Advances in Artificial Intelligence for

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Valeriy Kharchenko Gerhard Wilhelm
Weber Pandian Vasant
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EAI/Springer Innovations in
Communication and Computing

Series Editor
Imrich Chlamtac
European Alliance for Innovation, Ghent, Belgium

The impact of information technologies is creating a new world yet not

fully understood. The extent and speed of economic, life style and social
changes already perceived in everyday life is hard to estimate without
understanding the technological driving forces behind it. This series
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planners, doctors, and in general representatives in all those walks of
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zbMATH.
About EAI - EAI is a grassroots member organization initiated
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collaboration, connectivity and recognition of excellence by community.
Editors
Mukhdeep Singh Manshahia, Valeriy Kharchenko, Gerhard-
Wilhelm Weber and Pandian Vasant

Advances in Artificial Intelligence for

Renewable Energy Systems and Energy
Autonomy
Editors
Mukhdeep Singh Manshahia
Department of Mathematics, Punjabi University Patiala, Patiala, Punjab,
India

Valeriy Kharchenko
Federal Scientific Agroengineering Center VIM, Moscow, Russia

Gerhard-Wilhelm Weber
Institute of Applied Mathematics, Middle East Technical University,
Ankara, Turkey

Pandian Vasant
Ton Duc Thang University, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam

ISSN 2522-8595 e-ISSN 2522-8609

EAI/Springer Innovations in Communication and Computing
ISBN 978-3-031-26495-5 e-ISBN 978-3-031-26496-2
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-26496-2

© The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s), under exclusive

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Dedicated to
Green Earth
Foreword
During the past decade, different analytical tools of applied
mathematics, data science, information science, and statistics have
gained the attention of numerous researchers and practitioners from
all over the world, providing a strong impact on information
technology, finance, engineering, and computer science applications.
The purpose of this book, Advances in Artificial Intelligence for
Renewable Energy Systems and Energy Autonomy, is to inquire, reflect,
and comprehensively expose the rapidly growing field of artificial
intelligence (AI) research in the important field of investigation and
high-performance facilities for original, innovative, and novel real-
world applications in the modern world and the area of renewable
energy.
Nowadays, artificial intelligence and Internet of Things (IoT) are
two burgeoning technologies, full of promise for businesses in all
industries. However, the real potential of these two technologies is
probably their convergence, which would lead to a new paradigm of
information and knowledge. These technologies are standing on the
frontline of technological and scientific enhancements that represent
real and potential transitions within smart and sustainable living. While
environmental issues and the need for new managerial concepts
remain at the forefront of operational research, renewable energy has
become an important area of study. Moreover, while smart technology
continues to rise while being refined, its applications broaden and
enhance their potential impact on regime switching and paradigm
shifts, and even revolutionize views and entire projects about
sustainability. This potential can be fully realized only with a thorough
comprehension of the most recent breakthroughs in the fields of
renewable energy and energy autonomy in and of themselves.
Conventional energy sources have drawbacks, such as
environmental degradation and global warming, that have led to the
development of clean energy sources to satisfy power demand.
Optimization and decision-making must find out and propose methods
of power generation that are not only environment-friendly but also
implementable with moderate complexity. The solutions should be
accepted by organizations and governments. In such situations,
machine learning techniques can make a big difference and emerge as a
major tool in the future, as represented in this book in impressive ways.
This book, Advances in Artificial Intelligence for Renewable Energy
Systems and Energy Autonomy, is a global innovative research
compendium that explores the recent steps forward in the direction of
smart applications in sustainable modern and future industries,
economies, and societies. This book focuses on dealing with the most
recent issues in areas that integrate smart technology, alternative
energy sources, and the methods and models associated with them
through mathematical optimization. This edited collection of
interesting and exciting research chapters has been proposed,
prepared, reviewed, and successfully completed. Covering a wide scope
of themes, including machine learning applications and neural control,
evolutionary algorithms, electric charging, MPPT, and ecology, this book
is designed and well suited for both professionals and researchers
working in the emerging areas of energy efficiency, energy saving
technologies, RES-based energy supply systems, and different kinds of
renewable technologies.
I express my thanks to the publishing house EAI-Springer Publishing
and to the editors, Prof. Dr. Mukhdeep Singh Manshahia (Punjabi
University, Patiala, India), Prof. Valeriy Kharchenko (Federal Scientific
Agro engineering Center, VIM, Moscow, Russia), Prof. Dr. Gerhard-
Wilhelm Weber (Poznan University of Technology, PUT, Poznan, Poland),
and Prof. Dr. Pandian Vasant (MERLIN Research Centre, Ton Duc Thang
University, Vietnam), for providing this opportunity for many experts to
publish their research achievements and contributions.
I wish all of you much joy in reading this exciting work, and hope
that great benefit is gained from it, both professionally and socially.
Sincerely yours,
Mayank Dave
Preface
Requirements for problem-solving are exponentially increasing in
demand. New technologies in artificial intelligence (AI), data analytics,
big data, and innovative optimization have reduced the dimension of
data coverage worldwide. Thus, recent inventions in data science have
inched toward reducing the gaps and coverage of domains. Specialized
software solutions and sophisticated models have been developed to
handle data quantity and diversity. In turn, this has given rise to
articulated software architectures that combine diverse components
and interact successfully. The digging of information in large data and
soft-computing techniques has contributed to the strength of
prediction, analysis, and decision potentials in niche areas, such as
smart cities, renewable energy, agro-engineering, operational research,
computational intelligence, data technology, engineering management,
social computing, Internet of Things (IoT), and green computing.
Nurturing research in data technology and smart computing will help
to find the correct pattern in the ocean of data. This book covers a
broad range of green energy-related topics, including the emerging
fields of neuro-computational models and simulations under
uncertainty, such as fuzzy-based computational models and fuzzy trace
theory, stochastic neural computation, and neural/brain modeling with
stochastic differential equations and stochastic regime models.
The book includes a description of a series of case studies for the
investigation of new technological methods and technical means that
ensure the organization of renewable energy systems with the
application of the above-mentioned computerized approaches,
optimization, and modeling processes that should accelerate and make
cheaper the path from new ideas to their practical implementation.
Definite attention has been paid to works aimed at organizing an
efficient production process and social comfort in the face of scarcity of
energy resources and the need to rationally use them. In general, the
book is intended to represent broad public advanced achievements in
the field of electro-technologies, renewable energy sources (RESs), and
energy autonomy, which will be useful to a wide range of readers and
have a positive impact on sustainable development.
 The target audience of this book comprises professionals and
researchers working in the fields of energy efficiency, energy-saving
technologies, RES-based energy supply systems, and different kinds of
renewable technologies. Moreover, the book will provide insights and
support executives concerned with the development of renewable
energy systems in new territories and their sustainable development.
The book will be useful to a wide range of persons, such as students of
agro-engineering and power specialties, experts and heads of municipal
unions, managers of ministries, and other organizations responsible for
the development of new smart territories.
The book comprises 13 chapters, presenting recent advances in AI
for renewable energy systems and energy autonomy with a variety of
models, algorithms, and application domains. They represent United
States, Russia, India, Ethiopia, South Africa, Vietnam, Uzbekistan,
Pakistan, Ireland, Italy, and Mauritius. This worldwide representation
clearly demonstrates the interest of the global research community to
this book. A brief overview of the chapters is presented below:
In Chap. 1, the authors discuss various methods for calculating the
electrical load of agricultural objects based on the available initial data
and different options for supplying it using a solar photovoltaic system.
Information on methods for calculating the electrical loads of
agricultural consumers was analyzed and systematized according to the
necessary initial data.
Chapter 2 proposes a radial basis function neural network
(RBFNN)-based controller as a maximum power point tracker (MPPT)
to extract the maximum power available from the wind. The proposed
controller is used for wind turbines to produce maximum power output
by adjusting the duty cycle of the converter. The control tracks the
optimal rotor speed of the wind energy conversion system (WECS) to
provide maximum power above and below the rated speed of the wind
turbine. MATLAB/SIMULINK-based simulations provided better results
in compression with FLC and MLFFNN.
Chapter 3 presents a unique configuration for the future
development of an all-wheel drive (AWD)–plug-in hybrid electric
vehicle (PHEV), which has a mechanical connection to both the front
and rear axles. The control methodology is designed for renewable
energy sources to help reduce greenhouse gas emissions from car
tailpipe exhausts and contributes to the preservation of the
environment, thus reducing the severity of global warming. This AWD–
PHEV configuration offers optimal vehicle performance in three
different driving modes [electric vehicle (EV), series, and parallel]. The
chapter covers the development of the complete model for
implementation of the AWD–PHEV, including all powertrain
components/controllers, accessories, cooling systems, and a hybrid
control strategy designed inside the supervisor hybrid controller unit
(HCU). Simulation results were obtained during the US06 driving cycle
to illustrate the vehicle’s performance, energy consumption, efficiency,
and performance of the powertrain components.
Chapter 4 explores the existing flexibility management techniques
and some crucial areas of AI deployment in energy management
systems toward meeting the flexibility needs of modern energy supply
systems. The outputs of renewable energy generators are intermittent,
and thus create an imbalance between the instantaneous load demand
and available supply at different instances of time. Different concepts of
AI are deployed as a solution provider to numerous complex power
system operational problems, especially in resource forecasting,
electricity market dynamics prediction, intelligent decision-making for
generator scheduling, etc.
Chapter 5 provides a detailed overview of some key applications of
AI and machine learning (ML) for renewable energy, with a particular
focus on challenges, available resources, and potential future research
opportunities. In detail, this chapter discusses AI and ML applications
in weather forecasting, power production, energy consumption
forecasting, smart grids, and prognostic maintenance of renewable
energy systems. An overview of the most commonly used AI and ML
algorithms in the domain, along with a detailed description of some of
the publicly available datasets for training and evaluation of these
algorithms to perform different tasks in the renewable energy sector, is
also provided.
Chapter 6 describes an integrated approach for solving existing
problems in the development of new technologies for the smelting of
technical silicon, which can reduce energy costs, improve product
quality, and reduce the severity of environmental problems in this
production. Methods to increase the profitability of carbothermal
electric arc melting of technical silicon are described by returning to
the process of fine waste from the preparation of charge materials and
microsilica-dusty wastes from the production of silicon itself in the
form of briquettes. The use of these pulverized wastes for the synthesis
of liquid glass glue, concrete and building mixtures, and micro- and
nano-sized silicon carbide powders is also discussed.
Chapter 7 suggests metaheuristic-based methods of simultaneous
reconfiguration of the distribution network and photovoltaic system
placement (RDN-PVSP) to minimize the power loss of the distribution
network (DN). To search for the optimal RDN-PVSP solution, two
algorithms, namely, the recent Golden Jackal optimization (GJO) and
well-known particle swarm optimization (PSO), are applied. The
performance of the two methods was validated on two test DNs
consisting of 33-buses and 69-buses in two cases: RDN and RDN-PVSP,
respectively. The results showed that GJO outperformed PSO in terms of
the optimal solution and statistical results.
Chapter 8 discusses the technology of smelting one of the well-
known modifications of multisilicon, namely, secondary cast
polycrystalline silicon, and options for its application for production of
a solar cell and the manufacture of heavily-doped silicon substrates.
The proposed multisilicon is intentionally subjected to overdoping,
which must be carried out by adding one or a group of impurities to the
solubility limit and simultaneously using a charge from a mixture of the
highest grades of technical silicon. It is emphasized that film growth, as
the base region of solar cells, should be carried out under conditions of
guaranteed suppression of autodoping by known methods.
Chapter 9 presents a critical analysis of ML methods and techniques
for renewable energy systems, showing the advantages of introducing
these novel approaches in future energy scenarios by discussing
relevant case studies. ML helps obtain accurate predictions of variable
renewable energy (VRE) generation, energy demand, or possible
network outages, conferring to power system operators the possibility
to perform the required actions to balance load and generation in intra-
day and day-ahead scheduling with benefits for operational costs,
environmental impact, and system reliability.
In Chap. 10, a customer baseline load (CBL)-centered electricity cost
optimization model is implemented to minimize electricity cost and
peak power demand. The proposed algorithm has been successfully
validated on smart-home residential loads of various categories, as well
as real data of static and dynamic electricity pricing applicable to two
utilities, the Tehran Power Distribution Company, Iran, and the Kerala
State Electricity Board (KSEB), India. The proposed algorithm validates
its performance in minimizing electricity cost and peak power demand
simultaneously, and optimal scheduling of appliances facilitates both
residential consumers and utilities.
In Chap. 11, the placement of photovoltaic generators (PVGs) and
wind power generators (WGs) in distribution networks is optimized for
both size and location to minimize the power loss as much as possible.
An IEEE 85-bus radial distribution power network was employed to
simulate the effectiveness of PVGs and WGs. The optimal solutions to
the problem are determined by applying three novel meta-heuristic
methods, including Northern Goshawk optimization (NGO), Bonobo
optimizer (BO), and transient search optimization (TSO). By evaluating
the results obtained from these methods, NGO proved to be the most
effective, and its performance was superior to both BO and TSO in all
compared criteria, such as minimum loss value (Min.loss), mean loss
value (Mean.loss), maximum loss value (Max.loss), and the standard
deviation (STD).
Chapter 12 documents some properties of a new modification of the
well-known semiconductor material silicon, the so-called granular
silicon being a silicon powder of a given grain size, whose particles are
not sintered or fused but simply mechanically pressed together with a
known force. The new material has shown high radiation resistance
and stability in the parameters of heat energy converters made by
subjecting it to high-intensity laser radiation. Methods for reducing
granular silicon resistivity are discussed, and designs of thermal energy
converters using natural or man-made heat, including concentrated
solar radiation as a heat source, are presented.
Chapter 13 considers two evolutionary algorithms: the genetic
algorithm (GA) and particle swarm optimization (PSO) to solve
constrained unit commitment problems in a power system. Renewable
resources, such as wind power, are incorporated into the system. Given
the fluctuating and intermittent nature of the wind, different wind
scenarios were considered. The wind power and its associated
probabilities were derived using a universal generating function (UGF).
Constraints, such as the generation limit, power balance, minimum up
time and down time, were considered. The transmission losses were
considered, and in certain cases, a security constraint was applied. The
GA and PSO were tested on an IEEE 6-bus system and an IEEE 30-bus
system to confirm their effectiveness. The results were compared based
on the total costs, and numerical results suggested that the PSO was
slightly better than the GA.
The editors strongly believe that the information obtained from this
book will undoubtedly be interesting and useful for a wide range of
readers, beginning from students to exalted scientists. This edition
should disseminate new information among interested scholars,
engineers, professors, and students involved in the renewable energy
industry, as well as intelligent computing activities in different fields of
science and engineering.
Mukhdeep Singh Manshahia
Valeriy Kharchenko
Gerhard-Wilhelm Weber
Pandian Vasant
Acknowledgment
We would like to express sincere thanks to all colleagues and friends
involved in this project, and more specifically, the editors would like to
express their gratitude to all authors for their contributions. All the
chapters in this book have been rigorously reviewed. We gratefully
acknowledge the wonderful job of all reviewers in improving the
overall quality of the book. Some of the authors have also served as
referees; we highly appreciate their dual tasks.
Our deepest regard and appreciation go to Professor Mayank Dave
for an excellent foreword. The editors are confident that this book will
be useful for global scholars in the research fields of renewable energy,
energy saving, green technology, and energy autonomy.
The editors would like to acknowledge the efforts of the
EAI/Springer staff for their unlimited help and support in this book
project. We particularly wish to thank Mary James and Eliska Vlckova,
who helped the editors and authors prepare the manuscript for this
book.
We would like to express our gratitude to our families and parent
organizations for their support during the entire journey of this project.

