Page:Economic History of Virginia Vol 1.djvu/134

 ; it was vexed by sudden gusts of wind and heavy storms of lightning, thunder, and rain, but so easy and smooth was the navigation as a rule that it was asserted in after times that many masters of ships ventured to the head of the Bay upon the slender knowledge of an ordinary seaman, and that experience acquired in a single voyage was ample to justify a sea-captain in exploring every part of it without a pilot.

The shores of the Bay had a counterpart in safety in the whole of the coast line of Virginia. It was bold but uniform, and so free from all obstructions throughout the year that a ship could approach it by night as well as by day without taking soundings. Knowledge of the latitude alone was required on the part of the mariner to shape his course. When the weather was clear, the largest vessel could sail directly in and obtain secure anchorage at the first point of land which was reached, or if a hurricane arose, a refuge could be found in the open sea or in the protected waters within the Capes. In the present age when violent storms are blowing on the ocean without, the surface of Hampton Roads is frequently dotted with the white canvas of several hundred ships of various sorts which have entered to escape the dangers of the outward voyage or to await the return of more favorable winds; and the same use was made of this