June 5th, 1823 - Went on board at 6am, when to the great mortification of the Captain he could not clear the river [Mersey], but was truly goodness to me. I then came on shore again and called at Botanic Garden a second time. I thus had full scope of seeing it in perfection.
June 6th, 1823 - on board at 9 o'clock am in tow of two power steam-boats, which left 15 miles down the channel; we made but little progress, wind being rather contrary.
I wonder what DD's accommodation was like on the Ann Maria. Did he have a cabin or just a bunk? Were there communal areas? I guess so, not least for eating. Presumably the vessel had a cook but was food provided or did passengers, which Douglas was (ie. not crew), have to provide their own food to be cooked by the cook? Indeed, are there any contemporary accounts of what a transatlantic voyage was like in 1823? Isabella Bird gives an excellent account of such a voyage in "The Englishwoman in America" but that is 30 years after Douglas, in 1854.
I wonder what DD's accommodation was like on the Ann Maria. Did he have a cabin or just a bunk? Were there communal areas? I guess so, not least for eating. Presumably the vessel had a cook but was food provided or did passengers, which Douglas was (ie. not crew), have to provide their own food to be cooked by the cook? Indeed, are there any contemporary accounts of what a transatlantic voyage was like in 1823? Isabella Bird gives an excellent account of such a voyage in "The Englishwoman in America" but that is 30 years after Douglas, in 1854.
June 7th, 1823 - All day tossing in the channel, made little or nothing [progress]; few of the passengers were exempted from sickness. I felt perfectly comfortable, only a headache which was occasioned by cold when on my way to Liverpool.
June 8th/9th, 1823 - Thick rainy weather. Strong heavy gales and tremendous sea towards noon June 10th, 1823 - This was the first good morning we had; most of passengers still sick. Clouds of sea-fowl continue to surround the vessel; Welsh coast in sight.
June11th/12th, 1823 - Winds averse; Isle of Man on the right, Isle of Anglesea [sic] on the left, at a great distance rocky shores of Wales in view.
So it's taken him six days to get from the Mersey Docks in Liverpool to the middle of the Irish Sea. That is VERY slow progress and highlights the difficulty of travel in a slow-paced sailing ship
No comments:
Post a Comment