Saltus Grammar School - Yearbook (Hamilton, Bermuda)

Page 29 text:

31 About ten o ' clock the wind became much stronger, and shifted to the south-east, blowing at about sixty miles an hour. We were all called on deck to trim sail, which in such a breeze was no easy work. The mainsail on the foremast was the most difficult to handle, for it was a huge spread of canvas rising to a height of 46 feet above the deck, and 23 feet along the boom. Two of us were ordered to man the halyard, one was at the helm, while the other three lashed in the sail as we let it down. We had worked at this sail for fully an hour, and by this time the wind was blowing a strong south-east gale, sending the seas high over her deck, flooding the cockpit and rushing off into the foaming fury, that boiled around us, every minute threatening our frail craft and crashing pitilessly on her tiny deck. We had scarcely finished lashing the mainsail down, when a huge sea struck the after part of the boat, carrying away with it the sail on the mizzen mast, but fortunately doing no damage to the mast itself. Our next task was to get the jib down and to lash the boom on the mizzen mast in place. Clinging to the mast, I managed with great difficulty to uncleat the jib halyards. Out the jibs flew in the wind, and after another half-hour ' s work, we succeeded in securing them and finishing our long and exhausting task, which we found had taken two and three-quarter hours. As the wind had dropped considerably we were able to leave one man on deck, while the rest of us went below to try to get a little sleep if possible. Whether the rest did or not, I am unable to say, for on throwing myself down on my bunk, I fell into a dreamless sleep of exhaustion. I was awakened some hours later by the first watchman, who told me that it was my turn to go on watch. I went on deck and found that the gale had passed over, and though it was still dark the stars twinkled brightly above me. The wind blew gently from the south again, and the ocean was calm compared with its state a few hours before. I seated myself at the helm and gazed wonderingly at the crowded heaven, for there was nothing else for me to do. Thus I passed an hour in the star-lit darkness until the sky began to lighten in the east. The first sign of the sun ' s rising was a long, low bar of golden light, which brightened gradually until the whole eastern heaven was a blaze of gorgeous beauty. This was worth all my night ' s toil, for never have I seen anything as beautiful as that sunrise. All were on deck by 5.30 a.m., and I retired to finish my night ' s sleep. About five in the morning of the fourth day at sea, we sighted the long gray line of America, dimly visible by the faint light of the rising sun, and by noon the tall sky-scrapers of New York could be seen clearly as we glided up the Hudson River, and into the yacht-yard where we were to prepare for the race back to Bermuda. W. T. Conyers, V-

Page 28 text:

30 I waited for a day when the winds were light. I got through the window and told my son to follow me. I saw that his wings were secure, then we jumped off and rose up in the air. The people thought that we were gods as we were flying for a distant island. My son kept flying higher and higher till the heat of the sun melted the wax; the feathers began to drop out, and he started to fall. I heard a great cry and flew back to help him, but when I got there, I saw nothing but the feathers floating about, which told me that he was drowned. I flew to the nearest Island and hung my wings on an altar as an offering, and promised never to use them again. I named the island Icaria after my son, John Pitt, II, A TEST FOR ANY SAILOR It was not until late in the afternoon of June 6th, 1926, that we had com- pleted the task of preparing our small yawl for her long sea voyage, which we were to begin the following day. At five o ' clock the next morning we slowly glided out over the reefs at the western end of Bermuda, just in time to witness the rising of the sun, which cast a beautiful golden glow over the eastern heavens. With the cool southerly morning breeze, which freshened slightly as we entered the great Atlantic, we soon were gliding swiftly on our way with her bows headed for the great American Continent in a north-westerly direction. We left our beautiful Bermuda behind us in the faint mist which still hung over the sleeping isle, covering its low wave-like hills with its greyish beauty. By noon the faint grey line of Bermuda which had grown fainter and fainter in the distance, had completely vanished, leaving us only with the sub-tropical sun blazing down on our deck, the long rolling ocean and the ever refreshing sea breeze, which never failed to give us an excellent appetite. All afternoon the wind kept at a steady rate, but by sun-set it freshened, and blew a stiff night breeze from the east, which sent our little craft through the water at about twelve knots. The sun-set was beautiful, with its grand golden glow reflecting on the clouds that appeared to nestle around it, whilst the whole ocean seemed to shine with its brilliance. Gradually it changed: the sky became dimmer, and the sea darker with a greyish blackness that makes one feel lonely and depressed. Then came the profound greyness of the entire surroundings, save for the ocean which had become jet black and more angry looking than before. It seemed to heave our little craft up and down angrily with some unknown vengeance that never seemed to cease, but only to become more angry with the inky blackness of the mid-Atlantic night. Having lit our starboard and port lights, and lashed her helm, we went below lo her small but comfortable cabin, where we spent most of the evening listening to the old seaman Vic tell yarns of his adventures.

Page 30 text:

32 A TRIP TO THE MT. WASHINGTON RANGE By Boys of Camp Hawthorne, Panther Lake, Raymond, Me. Before I begin to describe the mountain trip to Mt. Washington I think I ought to say something about Camp Hawthorne. It is a summer camp for boys, situated in the Maine woods on a cape of land of over one hundred acres extending into Panther Lake, (3 miles long and 1 mile broad) twenty-five miles directly inland from Portland Maine, near the village of Raymond. The camp season lasts from July 1st to August 27th, 1932. On August 2nd, 1931, fifteen campers, one junior councillor and two councillors left the camp by bus for Pinkham Notch, which is a hut belong- ing to the Appalachian Mountain Club, and sixty-five miles away at the foot of Mt. Washington. We had sandwiches, milk, and fruit for lunch by the roadside. We arrived at Pinkham Notch in the early part of the afternoon, and after we had picked out our bunks in the cabins, we hiked to Emerald Pool about three miles farther down the road. The pool was anything but emerald, but it was certainly cold. We started back and arrived about an hour before supper. In the meantime we tried to ring horseshoes. Next morning we were up bright and early; most of us took show ers while a few others, more lazily inclined, did not indulge. We had break- fast and started up the mountain trail about 8.15 a.m. At first the climb- ing was most exhausting, which necessitated frequent stops. In the after- noon we had become used to climbing and only stopped at long intervals. On this mountain trip chocolate bars and raisins are taken to refresh the boys between meals. We stopped at the Silver Cascades, a small but beautiful waterfall and again at Hermit Lake Shelter, where we had choco- late bars and raisins. Our next stop was the head wall where we ate our lunch which we had carried from Pinkham Notch. We then moved on to the Lake of the Clouds hut, where we picked our bunks. Nine of us went swimming for a little while only, as the altitude was about six thousand feet and the water was very cold. We then climbed to the peak of Mt. Washington, where we stayed for a couple of -hours. There is a hotel there owned by the Mount Washington Railway. They run a cog-wheel train up to the top of the Mountain for people who are not active enough to climb it. As the transportation of food to the hotel is difficult, it is very expensive. A good example of this is a dough-nut costing ten cents. Wednesday morning we started early and climbed Mts. Clay, Jeffer- son and the two Adams. We then came down to the Madison Spring Huts, where we met Camp Arcadia, a camp for girls. The clouds were very low, hanging around the hut. In a little while the rain was pouring down furi- ously upon the roof. We spent a most enjoyable evening playing cards with the girls of the camp until bed time. After breakfast we started down the mountain trail from Mt. Madison at 8.30 a.m. and arrived at the bottom about noon where we met the camp bus. On our way back