8

Ship Esperance in the harbour of Ostend bound to Bengale.

Friday February 22. 1726
Hard gales with clear weather & a large sea running
our best bower anchor still draws home, so that we are
now in a bad birth, with both our bowers a head &
the wind at northwest in the afternoon the wind veared
to the westward & proved somewhat moderate. Saw
an English built long boat drive by us full of
water, which we judge belongs to the Peace. The wind
has been westerly & so to the northwest.

Saturday the 23.
Hard stormes of wind attended with very hard
squalls of hail. At 3 a clock in the afternoon the
Captain asked my advice about riding in this road, seing
that our anchors came home & the stroome sand
but just asterne of us & being in soft ground to lett
goe our sheet anchor it would not hold. It was
my opinion that to save the ship & men's lives
was best to slipp & putt for the harbour, if the
pilote thought that there was water enough for
us, accordingly toke the pilote's opinion & he
said that there was water enough, & that if the
ship would stear, we might get safe in accordingly
got up our lower yards & about 4 slip't both our
cables, set our sailes & at 5 got safe into the
harbour & made fast the ship untill a further
opportunity, the wind at northwest left the other
4 ships in the road.

Sunday February 24. 1726
Hard gales of wind between the northwest & the north in the
afternoon the ships in the road fired severall gunns,
but the pilotes thought that there was not water enough
for them to come in, so that none of them would venture in
the signals not being made, in the night the wind
veared to the northeast with squalls of hail, putt ashore all
our empty casks to have them fitted.

Monday the 25th.
Moderate gales between the north & east in the morning
Mr. Alex Hume went in a fishing boat off to the ship
& made the signal to saile the wind at east-northeast. The
Company's sloop went out with him.

Tuesday the 26.
Moderate gales between the north & the east with some
showers of hail, in the afternoon the fishing boat
came in, who gave us account that the Peace had lost two
anchors & cables, the Lyon one anchor, in the morning
found that they were sailed, got out another anchor &
hove up our sheet anchor.

Wednesday the 27.
Moderate gales, wind easterly, in the afternoon hove
our sheet anchor on bord, & putt it in it's place, found our
cable rubbed, that was obliged to cutt off 3 or 4 fathoms,
sent out two fishing boats with some of our people
in them to loke for our anchors, set up our main
rigging.