Join the Melpomene (38)—Sent up the Mediterranean—Tremendous weather, with thunder, lightning, and water-spouts—Ship loses her rudder and main-topmast—Proceed to Malta.

Ten days after the action, I was appointed acting lieutenant of the Melpomene (38), Captain Peter Parker. The weather having moderated, we sailed in company with the Orion (74), Captain Codrington: Endymion (44), and Weazle brig, (18); to look into Toulon, and scour the Mediterranean, in search of a squadron of French frigates. We parted from the fleet on the 8th of November, 1805, with every prospect of a most delightful cruise, and the chance of picking up some prizes; but a few days after leaving Gibraltar, our golden hopes were dashed to nought, and we were sent a wreck, without a rudder, to Malta.

The weather continued moderate until the 11th, when we captured a small Spanish settee, laden with stores of little value, and took her in tow, for the purpose of conveying her to the commodore, but a heavy squall coming on, we destroyed her.

On the 12th, we saw the island of Majorca, and finding the main-yard sprung, we lowered it down, and fished it. On the 13th, owing to the violence of the gale and heavy sea, we bore up, with the Weazle brig in company, to take shelter under Majorca; at this time the ship was labouring very hard, in consequence of a heavy cross swell. On the 14th, none of the squadron were in sight; the morning of the 15th, about nine o’clock, a most tremendous squall came on, accompanied with thunder, lightning, rain, and sleet, which obliged us to clew up all our sails; shortly afterwards the main-mast was struck by lightning, the fluid exploded by the pumps, and knocked myself and a seaman down; the sensation I felt was that of a severe electric shock, shaking every bone in my body, but, thank God! it did me no further injury; the seaman, poor fellow! was a good deal burnt, but he afterwards recovered. On examining the mainmast, we found it splintered in many places, particularly about the hoops, and in the wake of the trusses, where copper had been nailed on.

The next day we stood towards Barcelona, in the hopes of rejoining the Orion, but between nine and ten in the morning of the 17th, the sea rose all round us, angry, black, threatening clouds, accompanied with water-spouts, and heavy flashes of lightning, gave us warning that a tempest of no common kind was approaching; several land birds of various descriptions, blown from land not in sight, settled on the deck and rigging, in hopes of shelter from the pitiless storm; a woodcock tried to rest upon the capstern on the quarter-deck; a hoopoe, linnets, greenfinches, and other small birds, also endeavoured, poor things! to find shelter, but when the first burst of the tempest came on, they were blown to leeward, and probably perished. In the midst of all this we had to fire guns at the water-spouts to break them, furl the sails, and prepare for another gale. At eleven a heavy sea pooped us, stove in the dead lights, and filled the captain’s cabin with water; the wind increased to a perfect hurricane, and at one, the lightning again struck the ship and hurt the main-topmast and the main-mast. At two the storm stay-sails were blown to atoms, and the ship became entirely unmanageable; whole seas, at times, rolled over her, one of which, breaking on the quarter, struck the rudder, and the rudder-head gave way, it was immediately chocked, and the ship was then steered by the rudder pennants. Between three and four, the main-topmast was blown over the side, the rudder-chains gave way, and we found the main-mast sprung a few feet above the quarter-deck. The whole of the night, the rudder, having nothing to confine it, thumped about a great deal, and made us fear it would shake the stern-post. In the morning of the 18th, the ship fortunately took a heavy plunge, and the rudder unshipped itself from the stern and sank. The sea at this period was most heavy and breaking; it stove the quarter boats, and caused the ship to strain so much that it was necessary to keep the pumps constantly going. Towards noon of the 18th we veered a cable astern with hawsers, etc., and struck the mizen-topmast to try and wear ship, but found it impossible, for the moment we got the ship four or five points from the wind, she flew to again. On the 19th, the weather began to moderate, but still there was a heavy sea; yet, notwithstanding the ship laboured a great deal, we commenced making a Pakenham’s jury rudder out of a spare maintopmast-jibboom, and other spars.

Towards evening we saw the Columbretes, small rocky uninhabited islands, near Ivica, on the lee bow, distant four or five leagues; finding ourselves drifting bodily down on them, we made all sail on the foremast, in the hopes of getting the ship on the other tack, veered away a cable astern, and with hawsers bowsed it over to windward; but the heavy swell,—the moment we got way upon the ship, and she was a few points from the wind, striking her abaft the beam,—made her fly to the wind again. We therefore furled our sails, and let go an anchor in 60 fathoms, with a spring on the cable, which for a time brought us up; but soon after midnight, during my watch, there came on a heavy squall with thunder, lightning and rain, the ship drove, when we cut the cable and set new storm stay-sails and fore-sail; she evidently would not weather the rocks, but when pretty near them, it pleased Providence to send us a shift of wind in another severe squall, which enabled us to clear them. On the morning of the 20th the weather became moderate, and towards evening, having completed our jury-rudder, we succeeded in shipping it, and found to our great joy it answered with a little care very well. The 21st we had a steady breeze from the S.W., which enabled us to shape our course for Malta. It was necessary to keep a sharp look out upon our rudder guys and braces, for the constant friction against the ship’s sides, soon chafed the woulding. On the 22nd, at night, it again blew very heavy, our starboard fore channel was very badly started, and we found the fore-yard sprung; however the ship steered very well, going before the gale at the rate of ten and eleven knots per hour. On the 26th we arrived at Malta, and moored safely from the gales in La Valette harbour. The defects of the ship were as follows: a rudder, main-mast, two top-masts, both lower yards, maintop-sail-yard, the starboard fore channel had to be secured, and general caulking was wanted. In short, the ship was strained all to pieces.