[170]
Now, in what follows I seek as best I may to show, by a niggardly14 handful of instances in my own experience, how the “personality” of ships expresses itself, and how incomprehensible these manifestations15 are to the men whose business it is to study them. Even before the ship has quitted the place of her birth, yea, while she is yet a-building, something of this may be noted17. One man will study deepest mathematical problems, will perfectly18 apply his formulæ, and see them accurately19 embodied20 in steel or timber, so that by all ordinary laws of cause and effect the resultant vessel21 should be a marvel7 of speed, stability, and strength. And yet she is a failure. She has all the vices23 that the sailor knows and dreads24: crank, slow, leewardly, hanging in stays, impossible to steer26 satisfactorily. Every man who ever sails in her carries in his tenacious27 sea-memory, to the day of his death, vengeful recollections of her perversities, and often in the dog-watch holds forth28 to his shipmates in eloquent29 denunciation of her manifold iniquities30 long after one would have thought her very name would be forgotten. Another shipbuilder, innocent of a scintilla31 of mathematics, impatient of diagrams, will begin apparently without preparation, adding timber to timber, and breast-hook to stem, until out of the dumb cavern32 of his mind a ship is evolved, his inexpressible idea manifested in graceful33 yet massive shape. And that ship will be all that the other is not. As if the spirit of her builder had somehow been wrought34 into her frame, she behaves with intelligence, and becomes the delight, the pride, of those fortunate enough to sail in her.
[171]
Such a vessel it was once my good fortune to join in London for a winter passage across to Nova Scotia. Up to that time my experience had been confined to large vessels35 and long voyages, and it was not without the stern compulsion of want that I shipped in the Wanderer. She was a brigantine of two hundred and forty tons register, built in some little out-of-the-way harbour in Nova Scotia by one of the amphibious sailor-farmers of that ungenerous coast, in just such a rule-of-thumb manner as I have spoken of. When I got on board I pitied myself greatly. I felt cramped37 for room; I dreaded38 the colossal39 waves of the Atlantic at that stormy winter season, in what I considered to be a weakly built craft fit only for creeping closely along-shore. We worked down the river, also a new departure to me, always accustomed hitherto to be towed down to Beachy Head by a strenuous40 tug41. The delicate way in which she responded to all the calls we made on her astonished our pilot, who was loud in his praises of her “handiness,” one of the most praiseworthy qualities a ship can have in a seaman’s eyes. Nevertheless, I still looked anxiously forward to our meeting with the Atlantic, although day by day, as we zigzagged42 down Channel, I felt more and more amazed at the sympathy she showed with her crew. At last we emerged upon the wide, open ocean, clear of even the idea of shelter from any land; and as if to show conclusively43 how groundless were my fears, it blew a bitter north-west gale44. Never have I known such keen delight in watching a vessel’s behaviour as I knew then. As if she were one of the sea-people,[172] such as the foam-like gulls45 or wheeling petrels, next of kin13 to the waves themselves, she sported with the tumultuous elements, her motion as easy as the sway of the seaweed and as light as a bubble. And even when the strength of the storm-wind forbade us to show more than the tiniest square of canvas, she answered the touch of her helm, as sensitive to its gentle suasion as Hiawatha’s Cheemaun to the voice of her master. Never a wave broke on deck, although she had so little free-board that a bucket of water could almost be dipped without the aid of a lanyard. That gale taught me a lesson I have never been able to forget. It was, never to judge of the seaworthy qualities of a ship by her appearance at anchor, but to wait until she had an opportunity of telling me in her own language what she could do.