Mukhdeep Singh Manshahia

Valeriy Kharchenko

Gerhard-Wilhelm Weber

Pandian Vasant
Contents
General Approaches to Assessing Electrical Load of Agro-industrial
Complex Facilities When Justifying the Parameters of the
Photovoltaic Power System
Yulia Daus, Valeriy Kharchenko and Igor Yudaev
RBFNN for MPPT Controller in Wind Energy Harvesting System
Tigilu Mitiku Dinku and Mukhdeep Singh Manshahia
Simulation Optimum Performance All-Wheels Plug-In Hybrid
Electric Vehicle
Salem Al-Assadi
Artificial Intelligence Application to Flexibility Provision in Energy
Management System:​A Survey
Oludamilare Bode Adewuyi, Komla A. Folly, David T. O. Oyedokun
and Yanxia Sun
Machine Learning Applications for Renewable Energy Systems
Yasir Saleem Afridi, Laiq Hassan and Kashif Ahmad
New Technologies and Equipment for Smelting Technical Silicon
Mirtemir Kurbanov, B. M. Abdurakhmanov, Mukhsindjan Ashurov
and Valeriy Kharchenko
Reconfiguration of Distribution Network Considering Photovoltaic
System Placement Based on Metaheuristic Algorithms
Thuan Thanh Nguyen, Thang Trung Nguyen and Cuong Viet Vo
Technology of Secondary Cast Polycrystalline Silicon and Its
Application in the Production of Solar Cells
A. L. Kadirov, B. M. Abdurakhmanov, H. B. Ashurov and
Valeriy Kharchenko
Machine Learning Applications for Renewable-Based Energy
Systems
Giorgio Graditi, Amedeo Buonanno, Martina Caliano,
Marialaura Di Somma and Maria Valenti
Bi-objective Optimal Scheduling of Smart Homes Appliances Using
Artificial Intelligence
 Govind Rai Goyal and Shelly Vadhera
Optimal Placement of Photovoltaic Systems and Wind Turbines in
Distribution Systems by Using Northern Goshawk Optimization
Algorithm
Bach Hoang Dinh, Thuan Thanh Nguyen and Thang Trung Nguyen
Granulated Silicon and Thermal Energy Converters on Its Basis
B. M. Abdurakhmanov, M. M. Adilov, O. V. Trunilina and
Valeriy Kharchenko
Security-Constrained Unit Commitment with Wind Energy
Resource Using Universal Generating Function
Robert T. F. Ah King and Doorgesh Balgobin
Index
About the Editors
Mukhdeep Singh Manshahia
is an assistant professor at Punjabi University Patiala, Punjab, India. He
obtained his Ph.D. in 2016 from Punjabi University Patiala. He works in
Sustainable Computing, Artificial Intelligence, Wireless Sensor
Networks, the Internet of Things (IoT), Nature Inspired Computing,
Energy Harvesting, and Renewable Energy Systems. He has edited three
books, published 46 international and national research papers, and
presented 30 research papers at international and national
conferences/seminars. He has guided four Master dissertations, 55
undergraduate projects, and two Ph.D. dissertations. He has 17 years of
working experience at universities. He is a reviewer for many WoS
journals and is a member of the Computer Society of India, IEEE, and

IAENG.

