The maiden voyage of the Mary Belle 2/13

By the time she’d found her cabin and looked out of the porthole, the brig had rounded the point and was entering the main river. The vessel began to heave up and down as she met the rough water and more sail was set.

Fortunately she was used to much more violent motion in the lugger and didn’t feel sick. The wind had veered slightly and the brig soon turned and began to run towards the open sea.

Fern put her head inside the cabin door for a moment, “The skipper’s running down channel to get some sea room as quickly as he can, he doesn’t want to be caught in a strong blow near land in a new ship. I’m afraid you’ll have to stay here until things settle down a bit.”

The door slammed shut behind her and she went back on deck. Jennifer Jane had another look out of her porthole. The brig was travelling very fast in the increasingly rough sea and was beginning to roll as well, so she decided to make the best of the situation, climbed into her bunk and tried to catch up on the sleep which Fern had interrupted earlier that morning.

She was woken again by a tremendous booming thud followed by a roar, as water cascaded along the deck above her head and decided to take a quick look on deck to see what was happening.

She found the brig sailing close hauled and lying over at quite a steep angle. The wind was much stronger than it had been when they’d left the river and even on a vessel of this size, the water was coming green over the bow and roaring along the deck. Another surge of water came over the bow and headed towards the open hatchway.

Jennifer Jane hurriedly pulled the hatch closed and went back to her bunk. She didn’t have the waterproofs or the experience to help sail a ship this size and she could quite understand why she was being asked to keep out of everyone’s way.

Some time later she woke up again as Fern came into the cabin. “I’ve managed to scrounge some sandwiches for you from the cook. The galley fire had to be put out, so that’s all there is I’m afraid. We’ve had to bear away again and run before it,” she continued, “the skipper’s got well out to sea but the wind is still rising. We’re just running before the storm now, well reefed down and waiting until it blows itself out before we try to get back. I’m sharing your cabin during my watch below.”

Fern climbed wearily into the other bunk and quickly fell asleep.

Jennifer Jane wedged herself into her bunk and ate her meal. ‘Not much of an adventure so far,’ she thought to herself, ‘I suppose I should be grateful that I’m not cold and wet, as well as tired like Fern.’

Then she curled up and spent the rest of the night drifting in and out of sleep, waking up for a moment whenever the brig crashed into a particularly heavy sea.