The coastland times with which is combined the pilot and herald of Belhaven and Swan Quarter. [volume] (Manteo, N.C.) 1959-1973, 1962-03-09

toward the land in order to take
advantage of the expected change
of wind when he would resume
course down the coast. BY midnight
the gale was fierce, sweeping along
at the rate of nearly so miles an
hour, and the captain states that
he would have gladly put his vessel
on the offshore tack, but did not
dare to make the attempt for fear
of losing his mainsail. The center
board was down full depth, max
ing the vessels draft about TWEEN
ty feet, and under the short sail
she carried her progress was esti-
mated to be only four knots an
hour. At one o'clock the gale hauled
to little east of south, mounting
to a hurricane and the atmosphere
was thick with driving sleet and
rain, cutting so keenly that the
captain said it was impossible even
to look to windward. In view of
the probability of losing his sail !,
if he should try to wear ship, and
also the danger of standing on
much longer, he resolved to come
to anchor as soon as he should
reach shoal water. Notwithstand-
ing the fact that he was in thu
midst of a terrible storm, headed
toward the land, and without any
exact knowledge Of his where
pabouts, he took no soundings, and
appears to have entertained entire
confidence that he would fetch up
safely in the bay or bend in the
coast to the southwark of Cape
Hatteras, about two-thirds of the
distance to Cape Lookout. He says
he supposed that he had an abund-
ance Of sea room, but as it turned
out he had entirely underestimated
or failed to take into consideration
the powerful set of the northward
current, and his other calculations
were altogether out of the way.
Off the Course.
Straight on to the westward the
vessel stood from eight o'clock pm.
until about half past three am.
the next morning, when the, cap
tain, for the first time, concluded
that it might be well to cast the
lead, and with that purpose in view
turned out Of his bunk, where he
had sought a little rest. But it was
then too late, and even before he
reached the deck the schooner
struck with frightful force. Instead
of being a few miles north of Cane
Lookout, as he had supposed, he
was only a few miles off Cape Hat
teras, on the extreme outer end of
the north breaker, at the entrance
of Ocracoke Inlet. AS soon as the
vessel struck she began to thump
with terrific shocks with every
rise and fall Of the seas. In a few
moments the deep centreboard be-
came jammed in such a way that
it held fast in the hard sand, act
ing like a great pivot upon which
the ponderous hull hung and sway
ed, until at last the schooner turn
led completely around, wrenching
the centerboard from its fasten-
ings and sending it adrift. By the
loss of the centerboard her draft
was reduced to about eight feet,
so that she gradually pounded her
way over the shoal to the leeward.
and floated in three fathoms of
water. With the hope of fetching
her up before she should be driven
farther shoreward, the captain or
dered the foresail to be lowered
and the large starboard anchor to
be cleared away, but the rolling
and pitching of the schooner threw
the inner fluke of the anchor back
n. 4