The
crew are sitting on the windlass or lying on the forecastle, smoking
or telling long yarns. At eight o'clock, eight bells are struck, the
log is hove, the watch set, the wheel relieved, the galley shut up,
and the other watch goes below.
The morning commences with the watch on deck's "turning-to" at
day-break and washing down, scrubbing and swabbing the decks. This,
together with filling the "scuttled butt" with fresh water, and
coiling up the rigging, usually occupies the time until seven bells,
(half after seven,) when all hands get breakfast. At eight, the
day's work begins, and lasts until sundown, with the exception of an
hour for dinner.
Before I end my explanations, it may be well to define a day's work,
and to correct a mistake prevalent among landsmen about a sailor's
life. Nothing is more common than to hear people say- "Are not
sailors very idle at sea?- what can they find to do?" This is a very
natural mistake, and being very frequently made, it is one which every
sailor feels interested in having corrected. In the first place, then,
the discipline of the ship requires every man to be at work upon
something when he is on deck, except at night and on Sundays.
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