Fanning's Account of the Storm which Wrecked the _Ariel_.
On the 7th of October, 1780, we set sail from this port for the
United States in the Ariel, at about 6 P.M. and at the time we had
under our convoy fourteen sail of American vessels, among which
were three letters of marque, with the wind blowing a leading gale,
at E.S.E. At 10 P.M. the wind shifted suddenly into the W.S.W and
blew a heavy gale--took in top gallant sails, and close reefed our
top sails--soon after took in our topsails and reefed our courses,
and we carried them as long as the ship would bear them. The night
was very dark, and we lost sight of the fleet. We were obliged to
carry some sail in order to weather the _Pin Marks_, a long range of
sunken rocks about a league from the land, and which we judged to be
to leeward of us. At midnight we were obliged to hand our courses,
as it blew so violent that we could not suffer a single yard of
canvass. The ship at the same time lay in a very dangerous situation,
nearly upon her beam ends, and in the trough of the sea, and leaked
so bad that with both chain pumps constantly going we could not
keep her free. Some French soldiers which we had on board, and who
were stationed at the cranks of the pumps, let go of them, crossed
themselves, and went to prayers. They were driven from this by the
officers to the cranks again; and it became necessary to lift hangers
over their heads, and threaten them with instant death if they quit
their duty, or if they did not work with all their strength; without
this they would again leave off and go to prayers. Soon after, one
of our chain pumps got choked in such a manner that it would deliver
no water. Jones in all this time shewed a great presence of mind,
and kept, with his own hands, sounding with the deep sea lead; and
finding that we were shoaling water very fast, and that we should in
a short time be upon the Pin Marks, without something was soon done
to prevent it. In this extremity a consultation of captain Jones
and his principal officers was had upon the quarter-deck, and the
result was, that orders were given for cutting away our fore-mast and
letting go the sheet anchor; and the latter was executed without loss
of time. We sounded now in thirty-five fathoms of water. The sheet
cable was now paid out to the better end; but she did not look to
her anchor; another cable was spliced to the first, and paid out to
the better end; she did not yet bring up; the third cable was also
spliced to the end of the second; when after paying out about seven
eighths of this last, and the fore-mast cut away at the same time,
and when it had fell over board to the leeward, the ship brought to
and rid head to the wind, and the sea now run mountains high.[31]
By the time of which I am now speaking we had not less than three
hundred fathoms of cable paid out--in a few minutes after the ship
brought to to her anchor. The ship laboured so hard, rolled so deep,
and would bring up so sudden that it sprung our main-mast just
below our gun-deck, and as this was now in the greatest danger of
being ripped up, orders were given to cut away the main-mast above
the quarter-deck, which was immediately carried into execution; and
when this fell over the side to leeward it forced off the head of the
mizzen-mast. By this time, we had freed the ship of water, but when
her masts were gone her motion was so quick and violent that the most
expert seamen on board could not stand upon their legs, neither upon
the quarter-deck nor fore-castle without holding on to something. The
chain pump which had been choked was cleared, and notwithstanding the
gale kept increasing, yet our anchor and cables held on so well, that
some faint hopes were now entertained that our lives would be spared:
however, the gale did not abate much until the morning of the 9th. At
meridian of this day the wind had abated so much that we began to get
up and rig our jury masts. At 4 P.M. we had them erected and rigged,
and what spars and sails we could muster upon them; and there being
at this time but a moderate breeze at about W.N.W, a fair wind for
L'Orient, and the sea tolerable smooth, we hove in our cables till
it was short apeak, and then exerted ourselves every way we could
think of in order to purchase our anchor, and after trying a long
time without being able to weigh it, orders were given by captain
Jones to save all we could of the cable and then cut it away, which
was done and we made sail for L'Orient, where we soon after arrived
and came to anchor. Many of our friends now came on board to see us,
and appeared to be rejoiced at our safe escape, as they said, they
expected we were lost, as the late gale was very violent and did a
great deal of damage even in the harbour, among the shipping and
along side of the keys.
[Footnote 31: This was in the Bay of Biscay.]