Carry On, Mr. Bowditch

At the island of Bourbon, a pilot boat meets the Henry outside the harbor, and the pilot explains that the harbor was destroyed in the last typhoon. They will have to transfer their cargo back and forth from shore on lighters—flat-bottomed boats used for loading and unloading ships—when they can’t get close to shore.

Nat is glad he learned how to pronounce French correctly because he is able to deal directly with French officials without a local interpreter. Nat sells his cargo of boots and shoes for four times what he paid for it.

It takes them a month to lighter their cargo from ship to shore. Some days the weather is good, and they can get a lot done. Other days, it is so stormy they have to pour oil on the water to quiet the waves so the smaller boats can get close to the Henry. Then they spend another month loading up their new cargo.

They finally set sail for home in September. While studying Moore's book of navigation, Nat finds an error in one of the navigational tables. Nat is shocked. Men’s lives depend on this book being accurate.

The next time Nat goes to take a lunar, the night seems perfect for it, but as often happens, a cloud gets in the way at just the wrong moment.