Family History 1.718

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

8th (Sunday) January 1860

Hot cake for breakfast, also a loaf made with yeast but had not rise properly, cold boiled pork, preserved potatoes and boiled plum pudding for dinner. 

1/2 p 10 Church Prayer on the poop this morning 3 hymns  sung.                                               

1/2 past 4 p.m. Dissenters' Service and address from Proverbs 14:32v. 

Latitude 26-36 South. A booby flying around the ship all evening.

Half past 7 p.m. grand view^. of the sun setting on the bright side of uS and moon rising directly on our left. A ship in sight ahead of as all day. 

The water served out for use smells and looks very^- bad. We are very glad of our filter but even that does not take off the bad smell. We are often asked to pass water through it for others.

9th

Very fine and hot. I helped my wife wash some clothes and afterwards hung them to dry. A warm job in this climate. 

The same ship ahead as us but not so much. 

Our water still smells bad.

Latitude 27-23 South. A squall about 1 p.m. Lasted only about a few minutes. The clouds and sea appear to touch each other and apparently steaming gradually approach us generally bringing heavy rain and strong winds. It is all a bustle when a squall is seen coming to get beds (or anything that may be on deck to dry) below and frequently have to take in sail.

10th Latitude 29-11S, Longitude 28-46 West.

Very fine, hot and nice breeze. Got alongside the barque seen 2 days ahead of us between 6 and 7 a.m. Spoke her (by colours) name Isle of May, London from Liverpool, with coals for the Mail Coaling Station at Point de Gaul, Ceylon. Passed her by 9 a.m. Kept to windward of her all day some distance apart, until about 7 p.m. when she neared us and came I should say within a hundred yards of our stern which did not appear to please our Captain nor the mates (who were all on deck at once a rare occurrence) it getting dark so we had to steer westward to clear for her, but no remark passed except 1 heard our Captain say quietly, I don't know who to as both mates and he stood by the men on the wheel, never keep so near a ship again. The 2nd mate told some of us the captain of the barque had no right to steer so near. 

Our Captain and mates seem very quiet sort of men, I never hear any bullying.

The 2nd mate is a rare chap for a lark in tying persons who lie asleep on deck. I saw him tie a young man (2nd cabin passenger) this evening to a chair he was sleeping on, who caused quite a bit of fun all over the ship this afternoon, in consequence of engaging himself a Lady (Saloon) on Saturday evening, had a fall out on Sunday evening (something about some plaster she had on her face it was said) they appeared to be talking it over this afternoon, when about 3 p.m. she burst into tears, and he threw his arms around her and kissed three times, which was observed by almost all on deck, and many of the sailors, especially the men at the wheel and the sailmaker who works on the poop close to where they were sitting causing roars of laughter from all parts of the ship and great clapping of hands when they were seen to kiss the 3rd time, dinner being ready in Saloon, She went off the deck to it, and was not seen till some time after of course. Her name is Stepney, she has no one with her, is represented as being a Governess appears to be about 30 his name is Marks, also alone, is a chemist, about 30. Considered by most persons to be rather soft, I don't know who could think otherwise, to have seen what passed today.

PS: Grand-daughter Penny is in Nepal getting ready to join a project with Antipodeans. Here is the website where you can see blogs from previous volunteers in Nepal and Peru, where grandson Rowan is headed in a couple of months, returning to where he volunteered this time last year:

http://antipodeansabroad.blogspot.co.nz/