Series 03: Joseph Banks - Endeavour journal, 25 August 1768 - 12 July 1771 (vol. 2) - No. 0297
Primary tabs
Transcription
[Page 297]
293.
June 1770 off Cape Tribulation
far more valuable to us than the Bowers as we were obligd immediately to warp her to windward that we might take advantage of the sea breeze to run in shore
One of our midshipmen now proposd an expedient which no one else in the ship had seen practisd tho all had heard of it by the name of fothering a ship by the means of which he said he had come home from America in a ship which made more water than we did nay so sure was the master of that ship of his expedient that he he took her out of harbour knowing how much water she made & trusting intirely to it he was immediately set to work with 4 or 5 assistants to prepare his fother which he did thus. he took a lower studding sail & having mixd together a large quantity of Oakum chopd fine & wool he stickd it down upon the sail as loosely as possible in small bundles each about as big as his fist these were rangd in rows 3 or 4 inches from each other this was to be sunk under the ship & the theory of it was this, where ever the leak was must be a great suction which would probably catch