Then came a spell of favourable47 weather—for the season, that is—when we could carry plenty of sail and make good use of our time. Another characteristic now revealed itself in her—her steerability. Once steady on her course under all canvas, one turn of a spoke36, or at most of two spokes48, of the wheel was sufficient to keep her so; and for an hour I have walked back and forth before the wheel, with both hands in my pockets, while she sped along at ten knots an hour, as straight as an arrow in its flight. But when any sail was taken off her, no matter which, she would no longer steer herself, as if the just and perfect balance of her sail area had been disturbed; but[173] she was easier to steer then than any vessel I have ever known. Lastly, a strong gale tested her powers of running before it, the last touch of excellence49 in any ship being that she shall run safely dead before a gale. During its height we passed the Anchor liner California, a huge steamship50 some twenty times our bulk. From end to end of that mighty ship the frolicsome51 waves leaped and tumbled; from every scupper and swinging-port spouted52 a briny53 flood. Every sea, meeting her mass in its way, just climbed on board and spread itself, so that she looked, as sailors say, like a half-tide rock. From her towering hurricane-deck our little craft must have appeared a forlorn little object—just a waif of the sea, existing only by a succession of miracles. Yet even her muffled-up passengers, gazing down upon the white dryness of our decks, looked as if they could dimly understand that the comfort which was unmistakably absent from their own wallowing monster was cosily54 present with us.
Another vessel, built on the same coast, but three times the size of the Wanderer, was the Sea Gem55, in which I had an extended experience. Under an old sea-dog of a captain who commanded her the first part of the voyage, she played more pranks56 than a jibbing mule57 with a new driver. None of the ordinary manœuvres necessary to a sailing-ship would she perform without the strangest antics and refusals. She seemed possessed58 of a stubborn demon59 of contrariness. Sometimes at night, when, at the change of the watch, all hands were kept on deck[174] to tack60 ship, more than an hour would be wasted in futile61 attempts to get her about in a seamanlike62 way. She would prance63 up into the wind gaily64 enough, as if about to turn in her own length, and then at the crucial moment fall off again against the hard-down helm, while all hands cursed her vigorously for the most obstinate65, clumsy vessel ever calked. Or she would come up far enough for the order of “mainsail haul,” and there she would stick, like a wall-eyed sow in a muddy lane, hard and fast in irons. With her mainyards braced66 a-port and her foreyards a-starboard, she reminded all hands of nothing so much as the old sea-yarn of the Yankee schooner67-skipper who for the first time found himself in command of a bark. Quite scared of those big square sails, he lay in port until, by some lucky chance, he got hold of a mate who had long sailed in square-rigged vessels. Then he boldly put to sea. But by some evil hap11 the poor mate fell overboard and was drowned when they had been several days out; and one morning a homeward-bounder spied a bark in irons making rapid signals of distress68, although the weather was fine, and the vessel appeared staunch and seaworthy enough. Rounding to under the sufferer’s stern, the homeward-bound skipper hailed, “What’s the matter?” “Oh!” roared the almost frantic69 Yankee, “for God’s sake send somebody aboard that knows somethin’ about this kind er ship. I’ve lost my square-rigged mate overboard, an’ I cain’t git a move on her nohow!” He’d been trying to sail her “winged out,” schooner fashion. So disgusted was our skipper with the Sea[175] Gem that he left her in Mobile, saying that he was going to retire from the sea altogether. But we all believed he was scared to death that she would run away with him some fine day. Another skipper took command, a Yankee Welshman by the name of Jones. The first day out I heard the second mate say to him deferentially70, “She’s rather ugly in stays, sir.” “Is she?” queried71 the old man, with an astonished air. “Wall, I should hev surmised72 she was ez nimble ez a kitten. Yew73 don’t say!” Shortly after it became necessary to tack, and, to our utter amazement74, the Sea Gem came about in almost her own length, with never a suggestion that she had ever been otherwise than as handy as a St. Ives smack75. Nor did she ever after betray any signs of unwillingness76 to behave with the same cheerful alacrity77. Had her trim been different we could have understood it, because some ships handy in ballast are veritable cows when loaded, and vice22 versâ. But that reasoning had here no weight, since her draft was essentially78 the same.
