S.E., the farther he will be from the
centre--the barometer now begins to rise, the wind veering to W.S.W.,
and the hurricane finally passes off with the wind at W. It is to be
particularly remarked that in this example the ship is in the _most
dangerous quadrant_, as by scudding she would be driven in advance of
the track of the storm's centre, which of course would be approaching
her.
Assuming that the hurricane sets in at the ship's place with the wind at
S.E., the proceeding will be altogether different. At first the wind is
fair for the prosecution of the voyage, and it is desirable to take
advantage of this fair wind to avoid as much as possible the track of
the centre, which passes over the ship's place in this instance, and is
always the most dangerous part of the storm. As the ship is able to make
good distance from this track by bearing towards the N.W., provided she
has plenty of sea-room, she will experience less of the violence of the
hurricane; but as most of the Atlantic storms sweep over the shore, it
will be desirable to lay-to at some point on the _larboard tack_, the
ship being now in the left-hand semicircle. By moving the circle as
before directed it will be seen that the veering of the wind is now
E.S.E., E., E.N.E., N.E., the lowest barometer N.N.E., N., and N.N.W.,
the ship experiencing more or less of these changes as it is nearer to
or farther from the axis line.
In latitudes lower than 20 deg. N. the Atlantic hurricanes usually move
towards the N.W. Taking the same positions of our ship with regard to
the storms as in the two former examples, if the storm set in with the
wind E. the proper proceeding is to bear away for the N.E., the most
dangerous quadrant of the hurricane having overtaken the ship, the
veering of the wind if she is lying-to will be E., E.S.E., S.E., with
the lowest barometer S.S.E. and S. Should the storm set in at N.E., her
position at the time will be some indication of the distance of the
centre's track from the nearest land, and will greatly assist in
determining the point at which the captain ought to lay-to after taking
advantage of the N.E. wind, should he be able so to do, to bear away
from the centre line, so as to avoid as much as possible the violence of
the storm. From the proximity of the West Indian Islands to this
locality of the storm-paths, the danger is proportionally increased.
The above examples have reference only to the lower and upper branches
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