Join the _Melpomene_ (38)--Sent up the Mediterranean--Tremendous
weather, with thunder, lightning, and water-spouts--Ship loses her
rudder and main-topmast--Proceed to Malta.
Ten days after the action, I was appointed acting lieutenant of the
_Melpomene_ (38), Captain Peter Parker. The weather having moderated,
we sailed in company with the _Orion_ (74), Captain Codrington:
_Endymion_ (44), and _Weazle_ brig, (18); to look into Toulon, and
scour the Mediterranean, in search of a squadron of French frigates. We
parted from the fleet on the 8th of November, 1805, with every prospect
of a most delightful cruise, and the chance of picking up some prizes;
but a few days after leaving Gibraltar, our golden hopes were dashed to
nought, and we were sent a wreck, without a rudder, to Malta.
The weather continued moderate until the 11th, when we captured a small
Spanish settee, laden with stores of little value, and took her in tow,
for the purpose of conveying her to the commodore, but a heavy squall
coming on, we destroyed her.
On the 12th, we saw the island of Majorca, and finding the main-yard
sprung, we lowered it down, and fished it. On the 13th, owing to the
violence of the gale and heavy sea, we bore up, with the _Weazle_
brig in company, to take shelter under Majorca; at this time the ship
was labouring very hard, in consequence of a heavy cross swell. On the
14th, none of the squadron were in sight; the morning of the 15th,
about nine o’clock, a most tremendous squall came on, accompanied with
thunder, lightning, rain, and sleet, which obliged us to clew up all
our sails; shortly afterwards the main-mast was struck by lightning,
the fluid exploded by the pumps, and knocked myself and a seaman down;
the sensation I felt was that of a severe electric shock, shaking
every bone in my body, but, thank God! it did me no further injury;
the seaman, poor fellow! was a good deal burnt, but he afterwards
recovered. On examining the mainmast, we found it splintered in many
places, particularly about the hoops, and in the wake of the trusses,
where copper had been nailed on.
The next day we stood towards Barcelona, in the hopes of rejoining the
_Orion_, but between nine and ten in the morning of the 17th, the sea
rose all round us, angry, black, threatening clouds, accompanied with
water-spouts, and heavy flashes of lightning, gave us warning that
a tempest of no common kind was approaching; several land birds of
various descriptions, blown from land not in sight, settled on the deck
and rigging, in hopes of shelter from the pitiless storm; a woodcock
tried to rest upon the capstern on the quarter-deck; a hoopoe, linnets,
greenfinches, and other small birds, also endeavoured, poor things! to
find shelter, but when the first burst of the tempest came on, they
were blown to leeward, and probably perished. In the midst of all this
we had to fire guns at the water-spouts to break them, furl the sails,
and prepare for another gale. At eleven a heavy sea pooped us, stove
in the dead lights, and filled the captain’s cabin with water; the
wind increased to a perfect hurricane, and at one, the lightning again
struck the ship and hurt the main-topmast and the main-mast. At two
the storm stay-sails were blown to atoms, and the ship became entirely
unmanageable; whole seas, at times, rolled over her, one of which,
breaking on the quarter, struck the rudder, and the rudder-head gave
way, it was immediately chocked, and the ship was then steered by the
rudder pennants. Between three and four, the main-topmast was blown
over the side, the rudder-chains gave way, and we found the main-mast
sprung a few feet above the quarter-deck. The whole of the night, the
rudder, having nothing to confine it, thumped about a great deal, and
made us fear it would shake the stern-post. In the morning of the 18th,
the ship fortunately took a heavy plunge, and the rudder unshipped
itself from the stern and sank. The sea at this period was most heavy
and breaking; it stove the quarter boats, and caused the ship to
strain so much that it was necessary to keep the pumps constantly
going. Towards noon of the 18th we veered a cable astern with hawsers,
etc., and struck the mizen-topmast to try and wear ship, but found it
impossible, for the moment we got the ship four or five points from the
wind, she flew to again. On the 19th, the weather began to moderate,
but still there was a heavy sea; yet, notwithstanding the ship laboured
a great deal, we commenced making a Pakenham’s jury rudder out of a
spare maintopmast-jibboom, and other spars.
Towards evening we saw the Columbretes, small rocky uninhabited
islands, near Ivica, on the lee bow, distant four or five leagues;
finding ourselves drifting bodily down on them, we made all sail on the
foremast, in the hopes of getting the ship on the other tack, veered
away a cable astern, and with hawsers bowsed it over to windward; but
the heavy swell,--the moment we got way upon the ship, and she was a
few points from the wind, striking her abaft the beam,--made her fly to
the wind again. We therefore furled our sails, and let go an anchor in
60 fathoms, with a spring on the cable, which for a time brought us up;
but soon after midnight, during my watch, there came on a heavy squall
with thunder, lightning and rain, the ship drove, when we cut the cable
and set new storm stay-sails and fore-sail; she evidently would not
weather the rocks, but when pretty near them, it pleased Providence to
send us a shift of wind in another severe squall, which enabled us to
clear them. On the morning of the 20th the weather became moderate,
and towards evening, having completed our jury-rudder, we succeeded in
shipping it, and found to our great joy it answered with a little care
very well. The 21st we had a steady breeze from the S.W., which enabled
us to shape our course for Malta. It was necessary to keep a sharp look
out upon our rudder guys and braces, for the constant friction against
the ship’s sides, soon chafed the woulding. On the 22nd, at night,
it again blew very heavy, our starboard fore channel was very badly
started, and we found the fore-yard sprung; however the ship steered
very well, going before the gale at the rate of ten and eleven knots
per hour. On the 26th we arrived at Malta, and moored safely from the
gales in La Valette harbour. The defects of the ship were as follows: a
rudder, main-mast, two top-masts, both lower yards, maintop-sail-yard,
the starboard fore channel had to be secured, and general caulking was
wanted. In short, the ship was strained all to pieces.