254 PLYMOUTH BREAKWATER. TART VII. 



Mr. Rennie to report upon these several plans, and to 

 advise them what, in his opinion, was the best course 

 to be pursued. In his preliminary inquiry, which 

 was of the most thorough kind, he was assisted by 

 Mr. Joseph Whidbey and Mr. James Hemmans. Mr. 

 Whidbey had been a sailing master in the Eoyal Navy, 

 and was a most able and meritorious officer. He had 

 sailed round the world with Vancouver, and raised 

 himself from the station of a man before the mast to 

 the highest position a non-commissioned officer could 

 reach. His varied experience had produced rich fruits 

 in a mind naturally robust and vigorous. As might be 

 expected, he was an excellent seaman. He was also a 

 person of considerable acquaintance with practical science, 

 and had acquired from experience a large knowledge of 

 human nature, of a kind that is not to be derived from 

 books. He was afterwards raised to the office of Master- 

 Attendant at Woolwich Dockyard, and was greatly be- 

 loved and respected by all who knew him. Mr. Hemmans 

 was Master- Attendant of Plymouth Dockyard, and pos- 

 sessed an intimate practical knowledge of the locality, 

 which proved of much value in the course of the 

 investigation. 



The result of Mr. Rennie' s careful study of the object 

 to be accomplished, and the best mode of fulfilling the 

 requirements of the Admiralty, was embodied in the 

 report presented by him on the 22nd of April, 1806. 

 He there expressed himself of opinion that, of the three 

 plans which had been proposed, that of a pier ex- 

 tending westward from Andurn Point, near the Shag- 

 stone, at the south-eastern extremity of the Sound, was 

 the best ; but even that was objectionable, as calculated 

 to produce shoaling of the harbour by favouring the 

 deposit of silt, a process which was then going on, 

 and which it was most desirable to prevent. Looking 

 at the main object of the proposed work, which was to 

 render the Sound a safe haven for vessels riding at 



