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[Page 51]
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for more than 50 yards. All went well for a while but in endeavouring to claw off one shoal the "Lili" missed stays and began to drift rapidly to leeward. Under our port quarter were the jagged tops of the coral rocks. I unceremoniously pushed the nigger from the wheel, put the helm hand up & eased off mainsail & mizzen. She gathered way & luckily cleared the shoal by the "skin of her teeth". I hung on to the wheel myself after that feeling sure that I could do better than our dusky pilot. I was mistaken, however, for within 2 minutes another shoal was seen a few yards to leeward. Down went the helm, the jib was let fly & she luffed. She again missed stays; the men got one of the long sweeps out & pulled away – twice, thrice, - crack! the oar snapped like matchwood. Before another could be got out she had sagged away towards the shoal. There was an ominous bump, then another. Then across the outer edge of the shoal ran a line of foam. The "Lili" hung poised for a moment on a rock & was then lifted up bodily; she heeled at an awful angle & visions of shipwrecks & island catastrophes came over my mind. I was about to order everyone into the dinghy when, thank God! she scraped clean & slid over the shoal with about an inch & a half to spare. I reckoned we had done about enough for one day so let go the anchor when sufficiently clean. We then snugged down everything & left her, intending to return on the morrow.
Saturday 26th : There was so much to do today that we were unable to go back for the "Lili". I have established a guard at the lighthouse whose duty is to immediately report any strange vessel in sight. In a day or two we expect to have telephone connection