Page:History of merchant shipping and ancient commerce (Volume 2).djvu/553

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on the lee side of the quarter-deck, as indeed he almost invariably does, and go to the wheel behind the helmsman, taking hold of the spokes so as to have the wheel in command before the other lets go. Before letting go the helmsman gives the course in an audible voice to the man that relieves him, who repeats it aloud, just as it was given, so as to make it sure that he has heard it correctly. This is especially necessary, since the points and half-points are so much alike that a mistake might easily be made. It is the duty of the officer of the watch to be present when the wheel is relieved, in order to see that the course is correctly reported and understood; which is another reason why the course should be spoken in a loud tone of voice.

If a vessel is sailing close-hauled and does not lay her course, the order is "Full and by;" which means, by the wind, yet all full. If she lays her course, the order then is her course, as N.W. by W. or W.S.W., and the like. When a man is at the wheel he has nothing else to attend to but steering the ship, and no conversation should be allowed with him. If he wishes to be relieved, it should not be done without the permission of the officer, and the same form of giving and repeating the course must be gone through, even though absent from the helm for only a few minutes.

If an order is given to the man at the helm as to his steering, he should always repeat the order distinctly, that the officer may be sure he is understood. For instance, if the order is a new course, or "Keep her off a point," "Luff a little," "Ease her," "Meet her," or the like, the helmsman should answer