Valeriy Kharchenko, PhD

is Chief Scientific Officer at FSBSI Federal Scientific Agroengineering
Center VIM, Moscow. He is a researcher and consultant in a wide range
of energy-saving fields, including energy policy at the national and
international levels, energy RTD strategy, RUE, and RES. Dr.
Kharchenko’s education includes Tacis Training Programme (Manager
in Energy,1994–1995); Tashkent State Technical University, Uzbekistan
(Professor, 1994); State Higher Training Courses on Patenting and
Invention (Certificate with Distinction, 1987); Institute of Electronics,
Moscow (Doctor of Engineering Sciences Degree, 1987); Institute of
Inorganic Chemistry, Novosibirsk (Candidate of Chemistry Degree,
1969); Tashkent Polytechnic Institute (Technology Engineer, 1956–
1961). His international activity includes counterpart expert in the
Project of EU “Monitoring and evaluation of the energy (nonnuclear)
projects implementation in Uzbekistan” (carried out by European
companies, 1994–1996); expert for evaluation of submitted proposals
INTAS (1998–2000); senior expert of the Central Asia Energy Advisory
Group (a project under the EC DG XVII’s SYNERGY Programme) with
responsibility for the formation of expert groups, peering and
estimation of their reports, and preparing general Interim and final
annual reports (1996–2000); Global Environmental Facility,
Government of Uzbekistan (Joint Project UZB/98/G42/A/1G/99), an
expert at the premises (2000–2001 UNDP). He is a reviewer for several
international journals, including Solar Energy, Deputy Editor-in-Chief of
the European Journal of Renewable Energy; member of the editorial
boards of several international journals, including the International
Journal of Energy Optimization and Engineering (IJEOE) and the Journal
of Cases on Information Technology (JCIT); and an honorary professor at
the Institute of Hydropower and Renewable Energy of the National
Research University.

Gerhard-Wilhelm Weber
is a professor in the Faculty of Engineering Management at Poznan
University of Technology, Poznan, Poland. His research is on
mathematics, statistics, operational research, data science, machine
learning, finance, economics, optimization, optimal control,
management, neuro-, bio-, and earth sciences, medicine, logistics,
development, cosmology, and generalized space-time research. He is
involved in the organization of scientific life internationally. He received
a Diploma and Doctorate in Mathematics and Economics/ Business
Administration at RWTH Aachen and Habilitation at TU Darmstadt. He
replaced Professorships at the University of Cologne, and TU Chemnitz,
Germany. He was Professor of Financial Mathematics and Scientific
Computing and Assistant to the Director at the Institute of Applied
Mathematics, Middle East Technical University (METU), Ankara, Turkey.
He has been a member of five other graduate schools, institutes, and
departments at METU. Dr. Weber also has affiliations at the University
of Siegen (Germany), Federation University (Ballarat, Australia),
University of Aveiro (Portugal), University of North Sumatra (Medan,
Indonesia), Malaysia University of Technology, Chinese University of
Hong Kong, KTO Karatay University (Konya, Turkey), Vidyasagar
University (Midnapore, India), Mazandaran University of Science and
Technology (Babol, Iran), Istinye University (Istanbul, Turkey), and
Georgian International Academy of Sciences. He is an advisor to EURO
Conferences for the Association of European OR Societies and the
International Federation of OR Societies (IFORS). Professor Weber is an
IFORS Fellow, a member of many national OR societies, an honorary
chair of some EURO working groups, a subeditor of the IFORS
Newsletter, a member of the IFORS Developing Countries Committee
and Pacific Optimization Research Activity Group. He has supervised
many M.Sc. and Ph.D. students, authored and edited numerous books
and articles, and given presentations on diverse areas in theory,
methods, and practice. He has been a member of many international
journal editorial, special issue, and award boards, participated in
numerous research projects, and received various recognitions from
students, universities, conferences, and scientific organizations.

Pandian Vasant
is a research associate at MERLIN Research Centre, TDTU, HCMC,
Vietnam, and Editor-in-Chief of the International Journal of Energy
Optimization and Engineering (IJEOE). He holds a Ph.D. in
Computational Intelligence from UNEM, Costa Rica, an M.Sc. in
Engineering Mathematics from the University Malaysia Sabah, Malaysia,
and a B.Sc. (Hons, Second Class Upper) in Mathematics from the
University of Malaya, Malaysia. His research interests include soft
computing, hybrid optimization, innovative computing, and
applications. He has co-authored research articles in journals,
conference proceedings, presentations, special issues, and chapters and
was the General Chair of the EAI International Conference on Computer
Science and Engineering in Penang, Malaysia (2016) and Bangkok,
Thailand (2018). In the years 2009 and 2015, he was awarded top
reviewer and outstanding reviewer for the journal Applied Soft
Computing. He has 32 years of university working experience (teaching,
research, and editorial). He is currently the General Chair of the
International Conference on Intelligent Computing and Optimization
and a member of the AMS (USA), NAVY Research Group (TUO, Czech
Republic), and MERLIN Research Centre (TDTU, Vietnam).
© The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2023
M. S. Manshahia et al. (eds.), Advances in Artificial Intelligence for Renewable Energy
Systems and Energy Autonomy, EAI/Springer Innovations in Communication and
Computing
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-26496-2_1

General Approaches to Assessing

Electrical Load of Agro-industrial
Complex Facilities When Justifying the
Parameters of the Photovoltaic Power
System
Yulia Daus1 , Valeriy Kharchenko2 and Igor Yudaev1
(1) Kuban State Agrarian University, Krasnodar, Russia
(2) Federal Scientific Agroengineering Center VIM, Moscow, Russia

Keywords Load graph – Photovoltaic power plant – Electric load

calculating method – Consumption and generation combination –
Agricultural consumer

1 Introduction
In the period of modern development at various levels of the
agricultural management system [1], there appears objective need for
technological re-equipment and modernization of the industry. The
main strategic goal of agricultural development is the intrusion of
digital technologies into the agricultural sector, designing digital
platforms for the evolution of the agro-industrial complex. The idea of
agriculture digitalization is quite new, and, despite the high positive
potential effect, digitalization is used only in the small part of
agricultural facilities (5–10%). Moreover, consequently, most of the
agro-industrial complex and enterprises still operate inefficiently,
causing the detriment of natural resources, soil quality, and low labor
productivity [2, 3, 52]. With the growth of the population, enterprises
are forced to work more intensively, which adversely affects the quality
of land resources. Soil is worn out, water bodies are depleted and
polluted, and livestock suffers. Numerous problems and limited
opportunities for growth in production and product quality objectively
contribute to the necessity of introduction of digital technologies [4–7].
This can be possible if to use natural resources as efficiently as possible
at high level of labor productivity and optimization of the personnel of
various categories, which, in turn, will have a positive effect on the
liquidity of enterprises [8, 9]. Many scientists dealt with the problems
of socioeconomic and technological development of the country’s
agriculture [10–14].
The main tasks of digitalization are to organize gradual transition of
agricultural enterprises to a new level through the introduction of
digital technologies and to search for information for the creation and
implementation of regional programs for the modern development of
the agricultural sector; rapid assessment of problem areas in the
digitalization of agricultural production; quantitative internal
assessment of the prospects for digitalization of agriculture;
assessment of the state of technological processes in the industry and
areas of development; and identification of technological barriers
hindering the development of the agricultural sector of the economy
[53].
It is also necessary to consider that food security is one of the key
objectives of sustainable development of the world community. The
spread of the COVID-19 pandemic across the globe revealed an urgent
need to support and intensively develop the agro-industrial sector of
the world economy [1, 10–12].
However, any modernization, associated with the use of up-to-date
tools [2, 3, 11, 13, 15], requires additional energy inputs from sources
that would meet the requirements of high-tech processes introduced
into agriculture [2, 5, 6, 16, 17]. Today, rural areas are characterized by
a shortage of free capacities, which directs the search vector towards
renewable energy sources, the functioning of which is characterized by
local characteristics, and the energy generated by them can be used
directly at the point where consumers are connected to them [18–20].
 Motivation and significance of the study. However, all this caused an
urgent need to search for energy supply reserves, since the old
engineering systems are not designed for the increasing consumer
capacity of agricultural producers and are characterized by a high level
of wear and tear and low reliability [21–23, 48, 50]. Therefore, in rural
areas, the search for new energy sources is especially relevant, for
which renewable energy sources are the most promising option, since
they are universally available and have a simple technological and
environmentally friendly cycle of work [18, 24, 25, 49]. Low-power
generating plants can both be connected to existing networks and
create distributed generation systems on their basis [18, 26, 27]. In this
case, the most promising are photovoltaic installations, which are very
easy to maintain and have a long service life and a huge potential as a
primary energy source [28–30, 47, 64, 65].
Given the world’s population growth which is expected to reach
more than 9 billion people by 2050, the global demand for food will
drastically rise, threatening food security as a critical component of
sustainable development. Recent developments of urbanism and agro-
industrialization have imposed pressure on agriculture with a decisive
role in supplying the global food demand. Statistics reveal that in the
shadow of the COVID-19 pandemic, world hunger has been increased
so that the prevalence of undernutrition reached nearly 9.9% in 2020
from the value of 8.4% in 2019 [68].
Human activities are estimated to cause global warming of around
1 °C compared to preindustrial levels. If warming continues at current
rates, it is likely to reach 1.5 °C by between 2030 and 2050. The
Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change has reported that the
climate-related risks for natural systems will increase if the global
temperature rise reaches 1.5 °C. Despite these upcoming challenges, we
need to secure the nutrition of an expanding global population while
reducing greenhouse gas emissions and protecting the environment
[67]. The agricultural and food processing industries are considered
key sectors aligned with sustainable development goals, as they play an
important role in sustainable rural development. About 30% of global
energy is used in these sectors, particularly thermal energy in both
heating and cooling applications. Research considers solar energy
technologies to be promising ways to increase system flexibility and
lead to climate mitigation impacts [69]. For many years, solar energy
has been utilized in the agricultural sector to supply energy
requirements of various operations from traditional applications such
as open sun drying and crop cultivation in greenhouses to modern
agricultural practices using solar-powered farm robots and machinery.
After several years of research and development in relative
technologies, solar energy has been proved to be the most compatible
energy source for use in agricultural and food production systems [66].
At the same time, photovoltaic systems for converting solar energy
come to the fore, characterized by a relatively simple technology for
converting insolation into electrical energy, environmental friendliness,
ease of operation, and maintenance [23, 25, 8, 31, 61].
When justifying the parameters of the photovoltaic power plant or
installation for the agricultural consumer, it is necessary to take into
account the fact that the typical schedule of the electrical load of such a
consumer is characterized by day and evening maximum load
according to the specific technological process, and the graph of the
coming solar radiation on the receiving surface has its well known,
different from the consumption graph shape with a maximum at noon
[32–34, 45, 51]. As a result, it is necessary to install duplicate and/or
accumulating energy sources at the photovoltaic power plant, which
leads to additional material and financial costs. Therefore, it is
necessary to pay special attention to the available initial information
(the list and capacity of the consumer’s electrical consumers, load
schedules of the entire enterprise or separately for each outgoing line
from the substation switchgear, etc.), since this affects the final capacity
of the solar system and accumulating or redundant devices [29, 35].
Having information about the electrical load, the required power of
the supply system, switching, measuring electrical equipment, and
electrical equipment of a number of electrical protections, current
carrying equipment can be selected according to the condition of
permissible heating, calculate losses, and voltage fluctuations [59].
Depending on the availability of the initial information, specific method
for calculating the electrical load is used [36–38, 46]. Therefore, the
choice of the method and source of information for determining the
load has a significant impact on the parameters of the photovoltaic
system. The uniqueness of this study consists in the data analysis on
costs obtained by practical and computational methods.
Methods for calculating electrical loads are divided into actual and
practical methods [38–40, 55–62]. Practical methods include empirical
(methods of the demand coefficient, the coefficient of difference in time
of maxima, specific indicators for electricity consumption and load
density, two-term empirical expressions, technological graph),
analytical (methods of ordered diagrams according to the principle of
the maximum average load and the coefficient of calculated active load
and the statistical method), and complex (methods of electrical
consumption of products, professional analysis, forecasting of time
series, specific capacities of electrical loads, total annual consumption,
average annual demand coefficient, specific annual consumption of
electrical energy) methods. Static voltage stability approaches [55],
regardless of the complexity and variety of the dynamic behavior of the
facilities in power systems [56, 57], still present some particular
advantages. Voltage collapses are always accompanied by a heavy load;
therefore, the maximum loading point [58], or alternatively the load
margin, is regarded as an efficient evaluation for the static voltage
stability of power systems [59]. Therefore, the continuation power flow
[54, 56, 57] is presented to solve the parameterized load flow
formulations with alternating predictor and corrector steps. An
improved hybrid load flow calculation algorithm and its simplified and
approximate version is presented in [60, 63] for weakly meshed
distribution systems with PV nodes. The initial data for each method
are presented in Table 1.
Table 1 Methods for calculating electrical loads

