38 A YEAR WITH A WHALER 



skillful seamen. When a ship is close-hauled 

 and sailing, as sailors say, right in the wind's 

 eye, the wind is blowing into the braced sails at 

 the weather edge of the canvas; — if the vessel 

 were brought any higher up, the wind would 

 pour around on the back of the sails. The helms- 

 man's aim is to keep the luff of the royal sail or 

 of the sails that happen to be set, wrinkling and 

 loose — luffing, sailors call it. That shows that 

 the wind is slanting into the sails at just the 

 right angle and perhaps a little bit is spilling 

 over. I gradually learned to do this in the day- 

 time. But at night when it was almost impos- 

 sible for me to see the luff of the sails clearly, it 

 was extremely difficult and I got into trouble 

 more than once by my clumsiness. The trick at 

 the wheel was of two hours' duration. 



The second day out from San Francisco was 

 Christmas. I had often read that Christmas was 

 a season of good cheer and happiness among 

 sailors at sea, that it was commemorated with 

 religious service, and that the skipper sent for- 

 ward grog and plum duff to gladden the hearts 

 of the sailormen. But Santa Claus forgot the 



