Port Washington Maritime Heritage Festival

(no subject)

Ninety-three By Victor Hugo, Aline Delano

Ninety-three By Victor Hugo, Aline Delano: "TORMENTUM BELLI

ONE of the carronades of the battery a twenty four pound cannon had become loose This is perhaps the most dreadful thing that can take place at sea Nothing more terrible can happen to a man of war under full sail"

Ninety-three By Victor Hugo, Aline Delano

Ninety-three By Victor Hugo, Aline Delano: "A cannon that breaks loose from its fastenings is suddenly transformed into a supernatural beast It is a monster developed from a machine This mass runs along on its wheels as easily as a billiard ball it rolls with the rolling pitches with the pitching comes and goes stops seems to meditate begins anew darts like an arrow from one end of the ship to the other whirls around turns aside evades rears hits out crushes kills exterminates It is a ram battering a wall at its own pleasure Moreover the battering ram is iron the wall is wood It is matter set free one might say that this eternal slave is wreaking its vengeance it would seem as though the evil in what we call inanimate objects had found vent and suddenly burst forth it has the air of having lost its patience and of taking a"

Ninety-three By Victor Hugo, Aline Delano

Ninety-three By Victor Hugo, Aline Delano: "mysterious dull revenge nothing is so inexorable as the rage of the inanimate The mad mass leaps like a panther it has the weight of an elephant the agility of a mouse the obstinacy of the axe it takes one by surprise like the surge of the sea it flashes like lightning it is deaf as the tomb it weighs ten thousand pounds and it bounds like a child's ball it whirls as it advances and the cireles it describes are intersected by right angles And what help is there How can it be overeome A calm succeeds the tempest a cyclone passes over a wind dies away we replace the broken mass we check the leak we extinguish the tire but what is to be done with this enormous bronze beast How can it be subdued You can reason with a mastiff take a bull by surprise fascinate a snake frighten a mollify a"

Ninety-three By Victor Hugo, Aline Delano

Ninety-three By Victor Hugo, Aline Delano: "fascinate a snake frighten a tiger mollify a lion but there is no resouree with the monster known as a loosened gun You cannot kill it it is already dead and yet it lives It breathes a sinister life bestowed on it by the Infinite The plank beneath sways it to and fro it is moved by the ship the sea lifts the ship and the wind keeps the sea in motion This destroyer is a toy Its terrible vitality is fed by the ship the waves and the wind each lending its aid What is to be done with this complication How fetter this monstrous mechanism of shipwreck How foresee its comings and goings its recoils its halts its shocks Any one of those blows may stave in the side of the vessel How can one guard against these terrible gyrations One has to do with a projectile that reflects that has ideas and changes its direction at"

Ninety-three By Victor Hugo, Aline Delano

Ninety-three By Victor Hugo, Aline Delano: "any moment How can one arrest an object in its course whose onslaught must be avoided The dreadful cannon rushes about advances recedes strikes to right and to left flies here and there baffles their attempts at capture sweeps away obstacles crushing men like flies The extreme danger of the situation comes from the unsteadiness of the deck How is one to cope with the caprices of an inclined plane The ship had within its depths so to speak imprisoned lightning struggling for escape something like the rumbling of thunder during an earthquake In an instant the crew was on its feet It was the chief gunner's fault who had neglected to fasten the screw nut of the breeching chain and had not thoroughly chocked the four trucks of the carronade which allowed play to the frame and bottom of the gun carriage thereby disarranging the two platforms and parting the breeching The lashings were broken so that the"

Ninety-three By Victor Hugo, Aline Delano

Ninety-three By Victor Hugo, Aline Delano: "breeching The lashings were broken so that the gun was no longer firm on its carriage The stationary breeching which prevents the recoil was not in use at that time As a wave struck the ship's side the cannon insufficiently secured had receded and having broken its chain began to wander threat ningly over the deck In order to get an idea of this strange sliding fancy a drop of water sliding down a pane of glass When the fastening broke the gunners were in the battery singly and in groups clearing the ship for action The carronade thrown forward by the pitching dashed into a group of men killing four of them at the first blow then hurled back by the rolling it"

Ninety-three By Victor Hugo, Aline Delano

Ninety-three By Victor Hugo, Aline Delano: "in two an unfortunate fifth man and struck and one of the guns of the larboard battery Hence the cry of distress which had been heard All the men rushed to the ladder The gun deck was empty in the twinkling of an eye The monstrous gun was left to itself It was its own mistress and mistress of the ship It could do with it whatsoever it wished This crew accustomed laugh in battle now trembled It would be impossible to describe their terror"

