Last year was my third year participating in the Christopher Columbus Essay Contest hosted by the Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR). I won the local division and earned first place in the state of Maine. I unfortunately did not place in the regional division.
The topic was: "Joining Christopher Columbus On His Voyage to the New World."
As I approached the docks, I inhaled the crisp, salty scent of the sea. The sun had just begun to peek over the horizon, revealing that dawn had arrived. A jittery excitement coursed through me as my eyes fell upon the sight of the three beautiful ships that would set sail very soon. They went by the names of the Niña, the Pinta, and the Santa Maria.
The docks bustled with crewmen and I aided in loading last minute cargo onto the ships. The entire time, a tense knot was drawn in my stomach because I knew what was out there and I was neither naive nor foolish. Being a seasoned seaman, I was very aware of the dangers—and the prosperity—that could be found at sea. Finally, a warning call was given and I hurried to board the ship I had been assigned to: the Santa Maria. As I stepped on the ramp I took a deep breath. A pang of sorrow engulfed me at what I was leaving behind; my family, land, comfort, and more. Even worse was the sense of knowing that I might never come back home.
As I came aboard, I caught the resilient gaze of the man who was commander of the three ships. His name was Christopher Columbus. He nodded at me and I returned the nod, trying to act as if I were as fearless as him.
Once all the men were aboard, we prepared to depart. Columbus began directing orders and some of the men started to pull in the ropes. I aided with setting the sails to accommodate with the direction of the wind. A few of the men on the port began to bellow out a tune that reflected sorrow and hopefulness. Before long, our voices echoed across the harbor.
Next thing I knew, our ship was sailing. The Niña and Pinta trailed at a safe distance beside us and our captain called out commands. Although my hands were occupied from handling the functions of the ship, my thoughts were elsewhere. This was my first voyage with Columbus but I had gone on many other voyages before. However, something about this one seemed different. I’d heard rumors of Columbus’s trials in gaining permission to sail. He had confronted Queen Isabella and King Ferdinand with his proposal of finding a new trade route to Asia.
As expected, the first day at sea was very ordinary and the weather was fair. There was nothing in the world that could replace the panorama of adventure that being out at sea gave you and this day was no exception. Furthering ourselves from shore, we went to work. The captain posted the lookouts and the rest of us were posted forward and another in the round-top. At eleven o’clock, we were served our first meal on the ship and it was the only hot meal we received that day. Throughout my watch, we scrubbed the decks until they were clean and clear, trimmed the sheets and braces, and when there was nothing else to do we scrubbed the rails, made spun yarn, and began chafting gear out of old rope and overhauled the gear. As I labored, I thought about the riches I might gain from this journey. Tis a seaman’s greatest hope! I laughed at myself. Such daydreams were for fools. Besides the hope for great wealth that might never come, my other desire was for a daring adventure.
At three PM, the first dogwatch was set; the second dogwatch just after sunset; and before nightfall watch, all hands were called to evening prayer. Afterward, the pages slammed a great wooden dish upon the table and we were provided with a meal of ill-cooked, stringy salt meat. Everyone grabbed his share and I attacked my own with my sheath knife, downing everything with a glass of watered wine. The chatter was cheery but I knew that within weeks the men would begin to complain for the things that they couldn’t have. Tis a hard life at sea. Once our meal was finished and every bone was left as clean as ivory, we changed shifts.
Once night had befallen, I searched for a place to sleep. With no bed we had to sleep on the hard floorboards above deck. However, I was weary. I stuffed up some cloth and laid it beneath my head as a pillow. As I lied down to rest, I pulled a thin, burlap sheet over my body but it did little to warm me. As I attempted to fall asleep, I listened to the sound of the water that lapped gently against the side of the ship and the potent smell of salt in the air. I eventually fell into a deep, dreamless slumber.
I awoke the next morning to men yelling and cold water being splashed onto my body as a wave fell over the rails. I jumped awake, only to find that my clothes were soaked and the sky had turned black while I’d been asleep. A giant clap of thunder startled any remaining sleepiness from me. As I wondered how I’d slept through so much, I ran to the starboard where many of the men wrangled with the ropes that held the sails up. A flash of lightning illuminated the fierce waters that waged war with us. More water spilled over the rails and I nearly fell as it rocked the ship violently to the side. Everything onboard was soaked and to the dismay of many of us, water leaked below deck where the food was stored.
However, every storm eventually runs out of rain. The wind died down and the clouds scattered. A dry wind came through, drying the ship out. We had to spend the entire day recovering from the storm. When the storm first cleared, I went to pump out the foot of water which had accumulated below deck. Fortunately, most of the food hadn’t been destroyed by the water. Afterward, I went above deck to help mend the sails and pull them back up. Later, I grabbed a bristled brush and assisted in cleaning and clearing the water from the decks.
Since the day had started off chaotic, we had our mid-day meal late. Columbus came to us then and praised us for our adeptness in keeping the ship intact. We then bowed our heads in a prayer and gave thanks to the good Lord who had delivered us safely from the storm.
After the mid-day meal, I took the shift in the round-top. I watched the horizon with interest and observed the other two ships that sailed beside us. As a soft sea-breeze ruffled my hair and clothes, I thought about how this wouldn’t be my last adventure. Although I was fit, had sturdy hands, and could tie a seaman’s knot in less than a minute, I knew that these skills had not been given to me for no reason at all. Neither had my courage to keep coming out to sea been without cause.
I was born for this.
Bibliography
“Columbus de Gama and Zheng He: 15th Century Mariners Crash Course World History #21.” Produced by Crash Course, U.S, YouTube, Web. www.youtube.com
“Columbus Ships Crew. “ Web. www.christophercolumbusev.com
“Columbus Ship Replica.” YouTube, Web. www.youtube.com
Covert, Adrian “6 Tools to Sail the High Seas Like Christopher Columbus.” 10 Oct. 2011. Web. www.gizmodo.com
“Glossary of Nautical Terms.” Wikipedia. Web. www.wikipedia .com
Morison, Samuel Eliot “Admiral of the Sea: A Life of Christopher Columbus.” Canada. Little, Brown & Company, 1942. Print.
Morton, Donna G. “What Navigational Tools Were Used in the Year 1400.” 2 June, 2014. Web. www.ehow.com
Smith, Tiffany A. “How Did the Faith and Courage of Christopher Columbus Bring to Mankind a New World.” Nov. 2013.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Here are my past essays for this contest:
