Owing to the cant of the vessel the masts hung far out over the water and from my perch on the cross-trees I had nothing below me but the surface of the bay.

OWING to the cant of the vessel, the masts hung far out over the water, and from my perch on the cross-trees I had nothing below me but the surface of the bay.

On Earth, among the surest indications of sunspot cycles are believed to be the rate that trees grow, as seen in the rings visible in the cross sections of their trunks.