EllenChapter 44 How to Goad a Mule
HM Sloop Clotho was a handy craft. Even Richard and Ellen noticed that on the short crossing to Portsmouth. She was flush-decked and carried ten twelve-pounders on each side, a modern man o’war and the captain’s cabin was comparably roomy. They left Le Havre with the morning tide and with a lively westerly wind abeam, Clotho raced over the choppy waters of the Channel often topping 13 knots. Therefore it was still light when they passed the Isle of Wight and made for Portsmouth...