After we had past here some seven or eight dayes, one evening, with a
flawe from the shore, our ship drove off into the channell, and before
we could get up our anchor, and set our sayles, we were driven so farre
to lee-wards, that we could not recover into the bay: and night comming
on, with a short sayle, wee beate off and on till the morning. At the
break of the day, conferring with the captaine and master of my ship
what was best to be done, we resolved [Tobias Cove.] to seeke
out Tobias Cove, which lyeth over against Cape Fryo, on the southern
part of the straites, because in all the reaches of the straites, for
the most part, the winde bloweth trade, and therefore little profit to
be made by turning to winde-wards. And from the ilands of the Pengwins
to the ende of the straites towards the South sea, there is no anchoring
in the channell; and if we should be put to lee-wards of this cove, we
had no succour till we came to the ilands of Pengwins: and some of our
company which had bin with master Thomas Candish in the voyage in which
he died, and in the same cove many weekes, undertooke to be our pilots
thither. Whereupon we bare up, being some two leagues thither, having so
much winde as we could scarce lye by it with our course and bonnet of
each; but bearing up before the winde, wee put out our topsayles and
spritsayle, and within a little while the winde [Setting of
the ship upon a rock.] began to fayle us, and immediately our ship gave
a mightie blow upon a rocke, and stucke fast upon it. And had we had but
the fourth part of the wind which we had in all the night past, but a
moment before we strucke the rocke, our shippe, doubtlesse, with the
blow had broken her selfe all to peeces. But our provident and most
gracious God which commaundeth wind and sea, watched over us, and
delivered us with his powerfull hand from the unknowne danger and hidden
destruction, that so we might prayse him for his fatherly bountie and
protection, and with the prophet David say, _Except the Lord, keepe the
cittie, the watch-men watch in vaine_; for if our God had not kept our
shippe, we had bin all swallowed up alive without helpe or redemption;
and therefore he for his mercies sake grant that the memoriall of his
benefits doe never depart from before our eyes, and that we may evermore
prayse him for our wonderfull deliverance, and his continuall providence
by day and by night.
[The company dismayed.]
My company with this accident were much amazed, and not without just
cause. Immediately we used our endevour to free our selves, and with our
boates sounded round about our shippe, in the mean time assaying[161]
our pumpe to know [Diligence to free it.] if our shippe made
more water then her ordinary; we found nothing increased, and round
about our shippe deepe water, saving under the mid-shippe, for shee was
a floate a head and a sterne: and bearing some fathome before the mayne
mast, and in no other part, was like to be our destruction; for being
ebbing water, the waight in the head and sterne by fayling of the water,
began to open her plankes in the middest; and upon the upper decke, they
were gone one from another some two fingers, some more; which we sought
to ease and remedie by lightning of her burden, and throwing into the
sea all that came to hand; and laying out an anchor, we sought to wend
her off:[162] and such was the will and force we put to the capsten and
tackles fastned upon the cable, that we plucked the ring of the anchor
out of the eye, but after recovered it, though not serviceable.
[To the laborious God propitious,]
All our labour was fruitlesse, till God was pleased that the flood came,
and then we had her off with great joy and comfort, when finding the
current favourable with us, we stood over to English bay, and fetching
it, we anchored there, having beene some three houres upon the rocke,
and with the blow, as after we saw when our ship was brought aground in
Perico (which is the port of Panama), a great part of her sheathing was
beaten off on both sides in her bulges,[163] and some foure foote long
and a foote square of her false stemme, joyning to the keele, wrested a
crosse, like unto a hogges yoake, which hindered her sayling very much.
[and therefore praysed.]
Here we gave God prayse for our deliverance, and afterward procured to
supply our wood and water, which we had throwne overbourd to ease our
shippe, which was not much: that supplyed, it pleased God (who is not
ever angry), to looke upon us with comfort, and to send us a fayre and
large wind, and so we set sayle once againe, in hope to disemboke the
straite; but some dozen leagues before we came to the mouth of it, the
wind changed, and forced us to seeke out some cove or bay, with our
boates to ride in neere at hand, that we might not be forced to returne
farre backe into the straites.
They sounded a cove some sixteene leagues from the [Crabby
cove.] mouth of the straite, which after we called Crabby cove. It
brooked its name well for two causes; the one for that all the water was
full of a small kinde of redd crabbes; the other, for the crabbed
mountaines which over-topped it; a third, we might adde, for the crabbed
entertainement it gave us. In this cove we anchored, but the wind
freshing in, and three or foure hilles over-topping, like sugar-loaves,
altered and straightned the passage of the wind in such manner, as
forced it downe with such violence in flawes and furious blusterings, as
was like to over-set our shippe at an anchor, and caused her to drive,
and us to weigh; but before we could weigh it, shee was so neere the
rockes, and the puffes and gusts of wind so sodaine and uncertaine,
sometimes scant, sometimes large, that it forced us to cut our cable,
and yet dangerous if our shippe did not cast the right way. Here
necessitie, not being subject to any law, forced us to put our selves
into the hands of him that was able to deliver us. We cut our cable and
sayle all in one instant; and God, to shew his power and gratious
bountie towardes us, was pleased that our shippe cast the contrary way
towards the shore, seeming that he with his own hand did wend her about;
for in lesse then her length shee flatted,[164] and in all the voyage
but at that instant, shee flatted with difficultie, for that shee was
long, the worst propertie shee had. On either side we might see the
rockes under us, and were not halfe a shippes length from the shore, and
if she had once touched, it had beene impossible to have escaped.
Magnified ever be our Lord God, which delivered Ionas out of the whales
belly; and his apostle Peter from being overwhelmed in the waves; and us
from so certaine perishing.