The ship was masted according to the proportion of the navy; but on my application the masts were shortened, as I thought them too much for her, considering the nature of the voyage.
Sentiment: NEGATIVE
My lord, I will tell you what the case was. I was coming up within a league of the Dutchman, and some of my men were making a mutiny about taking her, and my gunner told the people he could put the captain in a way to take the ship, and be safe.
The head of a ship however has not always an immediate relation to her name, at least in the British navy.
One of the problems in the Navy is that tradition of being captain of the ship. And an awful lot of people can be retired in the Navy, get over it, get a life, and go on. But there's a lot who can't. And when they have to give up the ship, they got to be captain of something, every single day.
Ships are like children: they need individual attention.
My father was a sea captain, so was his father, and his father before him, and all my uncles. My mother's people all followed the sea. I suppose that if I had been born a few years earlier, I would have had my own ship.
Because my father was often absent on naval duty, my mother suffered me to do much as I pleased.
Ships are expendable; the whales are not.
A sailing ship is no democracy; you don't caucus a crew as to where you'll go anymore than you inquire when they'd like to shorten sail.
My ship was also in better condition than when she sailed from Boston on her long voyage. She was still as sound as a nut, and as tight as the best ship afloat. She did not leak a drop - not one drop!
A ship is always referred to as 'she' because it costs so much to keep one in paint and powder.