship before the wind, for to make use of it; for
if in wearing, any of those raging mountainous seas had broke on her
side, it unavoidably would have carried all away before it and would
probably have been of the most fatal consequence.
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Having survived such appalling conditions Carteret and his men
thankfully reached Juan Fernandez on 10 May. But relief turned to
frustration as they approached the main anchorage of Cumberland
Bay:
I was not a little surprised to observe a great number of men all
about the beach, with a house and four pieces of cannon over the wa-
terside with two large boats lying off of it, a fort about two or three
hundred yards up on the rising of the hill and on which they hoisted
Spanish colours . . .
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