Francis Liardet: Professional Recollections on Points of Seamanship, Discipline, &c., 1849.

Page 122:

Upon the manner of kedging in the river Ganges, Bengal.

* "In the river Ganges, where the tide is extremely strong, the pilots drift the largest vessels with a bower-anchor down. For this purpose, the cable is hove-in-short, and bitted; then, to the cable before the bitts, is lashed one eye of the messenger, that the cable may be hove-in at pleasure. Thus prepared, let the cable be shortened in till the ship drives at such a rate as to regulate her steerage, which rate may be preserved by heaving in, or veering away cable. But this mode of drifting is carried to a greater extent, when it is required to drift a ship a considerable distance obliquely to the stream. The cable being prepared as before, let two springs be fixed to the anchor coming in upon each quarter; then, by veering away cable, and holding on the spring on either side, the vessel may then be drifted in the direction required, and her drift will be increased in proportion as her broadside is opposed to the tide."

In considering the subject of drifting vessels in the river Ganges, it appears to me, that this method of using a bower-anchor on such occasions might often be applied with great benefit to vessels obliged to anchor with a strong wind and tide the same way, &c. The first anchor being dropped with only sufficient cable to allow it to trail on the ground, would, in some degree, check the ship's drift, and give a much better chance of bringing her up smoothly with the second anchor, or veering both cables together when her drift had been checked, or even where plenty of room to check her by degrees with the first anchor, and veer afterwards. As the ship would have steerage way, attention should be paid to keeping the second anchor well clear of the first.

* Gower, page 55.

Francis Liardet: Professional Recollections on Points of Seamanship, Discipline, &c.
William Woodward, Portsea, 1849. 8vo, frontisp., (6), x, 319 pp, 1 col. plate of signals.

Transcribed by Lars Bruzelius

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