Weeks 3 & 4

III Week

Sunday 2d December – beautiful weather. Very light and favourable winds – No Trades yet.

Monday 3d – delightful weather, very hot tho’ with cloudless sky. Nearly a calm all day. Caught 2 Dolphins.

Tuesday 4th – very fine weather. Very light and favourable breeze. Trade Winds.

Wednesday 5th – very fine weather. Moderate and favourable wind – fresh at night.

Thursday 6th – fine weather. Fresh Trades.

Friday 7th – wind favourable but variable in strength. Weather cloudy – with two smart passing showers during day.

Saturday 8th November – fine weather. Moderate and favourable wind – fresh at night.

III Hebdomade

After the second day of this week, we hailed with pleasure the appearance of the Trade Winds, considering ourselves now safe from all chance of a foul wind, until we reach S.t Thomas. Their accession was at first very light and gentle, but they gradually freshened, and tempered the ardent heat we are now beginning to be subjected to, The History then of our Trades furnishes little variety in description when they blow, as they have done since their commencement, moderately & regularly – and so we calculate upon reaching our first Port in 10 days – in dependence on these winds.

We have had only two showers, smart yet of short duration, during the past 7 days. With these exceptions the weather has been very fine. It begins now to feel rather warm, and at night one does not sleep so comfortably, so soundly, nor so long as we would wish – a sure sign of your being within the Tropics. Now I say give me temperate or cold (not too cold however) weather, and I will willingly concede the choice of the hot – perspiration exciting weather to whomsoever it may be pleased to be preferred.

Our Hebdomade has passed long in dull uniformity and monotony. Day succeeds day as wave succeeds wave, and leaves no sign behind. No vessel has cheered our sight, altho’ we are right in the track of vessels bound out to the West Indies, and no event of greater interest have I to mention than that one day we caught two dolphins – watched with admiration the changing hues of their skin, as they lay in the agonies of death – and finally luxuriated on a mess of fresh fish furnished by them.

IV Week

Sunday 9th November – very fine weather. Fresh and favourable breeze.

Monday 10th – fine weather. Moderate and favourable breeze.

Tuesday 11th – looked gloomy to windward but we had fair weather all day. Moderate and favourable breeze.

Wednesday 12th – light and foul wind, variable in direction. Weather cloudy with much rain followed by calms.

Thursday 13th – weather fair but showery all round. Calm all day till 4.30 P.M. when we had a slight shower, succeeded immediately by a fresh and favourable breeze. Several heavy showers at night.

Friday 14th – very fine weather. Fresh and favourable breeze.

Saturday 15th – beautiful weather. Moderate and favourable wind during the day – fresh at night.

IV Hebdomade

It is rather unusual to have the Wind at SE at this season of the year. As the Sun is travelling to the Southward, and rarifying the air in his progress, it would be expected that the colder air from the Northward would be found to rush forward to supply the place of the warmer atmosphere, and hence that we should have a prevalence of NE winds. Such experience has shewn to be in general the case but there are exceptions, as we ourselves do know for as yet we have had only SE winds, and we were very doubtful of their freshness and continuance. And our doubts proved too true. On Wednesday 12 Nov. we had the wind light & foul as foul could be, flying about from S to NW. Then came calms and light airs, which lasted some time, so that we were afraid of being becalmed for a week or two – no enviable prospect ay any time, but rendered doubly to be depreciated by persons in our situation so far to the S.d When we least of all expected it and while we were panting with heat a slight refreshing shower fell, and as soon as it was over the breeze sprung up fresh and favourable from the NE, the proper quarter, and continued with us to the end of this week, not uniformly fresh – but blowing hard at night and subsiding considerably during the day. However we made tolerable way, one day with another. We are now only 470 miles from Barbadoes.

The weather in general has been very fine and fair with the exceptions of two or three smart showers, which lasted but a short time.

Read on …