Not without a groan79 do I recall a passage in one of the handsomest composite barks I ever saw. Her name I shall not give, as she was owned in London, and may be running still, for all I know. My eye lingered lovingly over her graceful lines as she lay in dock, and I thought gleefully that a passage to New Zealand in her would be like a yachting-trip. An additional satisfaction was some patent steering80-gear which I had always longed to handle, having been told that it was a dream of delight to take a trick with it. I admit that she was right down to[176] her Plimsoll, and I will put it to her credit that she was only some dozen miles to leeward25 of the ill-fated Eurydice when that terrible disaster occurred that extinguished so many bright young lives. But the water was smooth, and we had no long row of lower-deck ports open for the sea to rush in when the vessel heeled to a sudden squall. It is only her Majesty’s ships that are exposed to such dangers as that. In fact, for the first fortnight out she was on her extra-special behaviour, although none of us fellows for’ard liked a dirty habit she had of lifting heavy sprays over fore16 and aft in a whole-sail breeze. Presently along came a snifter from the south-west, and every man of us awoke to the fact that we were aboard of a hooker saturated81 with every vicious habit known to ships. There was no dryness in her. You never knew where or when she would bow down to a harmless-looking sea and allow it to lollop on board, or else, with a perversity82 almost incredible, fall up against it so clumsily that it would send a blinding sheet of spray as high as the clues of the upper topsails. Words fail me to tell of the patent atrocity83 with which we were condemned84 to steer. Men would stand at the wheel for their two hours’ trick, and imagine tortures for the inventor thereof, coming for’ard at four or eight bells, speechlessly congested with the volume of their imprecations upon him. Yet I have no doubt he, poor man, considered himself a benefactor85 to the genus seafarer. In any weather you could spin the wheel round from hard up to hard down without feeling the slightest pressure of the sea against the rudder.[177] And as, to gain power, speed must be lost, two turns of the wheel were equal to only one with the old-fashioned gear. The result of these differences was to a sailor simply maddening. For all seamen86 steer as much by the feel of the wheel as by anything else (I speak of sailing-ships throughout), a gentle increase of pressure warning you when she wants a little bit to meet her in her sidelong swing. Not only so, but there is a subtle sympathy (to a good helmsman) conveyed in those alterations87 of pressure which, while utterly88 unexplainable in words, make all the difference between good and bad steering. Then, none of us could get used to the doubling of the amount of helm necessary. We were always giving her too much or too little. As she was by no means an easy-steering ship, even had her gear been all right, the consequence of this diabolical89 impediment to her guidance was that the man who kept her within two points and a half, in anything like a breeze, felt that he deserved high praise.
Still, with all these unpleasantnesses, we worried along in fairly comfortable style, for we had a fresh mess and railway-duff (a plum at every station) every Sunday. Every upper bunk90 in the fo’c’s’le was leaky, and always remained so; but we rigged up water-sheds that kept us fairly dry during our slumbers91. So we fared southward through the fine weather, forgetting, with the lax memory of the sailor for miserable92 weather, the sloppy93 days that had passed, and giving no thought to the coming struggle. Gradually we stole out of the trade area, until the[178] paling blue of the sky and the accumulation of torn and feathery cloud-fields warned us of our approach to that stern region where the wild western wind reigns94 supreme95. The trades wavered, fell, and died away. Out from the west, with a rush and a roar, came the cloud-compeller, and eastward96 we fled before it. An end now to all comfort fore and aft. For she wallowed and grovelled97, allowing every sea, however kindly98 disposed, to leap on board, until the incessant99 roar of the water from port to starboard dominated our senses even in sleep. A massive breakwater of two-inch kauri planks100 was fitted across the deck in front of the saloon for the protection of the afterguard, who dwelt behind it as in a stockaded fort. As the weather grew worse, and the sea got into its gigantic stride, our condition became deplorable; for it was a task of great danger to get from the fo’c’s’le to the wheel, impossible to perform without a drenching101, and always invested with the risk of being dashed to pieces. We “carried on” recklessly in order to keep her at least ahead of the sea; but at night, when no stars were to be seen, and the compass swung madly through all its thirty-two points, steering was mental and physical torture. In fact, it was only possible to steer at all by the feel of the wind at one’s back, and even then the best helmsman among us could not keep her within two points on each side of her course. We lived in hourly expectation of a catastrophe102, and for weeks none of us forward ever left off oilskins