Ninety-three By Victor Hugo, Aline Delano

Ninety-three By Victor Hugo, Aline Delano: "Captain Boisberthelot and Lieutenant la Vieuville brave men though they were paused at the top of the ladder silent pale and undecided looking down on the deck Some one pushed them aside with his elbow apd descended It was their passenger the peasant the man about whom they were talking a moment ago Having reached the bottom of the ladder he halted V VIS ET VIR THE cannon was rolling to and fro on the deck It might have been called the living chariot of the Apocalypse A dim wavering of lights and shadows was added to this spectacle by the marine lantern swinging under the deck The outlines of the cannon were indistinguishable by reason of the rapidity"

Ninety-three By Victor Hugo, Aline Delano

Ninety-three By Victor Hugo, Aline Delano: "light shone upon it then again it wonld cast pale glimmering reflections in the darkness It was still pursuing its work of destruction It had already shattered four other pieces and made two breaches in the ship's side fortunately above the water line but which would leak in case of rough weather It rushed frantically against the timbers the stout riders resisted curved timbers have great strength but one could hear them crack under this tremendous assault brought to bear simultaneously on every side with a certain omnipresence truly appalling"

Ninety-three By Victor Hugo, Aline Delano

Ninety-three By Victor Hugo, Aline Delano: "sharper or more rapid sounds The four wheels were passing and repassing over the dead bodies cutting and tearing them to pieces and the five corpses had become five trunks rolling hither and thither the heads seemed to cry out streams of blood flowed over the deck following the motion of the ship The ceiling damaged in several places had begun to give way The whole ship was filled with a dreadful tumult The captain who had rapidly recovered his self possession had given orders to throw down the hatchway all that could abate the rage and check the mad onslaught of this infuriated gun mattresses hammocks spare sails coils of rope the bags of the crew and bales of false assignats with which the corvette was laden that infamous stratagem of English origin being considered a fair trick in war But what availed these rags No one dared to"

Ninety-three By Victor Hugo, Aline Delano

Ninety-three By Victor Hugo, Aline Delano: "go down to arrange them and in a few moments they were reduced to lint There was just sea enough to render this accident as complete as possible A tempest would have been weleome It might have upset the cannon and with its four wheels once in the air it could easily have been mastered Meanwhile the havoc increased There were even incisions and fractures in the masts that stood like pillars grounded firmly in the keel and piereing the several decks of the vessel The mizzen mast was split and even the main mast was damaged by the convulsive blows of the cannon The destruction of the battery still went on Ten out of the thirty pieces were useless The fractures in the side increased and the corvette began to leak The old passenger who had descended to the gun deck looked like one carved in stone as he stood"

Ninety-three By Victor Hugo, Aline Delano

Ninety-three By Victor Hugo, Aline Delano: "passenger to gun deck looked like one carved in stone as he stood motionless at the foot of the stairs and glanced sternly over the devastation It would have been impossible to move a step upon the deck Each bound of the liberated carronade seemed to threaten the destruction of the ship But a few moments longer and shipwreck would be inevitable They must either overeome this calamity or perish some decisive action must be taken But what What a combatant was this carronade Here was this mad creature to be arrested this flash of lightning to be seized this thunderbolt to be crushed Boisberthelot said to Vieuville Do you believe in God chevalier Yes and no sometimes I do replied La Vieuville"

Ninety-three By Victor Hugo, Aline Delano

Ninety-three By Victor Hugo, Aline Delano: "In a tempest Yes and in moments like these Truly God alone can save us said Boisberthelot All were silent leaving the carronade to its horrible uproar The waves beating the ship from without answered the blows of the cannon within very much like a couple of hammers striking in turn Suddenly in the midst of this inaccessible cireus where the escaped cannon was tossing from side to side a man appeared grasping an iron bar It was the author of the catastrophe the chief gunner whose criminal negligence had caused the accident the captain of the gun Having brought about the evil his intention was to repair it Holding a handspike in one hand and in the other a tiller rope with the slip noose in it he had jumped through the to the deck below"

