Family History 1.717

 My great-grandfather Charles Gaze's shipboard diary (aged 27)

5th January 1860

Very fine hot and calmer sea but still progressIng the wind having remained in the same direction since the 27th Dec not requiring them to alter any of the sails Since Lat. 23-42 South.

Hot cake made of soaked biscuit and flour, very good for breakfast.

Passed and spoke the ship 'Vuneira' from Sydney for London. I heard our Captain telling the Doctor their colours signified they had been 55 days at sea and that the ship was one of the Durbars of the B1ackball Line, she was in full sail as us, passed very near t0 us, great cheering on both ships, very soon out of sight.

Sailors still busy about the rigging, don't appear to be in first rate condition, Very calm towards evening scarce a ripple on the sea.

6th   Alice made Hot Cake for breakfast and loaf.

Very fine and very hot and sea very calm. We are almost at a standstill. Lat 24-7S. A large number of Nautilus or what are more generally known by the name of Portuguese men of War, floating about, some caught, but they appear to be of no use on the contrary are not fit to be handled stinging when they are touched. A young fellow Woodward caught one and ran slinging it about  stung our little Alice on the arm and one of the German children on his face, the 1st mate told him of it pretty well

and so did I. The thing is a sort of fungi of various colours and sizes from the size of a nut to the size of your carat. Their sting causes to swell and is very painful I understand. Our Alice is not much hurt.

 

Stronger winds but much ahead of us tonight. About midnight the boom of the main gallant stunsail broke, through not being loose enough when they put the ship about, it came down across our hatchway and knocked off the top of the ventilator which rolled down the steps between decks but fortunately no one hurt, had it been day several might have been.

7th

Very fine and not so hot owing partly I think to there being more wind. Alice made cake flour and soak and biscuit for breakfast. Latitude 25-S. The first pig killed, quite an excitement to see it die, its weight about 7 stone.