138 PISHBEMEN OP THE UNITED STATES. 



RUNNING A VESSEL UPON A LEE SHORE. 



Most of the fishing vessels are employed at all seasons of the year, and probably more 

 exposed than any other class of vessels to the dangers incident to approaching the land. One of 

 the greatest of these dangers is being caught on a lee shore. Vessels are seldom compelled to 

 resort to the expedient of running on the land in a gale, for they are usually well provided with 

 ground tackle to ride out at anchor almost any gale. This expedient is almost always resorted to 

 when others fail. Occasionally, however, a vessel may be caught on a lee shore in a heavy gale, 

 in which she is unable to carry sufficient sail to work off, and may not be provided with proper 

 tackle for holding on at anchor. When it is quite certain that the vessel will be driven ashore by 

 the force of the gale (it may be during the night), it is considered more prudent, for the safety of the 

 men, to run the vessel " head on" upon the land while it is yet light enough to select the best place 

 " to beach." When such a course is decided upon, it is customary to set all the sail that the vessel 

 can carry, and to keep this on her even after she has struck, if it be a sloping shore, until she has 

 been driven up as high as the winds and waves will force her. If this is done at high tide or on 

 the first of the ebb, it is probable that the crew will be saved. There have been numerous 

 instances in the Bay of Saint Lawrence, especiallj on the north side of Prince Edward Island, or 

 in the bend of the island, as it is called, of fishing vessels running ashore in this manner. The 

 vessels have sometimes been driven so high that they were but little injured, and after the 

 abatement of the storm were again launched and employed in the fisheries for many years 

 thereafter. 



In the fall of 1851, and again on August 23 and 24, 1873, many instances of this kind occurred 

 in that locality, together with many of a sadder nature, which will long be remembered by those 

 interested in the fisheries. 



JUMPING A TESSEL OFF A LEE SH0;RE. 



When a vessel strikes on a ledge a heavy press of sail may be set, and by careening the 

 vessel down she may "jump off." This maneuver is often assisted by the sea, as the vessel, with a 

 crowd of sail on her, will move ahead as often as she raises on a wave, and unless the ledge is too 

 near the water's surface for her to pass over, or other circumstances are very unfavorable, the 

 attempt is generally successful. 



53. AMOUNT OF CANVAS CARRIED BY A SCHOONER. 



Although a schooner can carry more sail when the wind blows, from a direction abaft the 

 beam, her peculiar excellencies are best seen when the wind is forward of the beam, and when she 

 is said to be " sailing by the wind." 



In discussing the amount of canvas carried under different circumstances by the same vessel, 

 we propose to speak of her management (1) when sailing with the wind "on the quarter," (2) when 

 sailing "by the wind," (3) when sailing with a "beam wind," (4) when sailing with the wind 

 "astern." 



Wind coming from a direction abaft the beam — that is, stern winds and quarter winds — are 

 called "free winds," while those at right angles to the keel are beam winds, and those blowing 

 from a direction forward of the beam are called "scant" or "head" winds. 



The difference between a "scant" and a "head" wind is thus defined: When a vessel can 

 keep on her course while sailing by the wind, it is called a " scant wind," but when she is unable 

 to do this it is called a "head wind," a head wind being any wind which necessitates tacking back 

 and forth — that is, beating to windward. 



