A selection of paintings, drawings & jottings
The Wreck Of The President
Page 10
The two ships sailed south together, they didn’t meet the Return either at sea or when they called in at Bombay. It was almost the season for rough weather and the storms were expected at any time so the Captains could not wait for the Company’s people at Bombay to fetch the pepper they had in storage nearby as it would take them at least three days. They loaded what little was already there and set off again.
When they arrived at the island of Mauritius, they met another ship. It was none other than the Surat Merchant, Which had accompanied the President when it sailed from England a year earlier. The three East Indiamen stayed at the island for many weeks because the winds at that time of year blow the wrong way at the Cape, they would not be able to sail around the tip of Africa until they changed direction again.
And so it was that in early December the three vessels were in the northern Atlantic, just three hundred miles from England. On the 12th of that month a violent storm blew them back out to sea. The ships lost site of each other, they never saw one another again. In the weeks that followed the wind blew continuously from the northeast but with such strength that they were quite unable to negotiate it. Try as they might to tack this way and that they just seemed to make no headway at all.
The President turned slightly north in order to attempt to reach Ireland but was blown back. Next they came about and headed southeast for Portugal, again without success. No matter what course Captain Hide tried to steer, the wind just blew the President back out into the Atlantic. They were far out into the ocean indeed, but to give up and turn west for Newfoundland seemed out of the question. England was to the east and England was home.
As January passed the food was running out, it had been severely rationed in December but they were still at sea and getting desperate. The remaining food was bad and the men were becoming sick. They had started to collect rainwater in the sails but these were so dirty that the water was almost undrinkable.
During this time they met two other ships. One was a French merchant that sent them over some dried fish but although they asked for oil and water, they could not spare them any. The second ship was bound for the Caribbean and her Captain did not trust any of his crew to take supplies over to the President in case they refused to return. So the crew struggled on, and the food finally ran out. At last, in their despair, they killed and ate the ship’s dog, there was nothing else to do.
By this time most of the crew were sick, they were dying, Captain Hide as well. It would be only a matter of a few days before it became impossible to sail the ship.
Finally, in the second week of February, the wind changed direction at last. Those of the crew who could still work a little set course for the English Channel and the last dash began. John Child’s orders to Captain Hide before leaving Surat had forbidden him to sail into the Channel in darkness. He had been instructed to stop at night and to sail on in daylight. But the Captain was so weak with sickness that the men were starting to discuss what to do amongst themselves.
Hope began to grow in the minds of the crew. They hardly dared to believe it. They were going to make after all. Not long now surely, just two or three days and they would pass the Scillies and enter the Channel. What a tale this would make, they would retell it for the rest of their days. How others would fall silent and stare in respect when they learned that here was a man who had sailed on the President.