Ninety-three By Victor Hugo, Aline Delano

Ninety-three By Victor Hugo, Aline Delano: "Then began a terrible struggle a titanic spectacle a combat between cannon and cannoneer a contest between mind and matter a duel between man and the inanimate The man stood in one corner in an attitude of expectancy leaning on the rider and holding in his hands the bar and the rope calm livid and tragic he stood firmly on his legs that were like two pillars of steel He was waiting for the cannon to approach him The gunner knew his piece and he felt as though it must know him They had lived together a long time How often had he put his hand in its mouth It was his domestic monster He beiran to talk to"

Ninety-three By Victor Hugo, Aline Delano

Ninety-three By Victor Hugo, Aline Delano: "it as he would to a dog Come said he Possibly he loved it He seemed to wish for its coming and yet its approach meant sure destruction for him Ho v to avoid being crushed was the question All looked on in terror Not a breath was drawn freely except perhaps by the old man who remained on the gun deck gazing sternly on the two combatants He himself was in danger of being crushed by the piece still he did not move Beneath them the blind sea had command of the battle When in the act of accepting this awful hand to hand struggle the gunner approached to challenge the cannon it happened that the surging sea held the gun motionless for an instant as though stupefied Come on said the man It seemed

Ninety-three By Victor Hugo, Aline Delano

Ninety-three By Victor Hugo, Aline Delano: "Suddenly it leaped towards him The man dodged Then the struggle began a contest unheard of the fragile wrestling with the invulnerable the human warrior attacking the brazen beast blind foree on the one side soul on the other All this was in the shadow It was like an indistinct vision of a miracle A soul strangely enough it seemed as if a soul existed within the cannon but one consumed with hate and rage The blind thing seemed to have eyes It appeared as though the monster were watching the man There was or at least one might have supposed it cunning in this mass It also chose its opportunity It was as though a gigantic insect of"

Ninety-three By Victor Hugo, Aline Delano

Ninety-three By Victor Hugo, Aline Delano: "iron was endowed with the will of a demon Now and then this colossal grasshopper would strike the low ceiling of the gun deck then falling back on its four wheels like a tiger on all fours rush upon the man He supple agile adroit writhed like a serpent before these lightning movements He avoided encounters but the blows from which he escaped fell with destructive foree upon the vessel A piece of broken chain remained attached to the carronade This bit of chain had twisted in some incomprehensible way around the breech button One end of the chain was fastened to the gun carriage the other end thrashed wildly around aggravating the danger with every bound of the cannon The screw held it as in a clenched hand and this chain multiplying the strokes of the battering ram by those of the thong made a terrible whirlwind around the gun a lash of iron in a fist of brass This chain complicated the combat

Ninety-three By Victor Hugo, Aline Delano

Ninety-three By Victor Hugo, Aline Delano: "Despite all this the man fought He even attacked the cannon at times crawling along by the side of the ship and clutching his handspike and the rope the cannon seemed to understand his movements and fled as though suspecting a trap The man nothing daunted pursued his chase Such a struggle must necessarily be brief Suddenly the cannon seemed to say to itself Now then there must be an end to this And it stopped A crisis was felt to be at hand The cannon as if in suspense sec med to metlitate or for to all intents and purposes it was a living creature it really did meditate some furiou design"

Ninety-three By Victor Hugo, Aline Delano

Ninety-three By Victor Hugo, Aline Delano: "All at once it rushed on the gunner who sprang aside with a laugh crying out Try it again as the cannon passed him The gun in its fury smashed one of the larboard carronades then by the invisible sling in which it seemed to be held it was thrown to the starboard towards the man who escaped Three carronades were crushed by its onslaught then as though blind and beside itself it turned from the man and rolled from stern to stem splintering the latter and causing a breach in the walls of the prow The gunner took refuge at the foot of the ladder a short distance from the old man who stood watching He held his handspike in readiness The cannon seemed aware of it and without taking the trouble to turn it rushed backward on the man as swift as the blow of an axe The gunner if driven up against the side of the ship would be lost One cry arose from the crew The old passenger who until this moment had stood motionless sprang forward more swiftly than all those mad whirls He had seized a bale of the false assignats and at the risk of being crushed succeeded in throwing it between the wheels of the carronade This decisive and perilous manoeuvre could not have been executed with more precision and"