Method Initial data

Empirical (in the absence of technological and operational information)
1. Demand coefficient method Rated full power of electrical equipment, kVA
Cost of electrical receivers, o.e.
Installed power, total rated electric power of the
same type of electrical machines, kW
Rated power, electrical power of electrical
equipment at 100% load, kW
Method
2. The coefficient of the
difference in timing of the
maxima
3. Method of two-term
empirical expressions
4. Methods of specific
indicators
5. Method of technological
graphics
Analytical (mathematical models of electrical loads and thermal models of
conductors)
1. Method of ordered charts
Initial data
Design power, installed power, taking into account
the type of electrical installation, its mode of
operation, and other indicators using design
factors, kW
The number of the same type of electrical
receivers
Designed full power, installed power, taking into
account the type of electrical installation, its mode
of operation, and other indicators using design
factors, kVA
Designed active power, installed power, taking into
account the type of electrical installation, its mode
of operation, and other indicators using calculated
coefficients, kW
Designed reactive power, installed power, taking
into account the type of electrical installation, its
mode of operation using design factors, kVAr
The largest load, kW
Additive determined by the Guidelines [40], kW
Release per unit change
Electricity consumption per unit of production,
kWh
Shift duration, h
Specific design load per 1 m2, kW/m2
Production area, m2
Data of the technological mode of operation of
electrical receivers
Maximum load factor
Load utilization factor
Average (per cycle) power, average value of the
total calculated active power for a time interval
(cycle), kW
Method Initial data
Heating time constant, for conductors up to
1 kV ≈ 10 min
2. Statistical method Calculation reliability factor
Load variance
Average (per cycle) power, average value of the
total calculated active electrical power for a time
interval (cycle), kW
Complex (calculating electrical loads, it relies on analogues of created and operated
facilities, using existing calculation methods)
1. By electrical capacity of Electrical capacity of products
products Volume of production
The number of hours of use of the maximum loads
2. According to the total Number of hours per year, 8760 hours
annual electricity Maximum load factor
consumption W or the average
annual power Average (per cycle) power, average value of the
total calculated active electrical power for a time
interval (cycle), kW

Table 1

Method Initial data

3. According to the specific
annual electricity consumption
4. According to the average
annual demand coefficient
5. By specific power of electrical
loads
6. Time series forecasting
7. Professional logical analysis
Maximum load factor
Volume of production
Number of hours per year, 8760
Demand factor
Installed power, total rated electric power of
the same type of electrical machines, kW
Specific design load per 1 m2, kW/m2
Production area, m2
Matrix of indicators defined by a time series
Matrix of electrical indicators characterizing
the total power consumption of the facility
 For newly constructed facilities or in the absence of information on
the power consumption of operated ones, it is recommended to use a
stochastic method for calculating the electrical load, based on the
results of a statistical survey. For the agro-industrial complex,
guidelines have been designed for calculating electrical loads in
networks of 0.38–110 kV for agricultural purposes under the title
“Guidelines for the Design of Agricultural Power Supply System” [40].
Guidelines for the design of power supply systems for agricultural
facilities are a single methodological instruction, presented as a
reference material to all design organizations, engaged in the design
and calculation of electrical loads in 0.38–110 kV agricultural networks.
These guidelines unify the initial data for calculating power grids at
different design stages, taking into account the actual load of power
grid elements (transformers, power lines, etc.).
The method for determining loads, when calculating electrical
networks for agricultural purposes, is based on the summation of the
calculated loads, presented in probabilistic form at the inputs of
consumers or on the buses of transformer substations for the third
settlement year. Estimated loads of residential buildings in 0.38 kV
networks are determined, taking into account the achieved level of
electricity consumption for intra-apartment needs and industrial,
public, and utility consumers – according to the norms.
Estimated loads in networks 0.38–110 kV are determined, taking
into account the actual load, achieved by the initial year of the
operating transformer substations.
The design load is considered to be the largest of the average values
of the total power over an interval of 30 minutes (half an hour
maximum), which can occur at the input to the consumer or in the
supply network for the seventh design year with a probability of at
least 0.95.
For a group of electrical consumers with the production cycle
interval of 1 year, the number of hours of use of the maximum electrical
load is applied: during this time, a group of electrical consumers,
working at maximum load, consumes the same amount of electricity as
working according to the real load schedule for a year (8760 h). The
number of hours of using the maximum Tm for power loads of
enterprises for one shift equals 1500–2000 h/year, for two shift it
equals 2500–4000 h/year, for three shifts it equals 4500–6000 h/year,
for continuous operation it equals 6500–8000 h/year [41].
The average hourly active power of load types of enterprises is
determined by the following formula [41]:

(1)

where Рinst guidelines is the installed power of the consumer according to

the Guidelines, W.
For reconstructed objects, in the presence of information about the
existing level of power consumption, obtained during the survey of
consumers, it is recommended to use methods for calculating electrical
load, based on the drawing up of graphs of electrical loads of the
consumer. To build a graph of electrical loads, it is necessary to know
the technological cycle of operation of electrical equipment and take
into account the full design power in the daytime and evening
maximums of electrical loads. For industrial consumers of electricity,
the calculation of electrical load is carried out by the method of the
utilization rate of electrical equipment, for residential and public
buildings; by the method of the demand coefficient, for agricultural
consumers; and by the method of load factors of electrical receivers.
The purpose of the research is to study various methods for
calculating the electrical load of agricultural objects based on the
available initial data and different options of supplying it by means of
the solar photovoltaic system, taking into account the peculiarities of
the consumer load graph.
The object of research is the power supply system of the
agricultural enterprise “Sorghum Plant”, located in Zernograd, Rostov
region, Russian Federation (hereinafter – the enterprise). The general
plan of the enterprise is presented in Fig. 1.
Fig. 1 Layout of electrical consumers of the research object
The enterprise is the complex of facilities for storing large
quantities of grain in the highly mechanized silo-type granary, bringing
it to a conditioned state [42].
The main consumers of electrical energy at the facility include
drying and cleaning tower with the silo 9 (Fig. 1), machine building 7,
and warehouse for finished products 6. In addition, on the territory
there are weighing station 5, laboratory 2, checkpoint 4, office building
3, warehouses 1 and 11, workshop 8, station of fuels and lubricants 12,
gatehouse 13, cargo vehicle unloader 10, and emergency and non-
electrified structures 19–25.
The source of electrical energy for the enterprise is the transformer
substation CTS 10/0.4 with 630 kVA transformer, from which the
plant’s consumers are supplied through five main radial lines: L1,
power consumers 1–5; L2, electrical consumers 6–8; L3, electrical
consumers 11–13; L4, power consumers 7; and L5, power consumers 9.

2 Materials and Methods

The difference between the hourly values of the generated and
consumed electrical energy is determined by the formula:
(2)
where Wt and are the hourly values of electricity generated by
photovoltaic modules and consumed load, kWh, and ηinv is the inverter
efficiency.
 The existing modes of operation of photovoltaic installation can be
classified into the following types:
1. The electricity generated by photovoltaic modules is completely
consumed by the load: δWt = 0. The power distribution equation in
such power supply system has the form:
(3)

2. Photovoltaic modules generate excess electrical energy, and

batteries do not need to be charged: δWt ≥ 0. The power
distribution equation in such power supply system has the form:
(4)
where is the electricity, generated by photovoltaic modules
to the network, kWh.