and sea-boots even to sleep in. At last, on Easter Sunday, three seas swept on board simultaneously103. One launched[179] itself like a Niagara over the stern, and one rose on each side in the waist, until the two black hills of water towered above us for fully twenty feet. Then they leaned toward each other and fell, their enormous weight threatening to crush our decks in as if they had been paper. Nothing could be seen of the hull104 for a smother105 of white, except the forecastle-head. When, after what seemed an age, she slowly lifted out of that boiling, yeasty whirl, the breakwater was gone, and so was all the planking of the bulwarks106 on both sides from poop to forecastle break. Nothing was left but to heave to, and I, for one, firmly believed that we should never get her up into the wind. However, we were bound to try; and watching the smooth (between two sets of seas), the helm was put hard down and the mizen hauled out. Round she came swiftly enough, but just as she presented her broadside to the sea, up rose a monstrous107 wave. Over, over she went—over until the third ratline of the lee rigging was under water; that is to say, the lee rail was full six feet under the sea. One hideous108 tumult46 prevailed, one dazzling glare of foaming109 water surrounded us; but I doubt whether any of us thought of anything but how long we could hold our breath. Had she been less deeply loaded she must have capsized. As it was, she righted again, and came up into the wind still afloat. But never before or since have I seen a vessel behave like that hove to. We were black and blue with being banged about, our arms strained almost to uselessness by holding on. Beast as she was, the strength of her hull was amazing, or she would have been racked to splinters: for in that awful sea she rolled clean to windward until she filled herself, then canted back again until she lay nearly on her beam-ends; and this she did continually for three days and nights. At the first of the trouble the cabin had been gutted110 so that neither officers nor passengers had a dry thread, and of course all cooking was impossible. I saw the skipper chasing his sextant (in its box) around the saloon-table, which was just level with the water which was making havoc111 with everything. And not a man of us for’ard but had some pity to spare for the one woman passenger (going out with her little boy to join her husband), who, we knew, was crouching112 in the corner of an upper bunk in her cabin, hugging her child to her bosom113, and watching with fascinated eyes the sullen114 wash of the dark water that plunged115 back and forth across the sodden116 strip of carpet.
In spite of all these defects in the ship, she reached Lyttelton in safety at last; and I, with more thankfulness than I knew how to express, was released from her, and took my place as an officer on board a grand old ship three times her size. Unfortunately for me, my sea experience of her extended only over one short passage to Adelaide, where she was laid up for sale; and of my next ship I have spoken at length elsewhere, so I may not enlarge upon her behaviour here. After that I had the good fortune to get a berth117 as second mate of the Harbinger, to my mind one of the noblest specimens118 of modern shipbuilding that ever floated. She was lofty—210[181] feet from water-line to skysail truck—and with all her white wings spread, thirty-one mighty sails, she looked like a mountain of snow. She was built of steel, and in every detail was as perfect as any sailor could wish. For all her huge bulk she was as easy to handle as any ten-ton yacht—far easier than some—and in any kind of weather her docility119 was amazing. No love-sick youth was ever more enamoured of his sweetheart than I of that splendid ship. For hours of my watch below I have sat perched upon the martingale guys under the jib-boom, watching with all a lover’s complacency the stately sheer of her stem through the sparkling sea, and dreamily noting the delicate play of rainbow tints120 through and through the long feather of spray that ran unceasingly up the stem, and, curling outward, fell in a diamond shower upon the blue surface below. She was so clean in the entrance that you never saw a foaming spread of broken water ahead, driven in front by the vast onset121 of the hull. She parted the waves before her pleasantly, as an arrow the air; graciously, as if loath122 to disturb their widespread solitude123.
But it needed a tempest to show her “way” in its perfection. Like the Wanderer, but in a grand and gracious fashion, she seemed to claim affinity124 with the waves, and they in their wildest tumult met her as if they too knew and loved her. She was the only ship I ever knew or heard of that would “stay” under storm-staysails, reefed topsails, and a reefed foresail in a gale of wind. In fact, I never saw anything that she would not do that a ship should do. She was so truly a child of the ocean that even a bungler125 could hardly mishandle her; she would work well in spite of him. And, lastly, she would steer when you could hardly detect an air out of the heavens, with a sea like a mirror, and the sails hanging apparently motionless. The men used to say she would go a knot with only the quartermaster whistling at the wheel for a wind.
