Read Online A Brave Vessel: The True Tale of the Castaways Who Rescued Jamestown and Inspired Shakespeare'sThe Tempest by Hobson Woodward - Free Book Online Page A
Authors: Hobson Woodward
Tags: British History
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Venture voyagers had fought the storm for nearly twenty-four hours. During that time the flagship had begun to follow the path it would take through the hurricane, ultimately tracing a backward-leaning J. At the time the storm hit, Virginia lay ahead to the northwest, the Caribbean was to the southwest, and Bermuda was to the northeast. When the flagship entered the swirl at the ten o’clock position, Somers veered from his Virginia-bound path to point the bow toward the Caribbean. As time passed he would trace a half circle (the bottom of the backward-leaning J ) before ultimately being carried on a long straight line to the northeast toward Bermuda.
Through Tuesday as the ship followed its half-circle path it was drawn ever closer to the center of the hurricane. Then at dusk, the Sea Venture passed through the eye. “For four and twenty hours the storm in a restless tumult had blown so exceedingly, as we could not apprehend in our imaginations any possibility of greater violence,” Strachey wrote, “yet did we still find it, not only more terrible, but more constant, fury added to fury, and one storm urging a second more outrageous than the former.” To the people on board the Sea Venture , the passage through the eye was a bizarre interlude between one intense storm and another of even more power.
In a description that probably referred to the passage over the haphazard waves of the eye, Strachey recalled that the Sea Venture “ran now (as do hoodwinked men) at all adventures, sometimes north and northeast, then north and by west, and in an instant again varying two or three points, and sometimes half the compass.” After passing through the center, the vessel reentered the maelstrom and began riding with the hurricane toward the center of the Atlantic. A storm that would have passed over an anchored vessel and left it behind instead pushed the floating flagship along with it as it moved. Those on board consequently experienced extreme weather conditions for an unusually long time.
All through Tuesday and into the night Somers remained at his post on the stern deck. The heavy clouds made it impossible to use the sun or stars to chart the ship’s position, and Somers steered in the dark by the feel of the ship as it rode the waves. The helmsman below at the whipstaff had it a little easier, as fellow sailors kept lanterns lit so he could see to move the steering pole to the positions ordered from above. Even in its horror the rhythm of the ship was lulling, at times almost enough to cause Somers to shut his eyes and sleep, but he did not. If he could just remain awake and steer the Sea Venture through the storm, they might make it to Virginia without further incident. The admiral settled in for a long stint at his post, unaware that even as he did so a foaming giant was looming behind him and preparing to strike.
CHAPTER FIVE
Rogue Wave
We all were sea-swallowed.
—Antonio, The Tempest
G eorge Somers was the first to feel the wall of white water hit the Sea Venture from behind. He did not see it, since sailors were advised not to look back while spooning afore because the sight of waves rising higher than the ship was enough to make even the heartiest mariner forget his steering duties. All the previous waves had passed under the Sea Venture without incident, picking up the ship and sliding beneath it. This one was different, mounting higher than the others and catching the ship with its breaking crest. To put it in maritime language, when the wave washed over the stern the Sea Venture was “pooped.”
The massive breaking swell hit the admiral and smashed him to the deck. For a moment he was underwater as tons of brine passed over him and cascaded onto the lower parts of the ship. Then he emerged sputtering and horribly unsure whether the Sea Venture had survived. Within seconds he determined that the vessel was still afloat, but facing a dire new threat. The flagship had passed through
Through Tuesday as the ship followed its half-circle path it was drawn ever closer to the center of the hurricane. Then at dusk, the Sea Venture passed through the eye. “For four and twenty hours the storm in a restless tumult had blown so exceedingly, as we could not apprehend in our imaginations any possibility of greater violence,” Strachey wrote, “yet did we still find it, not only more terrible, but more constant, fury added to fury, and one storm urging a second more outrageous than the former.” To the people on board the Sea Venture , the passage through the eye was a bizarre interlude between one intense storm and another of even more power.
In a description that probably referred to the passage over the haphazard waves of the eye, Strachey recalled that the Sea Venture “ran now (as do hoodwinked men) at all adventures, sometimes north and northeast, then north and by west, and in an instant again varying two or three points, and sometimes half the compass.” After passing through the center, the vessel reentered the maelstrom and began riding with the hurricane toward the center of the Atlantic. A storm that would have passed over an anchored vessel and left it behind instead pushed the floating flagship along with it as it moved. Those on board consequently experienced extreme weather conditions for an unusually long time.
All through Tuesday and into the night Somers remained at his post on the stern deck. The heavy clouds made it impossible to use the sun or stars to chart the ship’s position, and Somers steered in the dark by the feel of the ship as it rode the waves. The helmsman below at the whipstaff had it a little easier, as fellow sailors kept lanterns lit so he could see to move the steering pole to the positions ordered from above. Even in its horror the rhythm of the ship was lulling, at times almost enough to cause Somers to shut his eyes and sleep, but he did not. If he could just remain awake and steer the Sea Venture through the storm, they might make it to Virginia without further incident. The admiral settled in for a long stint at his post, unaware that even as he did so a foaming giant was looming behind him and preparing to strike.
CHAPTER FIVE
Rogue Wave
We all were sea-swallowed.
—Antonio, The Tempest
G eorge Somers was the first to feel the wall of white water hit the Sea Venture from behind. He did not see it, since sailors were advised not to look back while spooning afore because the sight of waves rising higher than the ship was enough to make even the heartiest mariner forget his steering duties. All the previous waves had passed under the Sea Venture without incident, picking up the ship and sliding beneath it. This one was different, mounting higher than the others and catching the ship with its breaking crest. To put it in maritime language, when the wave washed over the stern the Sea Venture was “pooped.”
The massive breaking swell hit the admiral and smashed him to the deck. For a moment he was underwater as tons of brine passed over him and cascaded onto the lower parts of the ship. Then he emerged sputtering and horribly unsure whether the Sea Venture had survived. Within seconds he determined that the vessel was still afloat, but facing a dire new threat. The flagship had passed through
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