Loss of Twilight

Loss of Twilight – near Cape Maria van Diemen – March 1871

Skipper – William Meiklejohn – loss of two lives

 

How blow you gentle breezes blow

The Kiporas spacious bay

The Twilight schooner loaded for

Auckland bore away

At 6p.m. the weather fine

We set all easy sail

On starboard tack we stood to lee

In a gentle N.E. gale

At 12 that night a squall came on

Increasing to the day

We split the tumbler from the gaff

And crosstrees carried away

Call the watch reset the sail

And reef it closer down

The wind is blowing harder still

And clouds begin to frown

We kept her closer to the wind

And stood for Rahu bay

Three miles to windward on the shore

Van Damon looking brown

We brought her to ride out the gale

With both the anchors down

But squalls of rain are falling fast

Uneasy is such wind

The barometer is falling too

We’ll have a change of wind

Come reef her down

Though wind through the rattens roar

A change of wind won’t suit us here

Such breakers on the shore

Our patent windlass then was tried

By many a willing hand

With close reefed sails we’re under way

And heading from the land

The wind came round a S.W. gale

A hurricane it blew

We set head sails took in the fore

Done all that men could do

With outer jib and staysails split

Van Damon on our lee

The willing ship within the bay

And head again to sea

With close reefed fore and inner jib

We stood across the bay

In hopes to weather Van Damon rocks

Till the inner jib gave way