MY WESTWARD TREK Chapter 5

The Storm Looks Bad
courtesy photobucket.com

Morgan loved to stand on the prow of his ship, he enjoyed the up and down motion when the wind was stronger, and the spray was splashing over him.

There was a sense of freedom he experienced here, and no where else, fleeting moments when there was only the sea and him.  

One day he was joined by a young lady about his age.  She startled him for his focus was on the horizon, and when he turned and saw her he began to blush, and had trouble saying his words.  They exchanged pleasantries and he warned her to hold on the rail tightly for the ship's motion was greater on the bow.  He said, “I must get back to my duties and offered his hand to steady her on the walk back down to the deck.

They were getting too closer to Cape Horn, and in a few days he would experience what most sailors were fearful of and that was the unpredictably of the waters of the coast off the Horn.  As they started into this perilous part of the journey the decks were cleared of passengers and everything was battened down.  Half of the sails were gathered and tied, and the weather and wind began to pick up.

What all feared was an approaching storm, and that they would be close enough to experience the effect of it. The ship shuddered under the pounding of the waves and the wind.  Because of the forcedness of the wind they had to reduce sails even further.  

 

Courtesy Free Clip Art

Below decks both the crew and passengers were being tossed about and some injuries occurred. Vomit covered the aisles and the ships lower deck was difficult to walk on.

Morgan had been in heavy storms before and didn't panic for he had faith in this fine ship.

He bandaged up the injuries to a few passengers one of which was the young woman he had briefly spoken to on deck.  Her injury wasn't serious but he bandaged it anyway and then strapped her in her bunk, telling her he would check on her later.

The Captain summoned him to his quarters, and wanted a report of how the passengers were fairing.  

Morgan quickly gave his report and returned below.

 

The galley had pots and pans thrown about and needed straightening up but since no one was a mind to eat that wasn't a problem.

The smell of vomit and urine permeated the air and had made the first mate sick for awhile but as the storm eased up he was back on his feet and gave Morgan a list of things to do starting with putting the galley back into shape.

The wind had weakened and they only had to deal with the two converging seas which the ship handled easily.

On the way to the galley he stopped at the young woman's cabin and released the strap that held her in her bunk and told her she could get up when she felt like it.

He requested the cooks to get the galley in order but it would be several hours before anyone would want anything heavy to eat so try to put some soup on.

There was some damage to the ship and Morgan was put in charge of doing necessary repairs only. The rest would be done when they reached port.

A sharp breeze was now blowing and once again they were in full sail. It felt good to feel the power generated by those sails and the speed of the ship increasing.

The crew now had the task of cleaning below decks. Even after swabbing and cleaning, the smell still remained though by now everyone was getting used to it.

To be Continued