The Tankadere’s typhoon voyage

The Tankadere’s typhoon voyage turns a dangerous change in the weather into both a possible means of progress and a costly delay. As John Bunsby pilots the boat toward Shanghai, Phileas Fogg’s composure contrasts with the crew’s concern; the storm carries them north for a time, but shifting winds later threaten their schedule for the steamer to Yokohama.

The Threat and the Decision

At daybreak the weather gives warning of a gale: the barometer fluctuates, and long swells rise in the southeast. After studying the sky, John Bunsby asks Phileas Fogg whether he should speak plainly. He identifies the approaching storm as a typhoon from the south. Fogg regards its direction as potentially useful, since a southerly wind could carry the boat forward. Bunsby accepts his passenger’s reasoning, though the seasonal timing makes the danger greater: at the winter equinox, he expects the typhoon to strike with considerable force.

Bunsby prepares the Tankadere for the weather rather than relying on full sail. He reefs the sails, removes the pole-masts, and has a single strong triangular storm-jib raised to hold the wind from behind. He asks the passengers to go below, where the cramped space and the boat’s motion make waiting uncomfortable. The precautions establish the pilot’s practical caution alongside Fogg’s willingness to treat the storm as part of the journey.

Northward Through the Storm

For much of the day, the Tankadere runs north before immense waves, keeping pace with them. The boat repeatedly appears close to being submerged, but Bunsby’s handling keeps it on course. Spray drenches the passengers; Fix is evidently angered by the conditions, while Aouda watches Fogg, whose calm astonishes her, and endures the storm bravely. Fogg behaves as though the typhoon belongs within his travel plans, a striking contrast to the danger surrounding the small boat.

By evening the wind veers around to the northwest. The Tankadere falls into the trough of the waves and rolls violently as the sea strikes it. With darkness approaching and the storm intensifying, Bunsby consults his crew and proposes making for a coastal port. Fogg agrees. The change in wind has reversed the advantage of the earlier northward run: the storm that had seemed capable of helping them now threatens both the boat’s passage and their timetable.

The Delay and the Race for Shanghai

Daylight returns with the tempest still raging, though the wind shifts back to the southeast and the Tankadere again bounds north. The boat is alone at sea; the coast appears intermittently through the mist, but no other vessel is in sight. Around noon the weather begins to moderate, and by evening the passengers, exhausted, can eat and rest. The night is comparatively quiet, allowing some sails to be raised again.

At dawn the next morning, Bunsby sights the coast and estimates that Shanghai is still about one hundred miles away. Fogg is due there that evening if he is to catch the steamer to Yokohama. The storm has cost several hours; without that lost time, the boat would have been within thirty miles of its destination. The threat has passed, but its consequence is now measured against the remaining distance and the departure deadline.

At noon the Tankadere is within forty-five miles of Shanghai, with six hours left. Reaching the city would require an average speed of nine miles an hour, just as the wind is calming. A light, fickle breeze and the currents nevertheless help Bunsby bring the boat, by six o’clock, to within ten miles of the mouth of the Shanghai River. The voyage thus ends this episode not with arrival but with a final, measurable approach: the storm has made the connection uncertain, while the calmer conditions give the party a last chance to reach it.