3. Photovoltaic modules generate excess electrical energy, and

batteries require charging: δWt ≥ 0. The value of the power
supplied to the battery, taking into account the load, is determined
by the formula:
(5)
where ηcontr is the charge controller efficiency.

4. In the system, there is not enough electricity generated by

photovoltaic modules; the difference is covered by batteries:
δWt < 0. The power distribution equation in such power supply
system has the form:
(6)
where Wab is the electricity that is consumed by load, covered by
batteries, kWh.

5. The batteries are discharged; the difference is covered by a diesel

generator or from the network: δWt < 0. The power distribution
equation in such power supply system has the form:
 (7)

There were considered two types of graphs: the first graph is

constant with rated power of 1.38 kW (lighting system of the flour-
grinding areas of the enterprise, T = 24 hours; the second graph is
according to Fig. 2 (agricultural processing enterprise [40]) for rated
power of 1.38 kW.

Fig. 2 Daily schedule of active load of agricultural processing enterprise

The necessary calculations of the operating mode of the installation

with identically spatially installed photovoltaic modules, focused on the
maximum degree of solar energy utilization at noon, when the
insolation is the biggest during the daylight hours were conducted.
The graph, presented in Fig. 2, is characterized by two maximum
loads: morning peak load, which is of 100% of the rated power of the
consumer, and the evening value of 77% of the rated power of the
consumer.
According to the above-described modes of operation of
photovoltaic installation, there are considered three options for load
coverage, using modules FSM-200 for the layout of the photovoltaic
installation [38]:
 Option 1: δW14 ≤ 0 (mode 1)
Option 2: (mode 3, 4)
Option 3: δWbeggining of daylight hours ≥ 0, δWend of daylight hours ≥ 0 (mode
2)

3 Results and Discussion

3.1 Construction of Annual and Daily Charts of
Electric Loads by the Calculation Method
There was determined the total active electric power of the enterprise
for the estimated production periods: “July–August,” “September–
October,” “November–February,” “March–April,” and “May–June,” which
allows to build annual electrical load schedule. The total active power
in the daytime and evening maximum loads at the enterprise for all
calculation periods is presented in Table 2.
Table 2 The total designed active electrical power consumed during the year by the
enterprise for five characteristic production periods

Season July– September– November– March– May–

August October February April June
Number of 2 2 4 2 2
months
Day/evening 169.6 125.4 120.5 42.7 19.5
maximum load 5.12 5.12 18.7 18.7 5.12
on the working
days, kW
Day/evening 5.2/6.3 5.2/6.3 18.7/19.8 18.7/19.8 5.2/6.3
maximum load
on the off-
hour days, kW
Working days 31 + 31 21 + 23 20 + 22 + 17 + 20 20 + 22 18 + 19
Off-hour days – 9+8 10 + 9 + 14 + 8 11 + 8 13 + 11
Working hours 12 8 (+1) 8 (+1) 8 (+1) 8 (+1)
Night hours 12 15 15 15 15
Season July– September– November– March– May–
August October February April June
Off-hour hours: – 11/13 8/15 12/12 16/8
day/night
Working hours 744 352 632 336 296
for the season
Night hours for 744 660 1185 630 555
the season
Off-hour hours – 187/221 328/615 228/228 384/192
for the season:
day/night
Day/evening 126182.4 44140.8 76156.0 14347.2 5772
power 3809.3 3379.2 22159.5 11781.0 2841.6
consumption on
the working day,
kWh
Day/evening – 972.4 6133.6 4263.6 1996.8
power 1392.3 12,177 4514.4 1209.6
consumption on
the weekend,
kWh
Seasonal total 129991.7 47520.0 98315.5 26128.2 8613.6
power
consumption,
kWh
Total average 64995.8 23760.0 24578.9 13064.1 4306.8
monthly power
consumption,
kWh
According to Table 2, the annual schedule of electricity consumed
by the enterprise, determined by the calculation method, is built (Fig.
3). The highest consumption of electric energy is projected from July to
October (the time of intensive agricultural production); the increase in
load from November to March is caused by the operation of the electric
heating system.
Fig. 3 Annual schedule of electricity consumed by the enterprise, determined by the
calculation method
Taking as a basis, the technological process of the enterprise there
was determined the daily power consumption for four characteristic
days on March 15, July 1, September 15, and December 15. Daily graphs
of electricity consumed by the enterprise, determined by the
calculation method, are presented in Fig. 4.
Fig. 4 Daily graphs of electricity consumed by the enterprise, determined by the
calculation method
The highest consumption of electric energy was obtained for a
summer day (time of intensive agricultural production), the lowest
consumption of electric energy is typical for a spring day, and a greater
value of consumed electric energy in autumn and winter days is
associated with the operation of the electric heating system.

3.2 Construction of Annual and Daily Schedules of

Electrical Loads According to the Guidelines
The total maximum nominal active power of the studied enterprise is
214.9 kW. According to the Guidelines, this installed capacity is close to
facility No. 309 grain cleaning and drying complex KZR-5 with installed
power of 250 kW [40]. This data is achieved by collecting and analyzing
information on real load graphs of agricultural enterprises of different
types.
The enterprise has seasonal electrical load with the maximum
power consumption of the total active power in July and August.
 According to [40], the average annual total active electricity
consumed per hour is 57.1 kWh as determined for the enterprise,
which has a one-shift work schedule (Tm = 2000 h/year) [41].
The annual schedule of electricity consumed by the enterprise, in
accordance with the methodology of the Guidelines, is presented in Fig.
5.

Fig. 5 The annual schedule of electricity consumed by the enterprise, in accordance

with the methodology of the Guidelines

According to the Guidelines, the lowest electricity consumption for

the considered type of agricultural enterprise is projected from March
to May; the period with the maximum value of electricity consumption
is projected from July to January.

3.3 Construction of Annual and Daily Schedules of

Electrical Loads by Monitoring the Actual
Consumed Electricity
The enterprise receives electrical energy from the 10/0.4 kV
high−/low-voltage kiosk-type tap-off complete transformer substation
[43, 46].
On the buses of the low-voltage switchgear of 0.38 kV CTS
10/0.4 kV, commercial electricity metering unit is installed, consisting
of three current transformers TA1–TA3 of the IEK trademark with rated
voltage of 0.66 kV, rated primary/secondary current of 600/5, accuracy
class of 0.5, and rated full power on the secondary winding of 10 VA. A
three-phase electric energy meter (made by ENERGOMERA,
TsE6803VM brand) with rated voltage of 3x220 V (380 V) and
secondary current of 5 A (1-7.5 A) is connected through current
transformers TA1 - TA2.8. The data on energy consumption by months
obtained using the commercial metering unit for 2017–2020 are
presented in Table 3.
Table 3 Annual consumption of electrical energy by the enterprise for 2017–2020
(kWh/year)

Month 2017 2018 2019 2020 Average 2017–2020

January 9600 12,120 12,240 7680 10,410
February 12,360 11,280 10,440 8400 10,620
March 6360 11,160 8400 4680 7650
April 6000 5640 6360 4080 5520
May 2640 2040 1320 2640 2160
June 2280 2040 3960 2520 2700
July 21,360 32,040 27,480 24,960 26,460
August 18,360 23,880 21,960 17,880 20,520
September 13,200 9960 6960 10,320 10,110
October 9000 8280 5520 6720 7680
November 9360 13,920 5160 9480 9480
December 10,080 10,440 9840 10,120 10,120

When designing power supply facilities for agricultural enterprises,

which in most cases have seasonal electricity consumption schedules, it
is necessary to take into account not the total maximum electricity
consumption but the designed maximum electricity consumption by
seasons during the year. When designing a backup power source, such
as a solar power plant using photovoltaic modules, at operating
enterprises of the agro-industrial complex, it is necessary to take into
account not only the seasonality of the operation of the enterprise but
also the actual annual, monthly, and daily schedule of electricity
consumption and a number of technical features of the designed
backup power source.
The annual graphs of electricity consumed by the enterprise,
constructed according to various methods, are presented in Fig. 6. Daily
graphs of electricity consumed by the enterprise for March 15, for July
1, for September 15, and for December 15, built according to various
methods, are presented in Fig. 7.

Fig. 6 Annual graphs of electrical energy consumed by the enterprise, constructed

