Evening star., 1953-08-11
MANA Photo.

had aboard 40 gallons of fresh
water, 20 in a galvanized tank
and Is in an old Royal Air Force
tank jammed by snoring pieces
in the cabin, and the rest in
bottles.
Other supplies I had consisted
Of bottle of aspirin, two bot
ties of rum, tins and tins of
bully beef, Stewing steak, maca-
roni, beans, assorted vegetables,
a large stock of bananas, a good
stock of rice, flour, and con-
densed milk. The last three
items helped much in my sur
vival. I must not forget that I
also had two tins of Christmas
pudding, just in the event was
delayed!
On the morning of November
Z, 1852, I left Santa Cruz in a
quiet, efficient manner, having
pulled in the anchor previously
and spent the night alongside a
lighter. Such tactics prevented
a recurrence of fouled anchor,
which had before marred a
speedy getaway.
My suffering engine propelled
me out of the harbor into thin,
northerly air. The winds had
behaved while was in port, even
though the boat was well rocked.
That night we were reefed down
or at least the Deben Peace
waS-in a screaming wind.
Everything was soaked by water
crashing over the boat.
Seasick in the Morning.
I heaved to and next morning
when I emerged from the sham
bles of a drenched cabin, was
suffering from a toe that was
very painful. The boat was roll
ing so much that I was very
sick. My log noted: For all this
to happen at the outset, will I
ever make it sane"
The swilling bilge water swept
each side of the craft and oc-
casionally shot out from behind
the bookcases. My time was
spent restowing things that had
broken loose and waiting for the
next crash of the sea that had
peculiar blanketing sensation
as the water lunged over the
little boat. Every now and again
I became more apprehensive
than ever, concerning whether
the Deben Peace could stand the
battering of the waves.
Besides thinking about sur
vival, I thought of something I
had read-for instance, about
the well-known yachtsman who,
in circumstances somewhat SIM
liar to mine, had wedged himself
up for repose on the cabin deck.
He would have had an unpleas-
ant time aboard the Deben Peace
-yachtsman or no yachtSman.
My log at this stage continued
to be important as companion
and I often turned to jotting
something down as a sort of
relief. I managed to rig the
storm sail and was running be-
fore mountainous seas that
were frightening when they
dashed aboard and water flowed
into the cockpit, drenching me.
I began to feel gloomy, Won
dering if I was capable of con-
tinuing to contend with such
conditions, that I now associated
with trade winds.
That night it rained cats and
dogs, but the wind subsided into
squalls. I searched for my oil
skins, but could not find them.
So 1 was faced with the pros
pect of crossing the Atlantic
without the proper protective
clothing.
Then BecaImed Again.
Another day and something
further to worry about. The
Deben Peace was becalmed and
I had reason to be concerned
about my ability to find my posi-
tion. I started the method of
tracking the passage of the sun
for my meridian, and it was this
ANT. system that I clung to
throughout the ordeal of cross
ing.
Up to then I had not thought
Of the slow progress I was max
ing. Now, I was filled with a
dread, and my boat was becalmed
in the bargain. saw large fish
fixing me with their eyes and
small triggerfish that made a
kissing noise. No sharks or
whales-why were they with
holding themselves?
Toothache in a comfortable
home on dry land is bad enough
but it had to torment me this
voyage. A filling had dropped
out of a tooth and I began tt
imagine that all my upper teeth
were decaying.
Another worry was that my
supplies were getting low, anC
added to that was the discovery
that my fuel tanks had beer
filled with gasoline instead o1
kerosene. All attempts to make
the Primus lamp work either
failed, or resulted in a near fire
at sea. No wonder I could not
control a flow of oaths. On tor
of that I thought of the torture
l was causing my parents.
On the 53rd day I calculated
that I stood a chance of sight.
ing a ship, one crossing from
Jamaica. A hull did appear or
the horizon and I hastened. tt
hoist my International sigma
flags, which I was glad I haC
obtained In Casablanca from
LloydS Of London.