Then for my sins I shipped before the mast in an equally large iron ship bound for Calcutta. She was everything that the Harbinger was not—an ugly abortion126 that the sea hated. When I first saw her (after I had shipped), I asked the cook whether she wasn’t a razeed steamboat—I had almost said an adapted loco-boiler. When he told me that this was only her second voyage I had to get proof before I could believe him. And as her hull was, so were her sails. They looked like a job lot scared up at ship-chandlers’ sales, and hung upon the yards like rags drying. Our contempt for her was too great for words. Of course she was under water while there was any wind to speak of, and her motions were as strange as those of a seasick127 pig. A dredger would have beaten her at sailing; a Medway barge128, with her Plimsoll mark in the main-rigging, would have been ten times as comfortable. Somehow we buttocked her out in 190 days with 2500 tons of salt in her hold, and again my fortunate star intervened to get me out of her and into a better ship as second mate.
Of steamers I have no authority to speak, although they, too, have their ways, quite as non-understandable as sailing-ships, and complicated, too, by the additional entity129 of the engines within. But everything that floats and is built by man, from the three-log catamaran of the Malabar coast, or the balsa of Brazil, up to the latest leviathan, has a way of its own, and that way is certainly, in all its variations, past finding out.
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1
mighty
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| adj.强有力的；巨大的 | |
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eminence
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| n.卓越，显赫；高地，高处；名家 | |
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frankly
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| adv.坦白地，直率地；坦率地说 | |
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fully
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| adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地 | |
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exigencies
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| n.急切需要 | |
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precluded
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| v.阻止( preclude的过去式和过去分词 )；排除；妨碍；使…行不通 | |
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marvel
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| vi.(at)惊叹vt.感到惊异；n.令人惊异的事 | |
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mariners
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| 海员，水手（mariner的复数形式） | |
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apparently
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| adv.显然地；表面上，似乎 | |
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myriad
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| adj.无数的；n.无数，极大数量 | |
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hap
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| n.运气；v.偶然发生 | |
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fabrics
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| 织物( fabric的名词复数 )； 布； 构造； （建筑物的）结构（如墙、地面、屋顶）：质地 | |
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kin
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| n.家族，亲属，血缘关系；adj.亲属关系的，同类的 | |
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niggardly
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| adj.吝啬的，很少的 | |
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manifestations
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| n.表示，显示（manifestation的复数形式） | |
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fore
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| adv.在前面；adj.先前的；在前部的；n.前部 | |
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noted
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| adj.著名的，知名的 | |
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perfectly
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| adv.完美地，无可非议地，彻底地 | |
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accurately
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| adv.准确地，精确地 | |
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embodied
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| v.表现( embody的过去式和过去分词 )；象征；包括；包含 | |
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vessel
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| n.船舶；容器，器皿；管，导管，血管 | |
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vice
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| n.坏事；恶习；[pl.]台钳，老虎钳；adj.副的 | |
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vices
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| 缺陷( vice的名词复数 )； 恶习； 不道德行为； 台钳 | |
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dreads
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| n.恐惧，畏惧( dread的名词复数 )；令人恐惧的事物v.害怕，恐惧，担心( dread的第三人称单数 ) | |
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leeward
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| adj.背风的；下风的 | |
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steer
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| vt.驾驶，为…操舵；引导；vi.驾驶 | |
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tenacious
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| adj.顽强的，固执的，记忆力强的，粘的 | |
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forth
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| adv.向前；向外，往外 | |
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eloquent
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| adj.雄辩的，口才流利的；明白显示出的 | |
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iniquities
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| n.邪恶( iniquity的名词复数 )；极不公正 | |
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scintilla
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| n.极少，微粒 | |
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cavern
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| n.洞穴，大山洞 | |
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graceful
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| adj.优美的，优雅的；得体的 | |
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wrought
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| v.引起；以…原料制作；运转；adj.制造的 | |
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vessels
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| n.血管( vessel的名词复数 )；船；容器；（具有特殊品质或接受特殊品质的）人 | |
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spoke
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| n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说 | |
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cramped
