By this time we had got into a bad tide-rip, which, combined with the heavy, lumpy sea, made it almost impossible to keep the 'Dudley Docker' from swamping.

As it was we shipped several bad seas over the stern as well as abeam and over the bows, although we were 'on a wind.' Lees, who owned himself to be a rotten oarsman, made good here by strenuous baling, in which he was well seconded by Cheetham.
Greenstreet, a splendid fellow, relieved me at the tiller and helped generally.

He and Macklin were my right and left bowers as stroke-oars throughout.

McLeod and Cheetham were two good sailors and oars, the former a typical old deep-sea salt and growler, the latter a pirate to his finger-tips.

In the height of the gale that night Cheetham was buying matches from me for bottles of champagne, one bottle per match (too cheap; I should have charged him two bottles).