Two Years Before the Mast · Chapter
Southeaster and Passage Up the Coast explained
The crew experiences a sudden southeaster storm, forcing them to slip anchor and ride out the gale.
What happens
The crew experiences a sudden southeaster storm, forcing them to slip anchor and ride out the gale. After the storm passes, they return to their anchorage and prepare to sail to Monterey with passengers, including the agent Mr. R⸺ and the captain's brother and his wife. The chapter highlights the dangers of coastal sailing and the rivalry with the faster Ayacucho.
Themes in this chapter
Hardship and Endurance
The crew endures a violent southeaster, heavy rain, and the physical demands of slipping anchor and making sail in dangerous conditions.
Labor and Economy
The chapter details the precise work of seamanship—loosing sails, manning sheets, and picking up cables—as essential to the ship's survival and the trade economy.
Cultural Encounter and Otherness
The narrator observes the Spanish-dressed brother of the captain and his Californian wife, highlighting the blending of American and Californian cultures.
Characters to notice
- Richard Henry Dana Jr.
The narrator describes the storm, the maneuvers, and the interactions with passengers.
- Captain Thompson
Commands the ship during the storm and the subsequent sailing, showing concern for beating the Ayacucho.
- Old Wilson
Captain of the Ayacucho, whose early sail-trimming prompts Captain Thompson to act; noted for his skill in picking up cables.
- Mr. R⸺
The ship's agent, who boards as a passenger for the voyage to Monterey.
- Captain Faucon
Brother of Captain Thompson, dressed in Spanish style, traveling with his wife.
Key passages
“She was like a bird which had been frightened and had spread her wings in flight.”
The Ayacucho moved swiftly and gracefully through the rough sea, as if fleeing in alarm.
The narrator uses a simile to convey the beauty and speed of the other ship.
“This picking up your cables is a very nice piece of work. It requires some seamanship to do it, and come to at your former moorings, without letting go another anchor.”
Retrieving the anchor chain and returning to the exact mooring spot demands great skill and precision.
Highlights the technical expertise valued among sailors on the coast.
“I pulled the after oar, so that I heard the conversation, and learned that one of the men, who, as well as I could see in the darkness, was a young-looking man, in the European dress, and covered up in a large cloak, was the agent of the firm to which our vessel belonged.”
While rowing, the narrator overheard that the man in European clothes and a cloak was the company's agent.
Shows how the narrator gathers information about the passengers through his position at the oar.