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| a.狭窄的 | |
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dreaded
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| adj.令人畏惧的；害怕的v.害怕，恐惧，担心( dread的过去式和过去分词) | |
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colossal
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| adj.异常的，庞大的 | |
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strenuous
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| adj.奋发的，使劲的；紧张的；热烈的，狂热的 | |
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tug
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| v.用力拖(或拉)；苦干；n.拖；苦干；拖船 | |
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zigzagged
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| adj.呈之字形移动的v.弯弯曲曲地走路，曲折地前进( zigzag的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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conclusively
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| adv.令人信服地，确凿地 | |
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gale
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| n.大风，强风，一阵闹声（尤指笑声等） | |
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gulls
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| n.鸥( gull的名词复数 )v.欺骗某人( gull的第三人称单数 ) | |
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tumult
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| n.喧哗；激动，混乱；吵闹 | |
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favourable
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| adj.赞成的，称赞的，有利的，良好的，顺利的 | |
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spokes
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| n.（车轮的）辐条( spoke的名词复数 )；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 | |
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49
excellence
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| n.优秀，杰出，(pl.)优点，美德 | |
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50
steamship
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| n.汽船，轮船 | |
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51
frolicsome
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| adj.嬉戏的，闹着玩的 | |
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52
spouted
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| adj.装有嘴的v.（指液体）喷出( spout的过去式和过去分词 )；滔滔不绝地讲；喋喋不休地说；喷水 | |
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53
briny
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| adj.盐水的；很咸的；n.海洋 | |
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54
cosily
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| adv.舒适地，惬意地 | |
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55
gem
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| n.宝石，珠宝；受爱戴的人 [同]jewel | |
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56
pranks
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| n.玩笑，恶作剧( prank的名词复数 ) | |
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57
mule
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| n.骡子，杂种，执拗的人 | |
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58
possessed
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| adj.疯狂的；拥有的，占有的 | |
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59
demon
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| n.魔鬼，恶魔 | |
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60
tack
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| n.大头钉；假缝，粗缝 | |
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61
futile
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| adj.无效的，无用的，无希望的 | |
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62
seamanlike
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| 海员般的，熟练水手似的 | |
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63
prance
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| v.（马）腾跃，(人)神气活现地走 | |
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64
gaily
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| adv.欢乐地，高兴地 | |
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65
obstinate
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| adj.顽固的，倔强的，不易屈服的，较难治愈的 | |
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66
braced
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| adj.拉牢的v.支住( brace的过去式和过去分词 )；撑牢；使自己站稳；振作起来 | |
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67
schooner
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| n.纵帆船 | |
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68
distress
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| n.苦恼，痛苦，不舒适；不幸；vt.使悲痛 | |
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69
frantic
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| adj.狂乱的，错乱的，激昂的 | |
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70
deferentially
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| adv.表示敬意地，谦恭地 | |
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71
queried
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| v.质疑，对…表示疑问( query的过去式和过去分词 )；询问 | |
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72
surmised
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| v.臆测，推断( surmise的过去式和过去分词 )；揣测；猜想 | |
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73
yew
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| n.紫杉属树木 | |
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74
amazement
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| n.惊奇，惊讶 | |
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75
smack
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| vt.拍，打，掴；咂嘴；vi.含有…意味；n.拍 | |
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76
unwillingness
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| n. 不愿意，不情愿 | |
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77
alacrity
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| n.敏捷，轻快，乐意 | |
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78
essentially
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| adv.本质上，实质上，基本上 | |
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79
groan
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| vi./n.呻吟，抱怨；(发出)呻吟般的声音 | |
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80
steering
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| n.操舵装置 | |
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81
saturated
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| a.饱和的，充满的 | |
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82
perversity
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| n.任性；刚愎自用 | |
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83
atrocity
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| n.残暴，暴行 | |
