At last , however , she fell right into the wind 's eye , was taken dead aback , and stood there awhile helpless , with her sails shivering . `` Clumsy fellows , '' said I ; `` they must still be drunk as owls . '' And I thought how Captain Smollett would have set them skipping . Meanwhile the schooner gradually fell off and filled again upon another tack , sailed swiftly for a minute or so , and brought up once more dead in the wind 's eye . Again and again was this repeated . To and fro , up and down , north , south , east , and west , the HISPANIOLA sailed by swoops and dashes , and at each repetition ended as she had begun , with idly flapping canvas . It became plain to me that nobody was steering . And if so , where were the men ? Either they were dead drunk or had deserted her , I thought , and perhaps if I could get on board I might return the vessel to her captain . The current was bearing coracle and schooner southward at an equal rate . As for the latter 's sailing , it was so wild and intermittent , and she hung each time so long in irons , that she certainly gained nothing , if she did not even lose . If only I dared to sit up and paddle , I made sure that I could overhaul her . The scheme had an air of adventure that inspired me , and the thought of the water breaker beside the fore companion doubled my growing courage . Up I got , was welcomed almost instantly by another cloud of spray , but this time stuck to my purpose and set myself , with all my strength and caution , to paddle after the unsteered HISPANIOLA . Once I shipped a sea so heavy that I had to stop and bail , with my heart fluttering like a bird , but gradually I got into the way of the thing and guided my coracle among the waves , with only now and then a blow upon her bows and a dash of foam in my face . I was now gaining rapidly on the schooner ; I could see the brass glisten on the tiller as it banged about , and still no soul appeared upon her decks . I could not choose but suppose she was deserted . If not , the men were lying drunk below , where I might batten them down , perhaps , and do what I chose with the ship . For some time she had been doing the worse thing possible for me -- standing still . She headed nearly due south , yawing , of course , all the time .
Each time she fell off , her sails partly filled , and these brought her in a moment XXXXX to the wind again .
HISPANIOLA Smollett coracle fro minute rate right sea ship tiller