Almost Shipwrecked

Mon Jul 26 1736: My brother and I set out for Charleston, in order to his embarking for England. But the wind being contrary we did not reach Port Royal, forty miles from Savannah, till Wednesday evening. The next morning we left it. But the wind was so high in the afternoon, as we were crossing the neck of St. Helena Sound, that our oldest sailor cried out, ‘Now everyone must take care for himself.’ I told him God would take care for us all. Almost as soon as the words were spoken, the mast fell. I kept on the edge of the boat, to be clear of her when she sunk (which we expected every moment), though with little prospect of swimming to shore against such a wind and sea. But ‘How is it that thou hadst no faith?’ The moment the mast fell, two men caught it and pulled it into the boat; the other three rowed with all their might, and God ‘gave command to the winds and seas’, so that in an hour we were safe on land.