Jack Sheridan log book 1918

April 1918 1 Monday Anchor near jetty. Light ESE and variables. Bar 30-30. 2 Tuesday 7 am hauled alongside jetty & ordered truck for ten am. Started 2.30 pm with our crew. Discharged on ¾ truck guano. No truck. 3555 Large truck loaded put out & truck. Bar 30-20. 3 bread. Paid up contractors cheque 4-13-2. 3 Wednesday Discharging. Light SE & variables. Put out six trucks. Engage one hand 1/6 per hour. 3 bread. Meat 13 & 8.

4 Thursday 11 am all discharged 51t-7-3. Paid crew up to date cheque 17-3-2. Light showers rain at intervals. Fresh ENE & variables. Bar 30-20. 5 Friday Fine. Got water and hauled ketch off to Boey and shackled to boy variously employed. Took cargo boat on deck to point. Earny rec cheque 5-0-0. 6 Saturday Earny Rec cheque 5-0-0. Earny gone to town. Fine. Bar 30-35. Wind SE to West & variables. Sea calm. 7 Sunday Fine light SE & variables. Bar 30-40.

8 Monday Fine light SE and variables. Employed at boat & oiling guy rope. E. A. Sheridan away in town. Bar at noon 30-45. 11 April One Butter [illegible text] 1/10 One teapot 1/6 4 bolts 2/4 for pumps Fish hooks 1/0 2 dozen small 6 split links 1/4 9 Tuesday Variously employed. Engage two seaman at 8 eight pounds per month & one pound extra. Extra work over time & on Sunday. To start Wednesday. 10 Wednesday Earny Returned 3.15 pm. 2 hands started 2 pm. To drunk to work. Very little done. Got stores on board & meat & bread. One tin milk short. 2 dozen bread. 57 meats + 17 ½ magor = 74 ½. 12 ½ bacon one shilling

11 Thursday Got one pump & pipe & handle 17 ½ meat from magor carrage pump 6/3. 12.30 pm set sale towards the Group. Fine light NE & threatening. Passed Tiparra Light. 8 pm calm. Bar 30-30. Took meat back to wall butcher short weight 8 pounds. Weigh bag potatoes weight 140 lbs. Tiparra Light SE. 12 Friday 6 am shifted ketch to ----- Bay 4 am Lost Tiparra light. Light NE Bar 30-30. Passed Wingby light. Moderate to fresh sw. Took reef in mizzen & stowed Jib. Came to anchor 10 pm near Palmer Island. Fresh south sea smooth. Repaired leak in starboard side. At work up to 12 pm. Fix new pump & pipe in main deck. Bar 30-20 rising. 13 Saturday Reevesby 9 am shifted ketch around to Morton Bay & 2 hand corking side & repairing same. Fresh SSE. Bar rising 30-40. Stop the night. No fish. 14 Sunday 3 pm Got under weight returned SW end of Reevesby. Stop the night. Anchored 6.30 pm. Got some water. Fresh south Bar 30-50.

15 Monday Fresh SE. Bar 30-50. 6 am Got under weight for south Island. 9 am stop & landed 3 hands to bag up guano. Crew baged & wheal down for shipping 78 bags cleaned & bagged 74. Fine clear light south. 16 Tuesday Bagged & whealed ready for shipping 80 bags. Light ENE. Bar starting to fall 30-48 at 9.30 am. Cleaned & whealed 50 bags & cleaned about 30 bags. Got long plank from Ina [illegible text] & fixed same for shoot & brought mizen to howser & put same in bunk. Bar gradually falling 30-45. 17 Wednesday 8 am started boating off guano on west side. Took on board 4 boatloads before dinner about 7 tons after dinner took off 3 boatloads, & clean ½ boatload to make up about 5//2 tons altogether making 12//4 tons. Light SSE to ESE & calm. Bar 30-40. 13//4 ton about 214 bags.13//4 + 6+15//4 = 34//2. 214 + 96 + 245 = 555/16 = 34 ¾ tons.