according to various methods
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inch manilla rope. When all was ready, the bait and hook were
thrown over the stern, and slacked away about thirty feet. I looked
round the ship, but not a sign of a shark could I see. The second
mate at that moment called two of the sailors down from aloft to help
pull up the shark.
Now to my young mind they were counting their chickens before
they were hatched, but the captain, second mate and sailors were
waiting to haul it up, and I supposed they knew what they were
about, so I asked the second mate, whom I was standing near, if he
could see the shark?
“No,” he replied, “but I can see his pilots, and I know he is near to
us.”
I must have looked bewildered, for he took me to the taffrail, and,
looking over the stern at the baited hook, I saw several small and
pretty fish, about the size of a herring, with whitish stripes across
their backs. “These,” he said, “are called pilot fish, they always
accompany a shark as a kind of satellite, and lead him to his prey.”
As he was speaking the pilot fish had been smelling round the bait,
they now darted away under the ship’s counter.
“Look out, look out,” cried the captain.
 And slowly from under the counter came a huge, ugly, brown,
shovel-nosed shark, the first I had seen, a horrid brute, with two
large greasy-looking eyes. As it approached the bait, it turned over
on its side and shewed its white belly and its awful mouth with
numerous rows of sharp, saw-like teeth. It did not attempt to take the
bait at once, but just took a smell as it passed, swimming a few yards
away. Then it turned and made straight for the bait. As it drew near it
turned on its back, its mouth being right underneath, and making a
dart swallowed the bait, hook and a few feet of chain.
“Haul, haul, haul away!” cried the captain.
And haul away we did with all our might. When we had got him
close to the ship’s stern we found him heavier than we expected, so
some of the men were called to assist.
“Stop hauling,” ordered the captain, looking over the stern. “If we
get him on the poop, he will either burst the deck or the skylight with
his tail. Pull him up in the waist.”
So a line was rove through a block on the main topmast backstay
and bent on aft; then the order was given to haul away again, and
away the sailors ran along the deck with the rope in their hands. It
was grand sport for them, and they thoroughly enjoyed it.
When hoisted up to the block we saw the immense size of the
creature. The bight of rope was thrown over it, and it was pulled
inboard and lowered on deck. Then the rumpus began. It cleared
everything within reach. With one blow of its powerful tail it broke the
hatch block that was hooked near where it lay, and wriggling near the
topsail halliards, it bit through two strands of the rope. Then it lay still
for a moment, and the carpenter adroitly pushed a board under its
tail, and with one swift stroke of his axe cut it off. The shark was
powerless after this, and it was soon killed and cut up. It measured
seventeen feet from the tip of the nose to the tip of the tail. The girth
just in front of the dorsal fin was seventy-two inches, the jaw when
opened to the full extent measured twenty inches by eighteen. Its
stomach was found to contain a dead fowl that had been thrown
overboard that morning, and an old shoe that it must have got from
some other ship. The liver was cut up into small pieces and put into
an empty kerosene tin and placed in the foretop for the tropical sun
to melt; when melted it is a good cure for rheumatism and stiff joints.
The mouth contained eight rows of teeth, four on the top and four
below, they were shaped like the teeth of a saw. The jaw bone was
taken out and cleaned, and also the back bone, out of which two
beautiful walking-sticks were made. For the benefit of my young
readers I will explain how these sticks were made. The back bone
was first cut into two lengths of thirty inches each. They were then
put into pickle in the harness cask for one night, and hung up in the
sun to dry. Then they were carefully scraped with a sharp knife, and
all particles of flesh taken off. The small holes of the vertebræ were
cleaned out with a sail needle and filled with putty mixed with black
varnish. Then a thin steel rod was run through the centre hole where
the spinal cord was, and screwed up with a nut. The whole was then
varnished, and a beautiful stick was the result. The handle was made
some time afterwards with the bill of an albatross caught off the
Cape of Good Hope.
We got the north-east trade winds the following day, and I began
to realize the true beauty of a sailor’s life, sailing along with a
cloudless sky and fine clear weather, when every breath is life full
and free, and the sea just lumpy enough to remind you that you are
out of soundings. Every day we passed some homeward bound
ships—in many cases two or three years had elapsed since they had
sailed from dear old England. Then there would be signals, that
language of the sea, and which I thought was wonderful, good
wishes were exchanged for a pleasant voyage, the dipping of the
ensigns, and away again. Then I saw the dolphins, porpoises, and
flying fish darting hither and thither, and I thought how much more
beautiful they looked in reality than in books, everything was
wonderful and beautiful. My heart was young and knew no care.
We crossed the equator on the thirty-second day out, and two
incidents happened on that day that I shall never forget. Just after
breakfast the chief mate called me aft, and then sent me to fetch
Walter Jones. Wondering what he wanted us for we went to him on
the poop where he was standing with his long spying glass, looking
over the ocean.
“Now boys,” he said, “we shall cross the equator to-day, and if you
have good eyesight and a clear day, you should be able to see the
line, now then, Walter, you look first.”
 Walter looked long and earnestly through the glass.
“Can you see anything, here let me see,” and he took the glass in
his hands again. After fixing it again he gave it back to Walter who
had another good look.
“Why, yes, sir,” he said, “I believe I can see a line, it is very faint,
but I think it is there.”
“Now, George,” said Mr. McLean, “you look, look well, and let me
see if your eyesight is as good as it looks.”
I took the glass and raised it to my eyes, and there sure enough
was a line right across. What a wonderful thing that it could be seen.
We thanked Mr. McLean and went back to our work, and it was
many a long day before we found out that it was a joke that had been
played upon us, and that the line we saw was a hair placed across
the glass.
The other incident was a visit from Father Neptune—one of the
few romances left to the sailor in sailing ships, and in this visit Walter
Jones, two of the sailors and I, had the pleasure and privilege—
which is doubtful—of taking part. In preparation for the event a
topmast stun-sail was rigged on the after skids and filled with salt
water, about three feet above this a stage was also rigged, and this
completed, all the visible preparations for the visit of his majesty.
We crossed the line on the thirty-second day out at noon, and
precisely at that hour Father Neptune and his wife (the steward and
sailmaker) accompanied by his retinue, which consisted of a doctor,
barber, and policeman, came over the bow. Then, after a few
preliminaries, the second mate read to the sea king a list of the
introductions to be made. The captain and chief mate meanwhile
standing on the poop watching and enjoying the proceedings.
I, as the youngest member of the crew, was the first to be
introduced, and after the list was gone through, to my surprise I was
captured by the policeman, roughly examined by the doctor, and
hoisted on the stage. The policeman again seized hold of me, the
barber having in his hand a can of lather made up of slush and filth
from the galley, with which he started to lather my face, head, and
neck.
“What is your name?” he asked.
 “George Farrar,” I began, but the filthy brush was into my mouth.
“Ugh,” I spluttered.
“What port do you come from?” was again asked me.
“Liverpool,” I said quickly. Again the brush was into my mouth, but
I was too sharp for them and closed my teeth with a snap. “Ugh,
ugh,” I spluttered again, but it was no use, my face was then scraped
with a bent hoop-iron razor, after which I was pitched into the stun-
sail bath, well soused, and then allowed to emerge a Son of Neptune
—a genuine deep-water sailor.
The list included Walter Jones, and two of the crew, named Hans
and Peterson, much to their disgust but to my delight, for I had
begun to think that I was the only one to be treated in that fashion, so
now, having been shaved first, I had the pleasure of watching the
others, who enjoyed it about as much as I had done. When the list
was completed we had a “rough house” in the stun-sail bath, but
somebody cast a hitch adrift, and we came down on the main deck
“lumpus.”
Following the shaving, three cheers were called for by the second
mate for the captain, Father Neptune, his wife, and retinue, the ship
and her crew. The disguises were taken off, and we enjoyed the rest
of the day as a holiday.
A few days after our visit from Father Neptune, we got into the
Doldrums, and after being driven hither and thither by the light winds
which blew from all quarters, then having got through, we had strong,
squally weather throughout the south-east trades. Here it was a
constant round of furling and unfurling of the light sails, and Jones
and I got quite proficient at it, and I felt a bit proud of myself, but true
to the letter is the wise old saying that “pride comes before a fall,” for
so it happened to me.
When the command was given one day to furl the main-topsail, I
followed in the rear of the other sailors, for I felt fit for anything, so up
I went until I reached the under side of the maintop. Now the others
had swung themselves up in the proper way by the futtock shrouds
without a moment’s hesitation, for they were old hands, but when I
looked at the overhanging top, and realized that I must climb around
it with my head slanting away from my feet, my heart failed, and I
clung motionless to the shrouds.
 “What are you about, you young fool, swarm up, swarm up will
you.”
It was the voice of the first mate, hoarse with anger and it made
me wince as from a blow.
“All right, sir,” I said, and made a desperate effort to go still higher.
But, unfortunately, my right foot lost its hold upon the rope-ladder,
and, in trying to swing it back my left foot also let go, and there I
hung by my hands alone, unable to recover my footing, and certain
that I should be dashed to death on the deck if my grasp failed, but
luckily for me the first mate saw my danger.
“Look out for that youngster by the maintop there,” he shouted, for
I was swaying with the pitching of the ship. “Look slippy, or he’ll
drop.”
Hans, who was nearest to me sprang to the maintop, and sliding
down through the lubber’s hole he reached out and caught me, drew
me back into the shroud, so that I was once more able to get my feet
upon the ropes.
“Here, give us hold of your hand,” he said, “and get up through the
lubber’s hole, if you don’t know any better than that, it’s time you
did.”
I was too glad at being safe to mind the contempt with which Hans
had spoken to me, so I crawled up through the hole of the main-top
provided for such emergencies. Hans went back to his place on the
yard. As I watched the big square sail being clewed up according to
Mr. McLean’s orders, I wondered how long it would take me to
become so expert. When this was done and we returned to the deck,
I followed, and would gladly have slipped out of sight, for I was vexed
with myself at the sorry figure I had made in my first attempt to go up
aloft, but no sooner was I on the deck than Mr. McLean called me to
him.
“So that’s the way you go up aloft, eh,” he said, “you ought to have
brought your nurse with you to sea. You stood a good chance of
breaking your neck, what sort of a sailor are you going to make, if
you go on like that.”
My blood boiled, although I was still feeling the effects of my fright,
but I said nothing, and then he put his hand on my shoulder and
said, “my lad, you’ve a lot to learn yet, and the sooner you set about
it the better.”
A sudden resolution came into my mind, and, without waiting to
think, I went to the main shrouds, and, climbing to the futtock-
shrouds, set myself to the task of reaching the main-top in true sailor
fashion. My muscles quivered and my breath came in short quick
gasps as I leaned once more over that great space below me, but
setting my teeth, and breathing a prayer to God to help me, I made
another effort, and found to my relief that I had succeeded, and at
last I was on the maintop. A glad sense of triumph filled my heart,
and following the shrouds with my eyes to where they ended at the
main-top-mast head, I determined to reach that too before I went
down again.
“I’ll try, anyhow, it’s not as bad as what I have just done.”
So, climbing cautiously, I reached the head without any very great
difficulty, and after holding on for a few minutes to rest, I came back
to the main-top. When it came to leaving it for the deck I hesitated,
but no, I said to myself, and sure enough I did and managed all right,
without having to go through the lubber hole.
I thought no one had noticed me going up, and hoped they had
not, but, to my surprise, the chief mate called me to him.
“I see you’ve got the right grit in you my lad,” he said kindly, “that’s
the only way to learn the ropes, you’ll soon get the run of the
rigging.”
 CHAPTER III

