Page:Yachting wrinkles; a practical and historical handbook of valuable information for the racing and cruising yachtsman (IA yachtingwrinkles00keneiala).pdf/15



BOUT half a century ago, when I wasn't so gray and grizzled as I am now, I was shipmate with John Gulliver, an ancient mariner who fully believed in the doctrine of the transmigration of souls. He used to spin the most wonderful yarns. He had in former incarnations animated the body of a whale, a green turtle and a sea-gull. He had also been cabin boy on the good ship Ark. He declared that, of all the skippers he had ever sailed under, Captain Noah was the strictest.

During the brief but memorable voyage of that historic craft, the crew, he declared, never once got an afternoon watch below. When they weren't feeding the live stock they were kept busy on deck cleaning brass-work and hauling taut the lee crossjack brace. He said he felt very glad when the time came for the crew to be paid off. He had grown weary of the weevily biscuits