Books: The Sindbad Voyage

The Sindbad Voyage

(Extract)

'Now the storm line was right on top of us. The din of the wind and the snapping of the ropes created a pandemonium of sound, a raw fury. The slick figures of the crew were lit up again and again by flashes of lightning. Suddenly one of the brailing lines began to move. 'Heave ! She's moving,' came a cry. But it was a delusion. With a thunderous crack the whole rear edge of the mainsail, 50 feet of double stitch canvas, was ripped asunder. The tear ran up the sail in an instant. A moment later the whole rear edge disintegrated in shreds, a lashing ruin of torn canvas. The useless brailing lines dragged only strips of cloth to the yard. The mainsail was a total wreck, 1600 square feet of canvas blown away in an instant; the last rags of material flew away downwind into the black night like departing spirits.'

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