Papers of the Winthrop Family, Volume 2
1630-05-19
The winde SS: W: closse and raynye little winde we tacked again and stood w: but about noone the fu winde came full W: a verye stronge gale, so we tacked again and stood n: by E: and at night we tooke of our maine bonett,1 and tooke in all our sayles, save our maine Course and mysen. we were nowe in 44: 12: m: and by our accompt in the midd waye betweene the false Banke and the maine bancke:2 All this night a great storme at w: b: n.
A strip of canvas laced to the foot of a square sail. Removing the bonnet was equivalent to reefing a modern square sail.
The False Bank is now called the Flemish Cap; the Main Bank is the Grand Bank of Newfoundland. Publications of the Colonial Society of Massachusetts, XII. 195–196.