Ninety-three By Victor Hugo, Aline Delano

Ninety-three By Victor Hugo, Aline Delano: "and the gunner availing himself of the perilous opportunity thrust his iron bar between the spokes of the back wheels Pitching forward the cannon stopped and the man using his bar for a lever rocked it backward and forward The heavy mass upset with the resonant sound of a bell that crashes in its fall The man reeking with perspiration threw himself upon it and passed the slip noose of the tiller rope around the neck of the defeated monster The combat was ended The man had conquered The ant had overeome the mastodon the pygmy had imprisoned the thunderbolt The soldiers and sailors applauded The crew rushed forward with chains and cables and in an instant the cannon was secured Saluting the passenger the gunner exclaimed Sir you have saved my life The old man had resumed his impassible attitude and made no reply.

up on the fore deck walking about,
There stands the second mate so steady and so stout;
What he is a-thinkin' of he doesn't know himself
And we wish that he would hurry up and strike, strike the bell.

Chorus:
Strike the bell second mate, let us go below;
Look ya well to windward you can see it's gonna blow;
Look at the glass, you can see it has fell,
Oh we wish that you would hurry up and strike, strike the bell.

Down on the main deck and workin' at the pumps,
There is the starboard watch just longing for their bunks;
Look out to windward, and see a great swell,
And we wish that you would hurry up and strike, strike the bell

Forward on the forecastle head and keepin' sharp lookout,
Yonder Johnson standin', a-longin' fer to shout,
Lights' a-burnin' bright sir and everything is well,
And he's wishin' that the second mate would strike, strike the bell.

Aft at the wheelhouse old Anderson stands,
Graspin' at the helm with his frostbitten hands,
Lookin' at the compass through the course is clear as hell
And he's wishin' that the second mate would strike, strike the bell.

Aft on the quarter deck our gallant captain stands,
Starin' out to sea with a spyglass in his hand,
What he is a-thinkin' of we know very well,
He's thinkin' more of shortenin' sail than strikin' the bell.

a capital ship for an ocean trip
Was the "Walloping Window Blind"
No wind that blew dismayed her crew
Or troubled the captain's mind
The man at the wheel was made to feel
Contempt for the wildest blow
Tho' it often appeared when the weather had cleared
That he'd been in his bunk below

Chorus:

So, blow ye winds, heigh-ho
A-sailing we will go
I'll stay no more on England's shore
So let the music play
I'm off for the morning train
To cross the raging main
I'm off to my love with a boxing glove
ten thousand miles away

The bos'un's mate was very sedate
Yet fond of amusement too
He played hop-scotch with the starboard watch
While the captain tickled the crew
The gunner he was apparently mad
For he sat on the afterrail
And fired salutes with the captain's boots
In the teeth of a booming gale

Chorus:

The captain sat on the commodore's hat
And dined in a royal way
Off pickles & figs & little roast pigs
And gunnery bread each day
The cook was Dutch and behaved as such
For the diet he served the crew
Was a couple of tons of hot-cross buns
Served up with sugar and glue

Chorus:

Then we all fell ill as mariners will
On a diet that's rough and crude
And we shivered and shook as we dipped the cook
In a tub of his gluesome food
All nautical pride we cast aside
And we ran the vessel ashore
On the Gulliby Isles where the poopoo smiles
And the rubbily ubdugs roar

Chorus:

Composed of sand was that favored land
And trimmed with cinnamon straws
And pink and blue was the pleasing hue
Of the tickle-toe teaser's claws
We sat on the edge of a sandy ledge
And shot at the whistling bee
While the rugabug bats wore waterproof hats
As they dipped in the shining sea

Chorus:

On rugabug bark from dawn till dark
We dined till we all had grown
Uncommonly shrunk when a Chinese junk
Came up from the Torrible Zone
She was stubby and square, but we didn't much care
So we merrily put to sea
And we left all the crew of the junk to chew
On the bark of the rubabug tree

Chorus:

Schedule for the week of August 11th through August 12th

well once again our Schedule is a little off because of the long trips, or the Port Washington Trip. the boat is leaving sometime after the sunset sail on Tuesday August 12th. but we have all of the normal sails till then.

Monday August 11th

1:15
1._____
2._____
3._____
4._____

3:15
1.Diane
2._____
3._____
4._____

8:00
1.Diane
2._____
3._____
4._____

------------

Tuesday August 12th

1:15
1._____
2._____
3._____
4._____

3:15
1.Diane
2._____
3._____
4._____

8:00
1.Diane
2._____
3._____
4._____