A Burning Ship

On the 20th August we sighted the island of Tristan d’Acunha: when

about seven miles off, our yards were backed to see if any of the
natives would put off to us to barter. This, of course, was all new to
Jones and me, and we were talking to each other about it, and
wondering what new experience we should have, when Mr. Weeler,
the second mate, came along, and I asked him if he would tell me a
bit about the island.
“Yes, boys,” he said in his usual kind way of speaking to us, “I will
willingly tell you what I know:
“Tristan d’Acunha is the largest of a group of three islands in the
South Atlantic Ocean. It is about 1,500 miles from the nearest land,
and has a circuit of 15 miles. It is both mountainous and volcanic,
and one peak attains the great height or elevation of 8,000 feet
above the level of the sea. Its position, which, of course, you do not
yet understand, is in latitude 37° south, 15°w. 40′ west, and is
believed to have been uninhabited until 1811, when three Americans
took up their residence upon it for the purpose of cultivating
vegetables and selling the produce, particularly potatoes, to vessels
which might touch there on their way to India, the Cape, or other
parts of the southern ocean. These Americans remained its only
inhabitants until 1816, when, on Napoleon Bonaparte being sent to
St. Helena, the British Government deemed it expedient to garrison
the island, and sent the Falmouth man-of-war with a colony of forty
persons to the island; they arrived in the month of August and found
that the chief of the American settlers had died, and only two were
left—what became of these two is very uncertain. But the British
garrison was soon given up, the colony abandoned, and all returned
to the Cape of Good Hope, except a Scotchman, named Glass, who
had been a corporal of artillery, and his wife, who was a Cape
Creole. As time went on other families joined them, and thus a nation
on a small scale was formed, Mr. Glass, the founder, being the chief
law-giver for all. The little colony increased as the years passed
away, a considerable number of children having been born since the
settlement. The different families built cottages and thatched them
with the long grass of the island, and they had every appearance of
English cleanliness and comfort. The north side of the island was
well-cultivated by them, they are a quiet, industrious, social lot of
people. The last time I came this route there were 107 people living
on the island, 61 men and 46 women, they possessed 114 head of
cattle, 37 sheep, 70 pigs, and about 300 fowls. They also have a
Commonwealth Government, with a vigilance committee to keep
order. The produce of the island, you will see for yourselves, as four
whale boats are being put off from it now.”
As Mr. Weeler finished speaking we thanked him, and turned out
attention to the boats now rapidly approaching us, and it was not
very long before they came alongside the ship and we saw that they
were loaded with potatoes, cabbages, lettuce, water-cress, eggs,
fowls, young pigs, birdskins, and a few large albatross eggs,
weighing about two pounds each. For this stock they wanted in
exchange tea, sugar, peas, molasses, and rice, and, of course,
wanted twice the value of their own stock, needless to say they did
not get this. They also gave us another interesting item of news,
which, to Jones and me, who had been listening to Mr. Weeler’s
graphic description of the island and its history, made it doubly
interesting, a clergyman had arrived on the island a few weeks
before to take up his residence amongst them, and during his first
week on the island had the pleasure of uniting thirty-three couples in
marriage. They seemed very pleased to impart this news, and after a
great deal of hand-shaking and many “hurrahs,” they got into their
boats again, well pleased with their bargains, and pulled for the
shore. Our yards were trimmed to the wind, and with a brisk breeze
we continued our voyage.
A few days after leaving these islands the weather became very
rough and boisterous, with mountainous seas running after the ship
and threatening to swamp her every moment. But she rose nobly to
her duty and remained staunch and tight. Our sails were reduced to
lower top-gallant-sail and the dear old ship was staggering under the
pressure of her canvas. I was in my element, as happy as a bird, and
in the best of health. How I loved the sea in all its moods, whether
wild and restless or calm and still, and the life on board with its ups
and downs seemed to entwine itself more and more around my heart
every day. The more I saw of the work of the ship the more I loved it,
and put my heart into all I did, and I was making good progress, and
was a fair helmsman in moderate weather, fairly proficient in making
all sorts of knots, splices, etc. Both officers and sailors were doing
their best for me, and were quite as willing to teach me as I was to
learn, and I felt that there was nothing to complain of and much to be
thankful for.
On the fourth of September we sighted the desolate islands of St.
Paul and Amsterdam, passing close to them to see if there were any
shipwrecked seamen on them, so many vessels and their crews
were lost on that track, that the English Government have built a hut
and erected a flagstaff on the island. A man-of-war visits the island
and leaves provisions at intervals, with written instructions that
anyone who has the misfortune to be shipwrecked, may use the
provisions but not waste them, and they are requested to hoist the
flag on the flagstaff, as all vessels going that route are expected to
be on the look-out for the flag and take off anyone who may be
stranded there. These islands are volcanic and have nothing on
them to support life. As the flag was not hoisted when we passed, we
concluded that there was no one there.
From thence we had a succession of westerly gales right up to
Snares Rocks off the South Island of New Zealand. The crew were
merely standing by to attend sails if required, the wind and sea being
too rough to do any work about the decks, and many an hour did I
spend under the forecastle head listening to their yarns of other
lands and of other ships they had been in, of hairbreadth escapes
and shipwrecks. How eagerly I listened and how it stirred my heart,
until I almost fancied I had been through such adventures myself.
On the night watches the second mate kept me aft on the poop to
pass the word along if the men were required. One night when about
a hundred miles off the South Island of New Zealand, the gale
suddenly died away, and it fell dead calm, with a high sea, such as I
had not seen, running. The ship wallowed and rolled unmercifully
until every bone in our bodies ached with tumbling about. The
officers were afraid of the masts coming down with a crash. All night
the water fell on her decks in huge green seas, sometimes it seemed
as if she had settled down, then she rolled and rose gradually, the
water washing from side to side like cataracts, until about a foot
remained on her decks, then another sea would sweep aboard, and
under its sudden weight the ship would quiver and stagger like a
frightened steed. Sometimes she literally seemed to buckle fore and
aft, at others she laboured like a frightened animal, the tumult of
seas literally leaping aboard the ship, until she seemed a mere
plaything of the elements. And so the night passed and the day
slowly followed, now and then the sea would rise above the rail so
high that it looked as though nothing could save us from being
engulfed, but by a merciful Providence the vessel lived through it.
Then, towards evening, the gale moderated a bit, the night came on
with a densely eerie darkness—pitch-dark the sailors called it—with
the sea still like a boiling pot, still tumbling on board and filling the
decks.
About midnight we heard a loud report to the south, and
immediately out of the blackness great flames shot up, and we saw
huge columns of smoke with flames darting here and there. As the
fire increased we could see the outline of a large sailing ship. It was
on fire and we were powerless to render her any assistance. There
was not a breath of wind, the night was pitch dark, and no boat could
have lived five minutes in the sea that was running. We could only
look on and pray to God to help them. All hands were kept on deck
ready to work the sails should a breeze spring up or the sea go down
sufficiently to allow of the launching of a boat.
It was a terrible night, one never to be forgotten. “Oh, for a
breeze!” was the cry of all on board our ship, but no breeze came
and for four hours we had to watch a terrible struggle with death, and
feel we were helpless. We could see the flames like angry demons
leaping from shroud to shroud, and from yard to yard, then only great
dense volumes of smoke lit up by the flames behind. Then again the
awful flames would belch forth and light up the whole heavens above
them. We were too far off to distinguish any human beings. God
alone knew their sufferings and heard their prayers, He alone saw
that fight with death, and while we looked, our hearts wrung with a
sense of our helplessness, without a moment’s warning, the ill-fated
vessel disappeared, and the night was black as before.
Our captain ordered several lights to be hung about the rigging, in
case there were any boats, rafts, etc., afloat, but none were seen,
and when towards daylight, a breeze springing up, our ship cruised
about to pick up anyone who might have escaped by any means, not
a vestige of the ship or boats could be seen to tell what ship she
was, and what port she was bound for, nothing but a quantity of
loose wreckage, so we continued our journey with sad hearts
thinking of the unfortunate ship and her ill-fated crew.
Towards noon the following day the sea fell dead calm, and
became as smooth as a millpond. A light breeze sprang up from the
north-east, and presently we ran into a large shoal of bottle-nosed
whales and grampus. The sea became thick with them, all leisurely
lolling and tumbling about on the surface, and many apparently
standing upright like great posts, or milestones in the sea. There
must have been hundreds of them. The sailors, on seeing them, said
we were in for a dressing down, the presence of the grampus on the
surface being a sure sign of dirty weather, and their instinct or
superstition, whichever it is called, was correct again, and presently I
noticed that Mr. McLean, our chief mate was looking with earnest
eyes at the horizon astern. I looked too and saw a large black cloud
sailing up the sky exactly on a line with the course we were making. I
have never before or since seen a body of vapour wear such an ugly
look. Its hinder parts wore the true aspect of thunder; its brow of pale
sulphur, darkened into a swollen livid curve, its dreadful shape made
one think of some leviathan, a flying beast, a mighty dragon, such as
one reads about, or some huge horrible creature descending from
another world, casting its strange shadow over its prey ere it
descended to its work of destruction.
Little by little the cloud overtook us and then it overhung the vessel
like an immense black canopy plunging us and the sea around into
gloom and then passed on, but before midnight we were in the midst
of a fierce north-east gale or hurricane. Fortunately for us we were
partly sheltered by Stewart’s Island and did not get the high sea that
we should have got had we been further to the westward.
On it came with awful speed and fury. At first there was a stifling
heat in the atmosphere, then the clouds spread over the sky, shutting
out the stars, mysterious changes seemed to be taking place in
nature around, noiselessly for a time, then the war of the elements
began with a burst of heaven’s own artillery. At first it was distant,
muttering, prolonged and fitful, like the rattling musketry of advancing
skirmishers, soon a roar of deafening thunder rent the sky, another
and another followed with blinding flashes of lightning between,
corposant lights were seen on the yard arms, and the tips of the
masts, then the rain came down in torrents. For twenty-four hours
the hurricane lasted and the ship kept dodging under the lee of the
south end of Stewart’s Island, then gradually the storm abated and
the wind veered into the north-west, the ship was put on her course
for Wellington, where we arrived safely in a few days.
 CHAPTER IV

