Incedents, Accidents, and Anecdotes
of the Life and Times of Adams Dodd

The journal was written while Adams was at sea aboard his last ship he captained, the Vidette, and after he retired from the sea. It chronicles family history and Adams life. His strength of character shows through the unsophisticated narrative. Dispite the pressure of his peers, Adams remained temperate, responsible to his parents and gave of his time and money to help his friends and aquaintances.

Excerpts from the diary were published with help from the San Francisco Maritime Museum in 1977. That book is currently is out of print. I hope to have the whole diary reprinted with a larger distribution scale.

The following is a piece of the diary taken when Adams Dodd was captain of the Minnie G. Atkins.

One trip (to Shoalwater Bay), I struck the flood tide before I got to the bar. Now the only thing for me was cross the spit at a risk or go back and discharge the oysters. I concluded I would cross the spit at whatever risk.

The water was shoal and breakers all over the spit. I told three men to go in the rigging clear of the breakers, and one I told to take the lead and line, lash himself in the main rigging so as he would not get washed overboard, and sound as he went and sing out the depth.

I would lash myself at the wheel and steer her through the breakers across the spit. We got all ready. I lashed myself at the wheel and pointed her across the spit amongst the breakers. Soon as we got out of the channel, the sea came over fore and aft filling the decks.

The man at the lead sang out the depth at every cast. When it got so shoal or about the same water as the schooner was drawing I told him "Sound no more." At every breaker, I thought she would strike bottom but she never touched. There was much risk in this as, if she had struck, she would in all probability fill and there would been scratch if we all would saved our lives. I would never take such a risk again, but all is well that ends well.


[Home] [Home]