SCHOONER CHANCE 87 



Off Sandy Point we had to start the motor to steam the rest of the 

 way up to Shelburne. Like all heavy storms the wind hardly pene- 

 trated inland at all. We finally anchored at two o'clock. 



Position Off Cape Sable 

 Saturday, September 18th <| Weather Clear 



Wind Light northeast 



WE were ashore before nine and found old man McKay and 

 d'Entremont on the dock. They were very surprised at seeing 

 us as they thought we never would have been out yesterday. All the 

 sail-maker said was, "Hard old skipper!" But he was mighty pleased 

 that it was Beckman's sail which blew out and not his. Everyone 

 said they had never heard the surf so distinctly before. Possibly the 

 wind carried the noise up to the town extra well, yet everyone we 

 saw spoke of it and said it could be heard even indoors all last night 

 and the nearest breakers were six miles away. This pleased me a lot 

 as now 1 know the "Chance" can run before anything. It blew harder 

 when we were off Cape Harrison, but I am sure the seas were not as 

 large. There must have been a whale of a storm somewhere. 



Old "Silent John" was full of a story about the fishing schooners 

 during a storm early in August. Two Lunenberg vessels were lost 

 and 45 men drowned, but a schooner, built by McKay, ran across 

 a "gulley in the bar" (on Sable Island Bank) and got clear away to 

 the open sea. Everything movable was swept off her deck and the 

 whole crew was in the rigging except the man at the wheel "and 

 half the time they didn't know whether there was a vessel under 

 them or not." 



We got away about eleven and while running down the harbor 

 took off the topsail which is slightly ripped and doesn't fit anyway. 

 Mac and John got started sewing on the stay-sail which will require 

 a lot of work. The surf on Cape Buenavista was still very heavy. I 



