70 Observations Conducted on Sailing-Ships 



from which it is led forwards to a pulley, and thence to a lead affixed 

 to the bulwark. In this case the ' counter' and the spar or davit are 

 dispensed with. 



The warp after leaving the lead may be brought up aft and secured 

 by a stopper, as is generally done in sailing-trawlers ; and it is a good 

 thing to leave the winch free, so that if the trawl catches in a rock the 

 stopper will break and the warp can run free, instead of being brought 

 up short, with the loss of apparatus in consequence. It is scarcely 

 necessary to say that the gear is always shot to windward. 



The manipulation of a ship for trawling and tow-netting is not a 

 thing which can be taught by anything but experience, and experience 

 only can teach whether the trawl is sliding nicely over the bottom, the 

 right speed to go, how much sail to carry, and all the details which 

 make up good seamanship and mean all the difference between success 

 and failure. 



The collecting of water samples we find we can manage even in 

 bad weather and a heavy sea. Trawling also can be done in weather 

 when tow-netting is impossible ; bvit the latter, especially if closing-nets 

 be used, and the object is to determine the plankton fauna in different 

 strata, really requires the calmest weather, or light breezes. In bad 

 weather and a heavy swell the ship rides up and down so greatly as to 

 throw very heavy strain upon the wire, and it means risking the total 

 loss of the net, and frequently the silk net comes up torn and all its 

 contents gone. 



We prefer to tow-net under a light breeze, lowering the peak of the 

 mainsail and swinging out the boom with a ' tackle ' attached, and 

 keeping the jib and mizzen standing. By keeping the ship well up to 

 the wind we can regulate the speed of drift very nicely, and this must 

 be very little in tow-netting. In trawling or dredging, a little more 

 sail is required, and the course may be a little off the wind, so as to 

 keep sufficient way on to move the trawl. The ship can, by careful 

 handling, be kept fairly stationary for tow-netting, and a false anchor 

 may even be employed. A very good substitute for this is to put out 

 aft the big mid-water net, which may be allowed to drift with a good 