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84
condemned
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| adj. 被责难的, 被宣告有罪的 动词condemn的过去式和过去分词 | |
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85
benefactor
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| n. 恩人，行善的人，捐助人 | |
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86
seamen
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| n.海员 | |
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87
alterations
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| n.改动( alteration的名词复数 )；更改；变化；改变 | |
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88
utterly
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| adv.完全地，绝对地 | |
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89
diabolical
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| adj.恶魔似的，凶暴的 | |
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90
bunk
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| n.(车、船等倚壁而设的)铺位；废话 | |
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91
slumbers
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| 睡眠，安眠( slumber的名词复数 ) | |
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92
miserable
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| adj.悲惨的，痛苦的；可怜的，糟糕的 | |
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93
sloppy
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| adj.邋遢的，不整洁的 | |
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94
reigns
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| n.君主的统治( reign的名词复数 )；君主统治时期；任期；当政期 | |
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95
supreme
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| adj.极度的，最重要的；至高的，最高的 | |
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96
eastward
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| adv.向东；adj.向东的；n.东方，东部 | |
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97
grovelled
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| v.卑躬屈节，奴颜婢膝( grovel的过去式和过去分词 )；趴 | |
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98
kindly
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| adj.和蔼的，温和的，爽快的；adv.温和地，亲切地 | |
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99
incessant
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| adj.不停的，连续的 | |
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100
planks
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| （厚）木板( plank的名词复数 )； 政纲条目，政策要点 | |
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101
drenching
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| n.湿透v.使湿透( drench的现在分词 )；在某人（某物）上大量使用（某液体） | |
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102
catastrophe
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| n.大灾难，大祸 | |
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103
simultaneously
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| adv.同时发生地，同时进行地 | |
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104
hull
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| n.船身；(果、实等的)外壳；vt.去(谷物等)壳 | |
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105
smother
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| vt./vi.使窒息；抑制；闷死；n.浓烟；窒息 | |
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106
bulwarks
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| n.堡垒( bulwark的名词复数 )；保障；支柱；舷墙 | |
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107
monstrous
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| adj.巨大的；恐怖的；可耻的，丢脸的 | |
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108
hideous
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| adj.丑陋的，可憎的，可怕的，恐怖的 | |
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109
foaming
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| adj.布满泡沫的；发泡 | |
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110
gutted
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| adj.容易消化的v.毁坏（建筑物等）的内部( gut的过去式和过去分词 )；取出…的内脏 | |
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111
havoc
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| n.大破坏，浩劫，大混乱，大杂乱 | |
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112
crouching
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| v.屈膝，蹲伏( crouch的现在分词 ) | |
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113
bosom
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| n.胸，胸部；胸怀；内心；adj.亲密的 | |
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114
sullen
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| adj.愠怒的，闷闷不乐的，(天气等)阴沉的 | |
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115
plunged
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| v.颠簸( plunge的过去式和过去分词 )；暴跌；骤降；突降 | |
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116
sodden
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| adj.浑身湿透的；v.使浸透；使呆头呆脑 | |
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117
berth
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| n.卧铺，停泊地，锚位；v.使停泊 | |
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118
specimens
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| n.样品( specimen的名词复数 )；范例；（化验的）抽样；某种类型的人 | |
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119
docility
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| n.容易教，易驾驶，驯服 | |
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120
tints
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| 色彩( tint的名词复数 )； 带白的颜色； （淡色）染发剂； 痕迹 | |
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121
onset
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| n.进攻，袭击，开始，突然开始 | |
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122
loath
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| adj.不愿意的；勉强的 | |
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123
solitude
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| n. 孤独; 独居,荒僻之地,幽静的地方 | |
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124
affinity
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| n.亲和力，密切关系 | |
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125
Bungler
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| n.笨拙者，经验不够的人 | |
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126
abortion
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| n.流产，堕胎 | |
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127
seasick
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| adj.晕船的 | |
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128
barge
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| n.平底载货船，驳船 | |
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129
entity
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| n.实体，独立存在体，实际存在物 | |
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