12. The launch was able to replenish fresh water while at sea during the night
That night the winds and sea subsided, but the heavy rains continued. The men were able to catch the fresh water in various vessels and increase their supply to 34 gallons. More importantly, they were able to drink as much as they wished simply by turning their open mouths upward. It was the first time since leaving Tofua that they no longer suffered from thirst, albeit temporarily and at a cost of another misery. The launch and all in it were necessarily soaked, with little respite from the cold which came with the rain. Bligh directed his men to remove their clothes, immerse them in the sea, wring them out, and put them back on. The salt left in the clothes gave them slight relief from the cold, until the rain rinsed it out and they had to repeat the evolution.
An issuance of a teaspoon of rum per man the following morning was restorative. A hook and line were rigged to trail behind the boat, baited with various pieces of cloth and shiny items from the carpenter’s tool chest. Only once during the journey did a fish take the bait. It was lost as the men attempted to pull it into the boat. The following day Bligh directed the men in cleaning and reorganizing the launch, Saturday being traditionally a day for such activity in the Royal Navy, followed by Captain’s inspection on Sunday. It was during the cleaning that a box of 25 musket balls was found, marked as weighing one pound. One musket ball was thus one 25th of a pound, and became the basic weight for Bligh’s scale.