Transcribed from the 1893 Sampson Low, Marston and Company edition by David Price, email ccx074@pglaf.org
THE
VOYAGE ALONE
in the
YAWL ROB ROY,
FROM LONDON TO PARIS, AND BY HARVE
ACROSS THE CHANNEL TO THE ISLE OF WIGHT,
SOUTH COAST, &c., &c.
B y JOHN MACGREGOR, M.A.,
captain of the royal canoe club ,
author of a thousand miles in the rob roy canoe ,
the rob roy on the baltic ,
the rob roy on the jordan , &c.
SIXTH EDITION.
LONDON:
SAMPSON LOW, MARSTON & COMPANY
limited .
St. Dunstans House,
Fetter Lane , Fleet Street , E.C.
1893
(All rights reserved.)
LONDON:
printed by william clowes and sons , limited
stamford street and charing cross .
PREFACE.
In the earlier part of this voyage, and where it was most wished for, along the dangerous coast of France, fine weather came.
Next there was an amphibious interlude to the Paris Exhibition, while the Rob Roy sailed inland.
Thence her course over the sea brought the yawl across the broad Channel (100 miles) to Cowes and its Regattas, and to rough water in dark nights of thunder, until once more in the Thames and up the Medway she was under bright skies again.
Cooking and sleeping on board, the writer performed the whole journey without any companion; and perhaps this log of the voyage will show that it was not only delightful to the lone sailor, but useful to others.
Blackheath , Kent ,
May, 1880.
The Authors profits from the preceding Editions were devoted to Prizes for Boys in the following Training Ships:
The Chichester in the Thames.
The Arethusa in the Thames.
The Cumberland , in the Clyde.
The Indefatigable , in the Mersey.
The Havannah , in the Severn.
The profits will again be devoted to similar Prizes as explained in the Appendix.
CHAPTER I.
ProjectOn the stocksProfileAfloat aloneSmart ladsSwingingAnchorsHappy boysSea reachGood looksPeep belowImportant triflesIn the wellChartWatch on deckEating an eggStorm sail.
It was a strange and pleasant life for me all the summer, sailing entirely alone by sea and river fifteen hundred miles, and with its toils, perils, and adventures heartily enjoyed.
The two preceding summers I had paddled alone in an oak canoe, first through central Europe, and next over Norway and Sweden; but though both of these voyages were delightful, they had still the drawback, that progress was mainly dependent on muscular effort, that food must be had from shore, and that I could not sleep on the water.
In devising plans to make the pleasure of a voyage complete then, many cogitations were had in the winter, and these resulted in a beautiful little sailing-boat; and once afloat in this, the water was my road, my home, my very world, for a long and splendid summer.
The perfect success of these three voyages has been due mainly to the careful preparation for them in the minute details which are too often neglected. To take pains about these is a pleasure to a man with a boating mind, but it is also a positive necessity if he would ensure success; nor can we wonder at the fate of some who get swamped, smashed, stove-in, or turned over, when we see them go adrift in a craft which had been huddled into being by some builder ignorant of what is wanted for the sailor traveller, and is launched on unknown waters without due preparation for what may come.
I resolved to have a thoroughly good sailing-boatthe largest that could be well managed in rough weather by one strong man, and with every bolt, cleat, sheave, and rope well-considered in relation to the questions: How will this work in a squall?on a rock?in the dark?or in a rushing tide?a crowded lock; not to say in a storm?
The internal arrangements of my boat having been fully settled with the advantage of the canoe experiences, the yacht itself was designed by Mr. John White, of Cowesand who could do it better? She was to be first safe, next comfortable, and then fast. If, indeed, you have two men aboard, one to pick up the other when he falls over, then you may put the last of the above three qualities first, but not prudently when there is only one man to do the whole.
The Rob Roy was built by Messrs. Forrestt, of Limehouse, the builders for the Royal National Lifeboat Institution, and so she is a lifeboat to begin with. Knowing how much I might have to depend on oars now and then, my inclination was to limit her length to about 18 ft., but Mr. White said that 21 ft. would take care of herself in a squall. Therefore that length was agreed upon, and the decision was never regretted; still I should by no means advise any increase of these dimensions.
One great advantage of the larger size, was that it enabled me to carry in the cabin of my yawl, another boat, a little dingey or punt, to go ashore by, to take exercise in, and to use for refuge in last resource if shipwrecked, for this dingey also I determined should be a lifeboat, and yet only eight feet long. The childhood of this little boat was somewhat unhappy, and as she grew into shape shewas quizzed unmercifully, and the people shook their heads very wisely, as they did at the first Rob Roy canoe. Nowthat we can reckon about three thousand of such canoes, and now that this little dingey has proved a complete successand an unspeakable convenience, the laugh may be forgotten. However, ridicule of new things often does good if itbegets caution in changes, and stimulates improvement. Good things get even benefit from ridicule, which may shake offthe plaster and paint, though it will not shiver the stone.
Thoroughly to enjoy a cruise with only two such dumb companions as have been described, it is of importance that the man who is to be with them should also be adapted for his place. He must have good health and good spirits, and a passion for the sea. He must learn to rise, eat, drink, and sleep, as the water or winds decree, and not his watch. He must have wits to regard at once the tide, breeze, waves, chart, buoys, and lights; also the sails, pilot-book, and compass; and more than all, to scan the passing vessels, and to cook, and eat, and drink in the midst of all. With such pressing and varied occupations, he has no time to feel lonely, and indeed, he passes fewer hours in the week alone than many a busy man in chambers. Of all the people I have met with who have travelled on land or sea alone, not one has told me it was lonely, though some who have never tried the plan as a change upon life in a crowd, may fear its unknown pleasures. As for myself, on this voyage I could scarcely get a moment to myself, and there was always an accumulation of things to be done, or read, or thought over, when a vacant half-hour could be had. The man who will feel true loneliness, is he who has one sailor with him, or a pleasant companion soon pumped dry; for he has isolation without freedom all day (and night too), and a tight cramp on the mind. With a dozen kindred spirits in a yacht, indeed, it is another matter; then you have freedom and company, and (if you are not the owner) you are not slaves of the skipper, but still you are sailed and carried, as passive travellers, and perhaps after all you had better be in a big steamer at oncethe Cunards or the P. and O., with a hundred passengersreal life and endless variety. However, each man to his taste; it is not easy to judge for others, but let us hope, that after listening to this log of a voyage alone, you will not call it lonely.