New Friends

I shall never forget the sensation that passed over me when the
“Bertie” dropped her anchor, and made fast to the railway wharf on
arrival at Wellington. It was my first foreign port, and we expected to
be there for four weeks before sailing for home. The sun was setting
as we dropped our anchor in what looked to me like a picture I had
seen of the Lake of Galilee, with the hills surrounding it, and this was
Wellington, the capital of New Zealand, the land of the Maori Chiefs.
There amongst those hills they had lived and fought and died. I
wondered if I should see any of them, or if there would be any time to
see something of the surroundings. I could scarcely take my eyes off
the hills, with their lights and shades of purple and gold, bronze and
scarlet, as the sun passed over the various strata of which the hills
are composed. Before turning in, Jones and I had planned to go on
shore together and see, as far as lay in our power, all that there was
to be seen.
The day after we arrived two ladies and a gentleman came on
board and asked if there were any boys or apprentices on the ship.
The first mate called Jones and I to where they were standing and
introduced us to them, and the ladies immediately gave us both an
invitation to tea that evening, at the same time telling Mr. McLean
they would look after us each evening during our stay to save us
from getting into bad company, of which there was too much round
the seaport. You may be sure Jones and I thanked them heartily, and
almost counted the hours that must elapse before we could go over
the shipside, after having been at sea three months.
When they had left the ship I asked Mr. McLean who they were,
and why they troubled about two youngsters like Jones and I whom
they knew nothing about?
“My lad,” he said, putting his hand on my shoulder, “there are
plenty of kind hearts in the world, and here in Wellington several
ladies and gentlemen from the different churches have banded
themselves together for the sole purpose of looking after all the sailor
boys and apprentices that come into this port. Many a boy has been
saved from destruction by their kindness and care, for in a place like
this temptations abound, and before you know where you are you
are led astray.”
At five p.m., when the day’s work was done, we tidied ourselves
up and donned our best clothes, and at five-thirty two gentlemen
came on board for us, and we were soon walking along the wharf,
our escort pointing out all the places of interest as we left the
shipping behind us and came into Queen Street, and then turned into
a large house, at the door of which stood the ladies who had given
as the invitation. They gave us a hearty welcome, and hoped we
should feel at home with them. To our surprise and pleasure we
found there were eight boys, besides us, belonging to other ships
lying in the harbour. You may be sure any shyness we felt soon wore
away under the influence and the kindness of our hostess, the good
tea, and the exchange of views regarding our ships amongst us
boys, each, of course, thinking his own ship the best. After our
hostess had returned thanks to God for the meal we had just
finished, we went into another room. We then had some music and
sang a few hymns. Some of us played draughts, some dominoes,
and other parlour games, until seven-thirty, when one of the
gentlemen asked us if we would like to join the Order of Good
Templars. He explained to us what it meant and pointed out to us
that by belonging to this Order we could visit any lodge, if there was
one in a port that we called at, we should be made very welcome,
and at once find ourselves amongst friends. We both agreed, and
the other boys, who had already become members were very
pleased, telling us that we should like the lodge they were sure. At
eight o’clock we all went to the Temperance Hall a few doors further
up the street, there we were made members of the Order. The
members vied with each other in making us feel welcome and at
home, and I felt that if this was a sample of the evenings spent in the
“Good Templars’ Lodges,” that would be where mine would be spent
in any port where there was a lodge held. At the close of the evening
several of the members walked down to the ship with us, and so
ended one of the happiest evenings of my life.
It was with light happy hearts that Jones and I did our work the
next day. Both the chief and second mate asked us how we had
spent the evening, and seemed very glad that we had met with such
friends. My work seemed nothing, so much did I long for evening to
come.
At five-thirty our two friends came for us, and also some of the
other boys and we set off to see the places of interest. That night we
saw the Government Official Buildings, Lambton Quay, the General
Post Office, Custom House Quay, and the Public Hospital, New
Town. These buildings were all very imposing. We were also told
about the two earthquakes that had wrought such havoc in the years
1848 and 1855, and how that it was a long time before the effects
had faded from the minds of the people, but once having got over it,
the buildings had gone on quickly, and where, a few years ago, small
farms stood, handsome villas and private residences had sprung up.
Another time we went to see the Parliament Buildings. We also
had some side trips, to Lower Hut, and had tea at the Belle Vue
Gardens, then to Wainmomata on the Saturday, going by rail to
Lower Hut, and I had my first ride in a buggy to finish our journey.
Again some of the Lodge members made a party up, and we went by
steamer to Seatown and Haraka Bay, each day brought its work and
its pleasure, and each Sunday afternoon Mrs. Hamilton, our kind
friend and hostess, gave us writing materials and made us write to
our friends at home, she paid the postage, and herself posted the
letters for us.
I had also seen several Maoris, one was a great, chief named Te
Araroa, he had his face tattoed all over, this was considered an
ornament, but I thought differently. Our last outing before leaving the
port was to the Lighthouse on Somes Island. Before leaving for the
ship that night Mrs. Hamilton gathered us all together and, after
singing a few hymns, she asked us to kneel with her in prayer. Never
shall I forget that prayer, and how she pleaded for us to be kept safe
from sin and shipwreck. May God, whom she loved, bless and
reward her for the great kindness she showed me and hundreds of
boys who came to the Port of Wellington.
We finished loading at last, and had to say good-bye to our kind-
hearted friends. Many of them came to see us off. Captain Crosbie
seemed very pleased, and when they had gone he turned to me
saying with a smile:
“You seem to have had a good time, boys.”
“Yes, sir,” I replied, “a time I shall never forget, or Jones either.”
“That’s right, enjoy life while your hearts are young, it will help you
to do your work better, and give you pleasant things to think of when
you are old. Never lose an opportunity of seeing anything beautiful,
drink it in with all your eyes; it is a charmed draught, a cup of
blessing. It is God’s handwriting.”
“Thank you, sir,” I said, and went to my work with a light heart. We
left the wharf in the early morning with a full cargo of wool, tallow,
hides, rabbit skins, etc., for London.
 CHAPTER V

Stormy Weather

We had fine clear weather when leaving Wellington, the sea was
smooth so that the “Bertie” made fair speed through the water with
every stitch of canvas set. When passing Chatham Islands we saw in
the distance an unusual disturbance on the surface of the water,
which, on our getting nearer, we found to be caused by a school of
bottle-nosed whales. Hundreds of them were playing about, turning
over and over on the surface of the water. The sailors said we should
have a gale before the day was out, and sure enough we had. At
sunset heavy woolly-looking clouds began to rise in the south and
the wind had a moaning, sad sound.
In search of information as usual, I went to the second mate, and
asked him how they could tell that a gale was near while the weather
was so beautifully fine.
“Ah, my boy,” he replied, “there are many signs that warn a
watchful seaman of the coming storm, first, the falling barometer,
then the appearance of the sky, then the swell, and the height the
seabirds fly. The sea, too, has a peculiar smell like stale kelp. Nature
has many ways of warning mariners to prepare for rough weather.
The Almighty never sends a storm without first warning his children
of its coming—look at that,” he continued, pointing to the sunset, it
was a showering of gold under the raven black wing of a cloud, and
the rolling sea was black and golden underneath that rain of
splendour. “That is another warning given to us by the great Master
Artist, much of the beauty and wonder of the sea lies in the lights and
shadows which the mighty mirror borrows from the heavens above,
many and marvellous, some awe-striking as the miracles of old, are
drawn by the pencil of the Great Hand.”
 I looked up into his face, and dimly read the earnest thoughts
there, I felt more and more convinced that if there was on board the
“Bertie” a good man and a gentleman it was Mr. Weeler, and besides
this he was an ideal sailor and knew his work.
The storm was gathering force, the dancing white-capped waves
had given place to huge seas, the wind began to howl menacingly
about her as she bent over to the bidding of the swift succeeding
blasts. The heavy seas were at times breaking over the rail
amidships and flooding the decks, the crew were merely standing by
and reducing sail as the gale increased. Day after day the gale
lasted; the ship was under topsail and foresail, labouring heavily and
ploughing her way through the black waves, while the snowy foam
flew high over her stout bulwarks.
“Looks as though we are in for a hard time getting round, Mr.
McLean,” said Captain Crosbie to the chief mate, as he eyed the
barometer somewhat apprehensively, “the glass is still going down
and the air is thickening fast.”
“It looks like it, sir,” responded the chief mate grimly, “but the
‘Bertie’ is a good staunch ship, and she’ll weather it all right.”
There certainly was something weird and depressing about the
environment of the ship. The sky was hanging dark and lowering
above her, with never a ray of sunshine to pierce the gloom,
mysterious shapes darted hither and thither through the sullen
waters at her bow, while the mollymawks screeched through the
rigging and in her wake in scores.
Through those days of storm and stress, while the “Bertie” fought
bravely with the wind and the waves, I learned a lesson that was
stamped indelibly on my mind. Uncomfortable as it was on deck, I
could not bear to be cooped up below, and though there was no work
for me to do, yet I kept in the open air, loath to miss anything of that
gallant contest.
So fiercely did the seas break over our bows that the men could
not stay forrard, but were driven back to the waist of the ship, where
they stood against the bulwarks, each one, however, having taken
the precaution to secure himself with a bowline at his waist to
prevent him from being swept into the scuppers by the heavy seas
that leaped aboard from time to time.