His diary records: Barque Caroline, August 10th, 1841.
Purcell and I spoke of our difficulties to each other, and in an unlucky moment one of us happened to say: Let us go in a whaler. Purcell thought it would be a difficult matter to obtain even this berth and so was desirous of doing it at once in proportion to the difficulty he considered he should have in getting shipped. We were a couple of enthusiastic fools and did not consider preparing what we were about to undertake. He did not know how to set about it; I knew too well. We went to a man whom I had employed to carry me ashore in his boat and who had told me he had been in a whaler. This man smiled when we told him what we were going to do, but said it would be easily done and said he would go to the ships in the afternoon and get 3 berths. Purcell asked anxiously 2 or 3 times if it could certainly be done. As Marryat said, this was human nature: everything is valuable to fellow mortals which is difficult to be obtained. The man smiled and said he must be paid for his time, for he thought no doubt that he had two fools to deal with and, like, determined to make the most of us. We visited him nearly every day and he as often put us off. I suppose he thought that we could not be made enough to be in earnest.

We told him to hurry, and at last one afternoon he told us to rig ourselves in working clothes and he would take us to the Caroline and ship us. We did so and went in his boat. I was to be the spokesman. Accordingly I got over the side and touched my hat to the most respectable man I saw. I asked if the Captain was on board. He answered that he was master of the vessel. I then asked if he wanted any ordinary seamen. He said he would go ashore with us directly and see what ordinary seamen he had. We accompanied him in his boat to Dicks (?), the owners, who were asked if we had been to Captain Brown to get a permission to ship. We had not, and he wrote the paper (?), giving the name as at liberty to ship in the Caroline. He gave one to each and told us that after getting it signed he would ship us next morning. As we went away Purcell said he would be damned if he would go near them any more. I did not know if he was in earnest or no, and hating the uncertainty accused him of being afraid. At last he said he was only joking and would go in the morning.

We then went to the Frankfield and asked the Captain to give us certificates that we had been passengers in his ship. Captain Mitchell gave us the certificates and in the morning we signed articles to serve in the Caroline sperm whaler, 193 tons, Captain Hunter, till the completion of the voyage or till she should be full. We received an advance note for £5 each, and our friend (I should rather say enemy) the boatman took us to another man, Lihr, a Swede who was a boatman and kept also a kind of slop shop. Then came the question: who would cash the notes? (These notes are payable 3 days after the person who is shipped has sailed in the ship, and as a person must get the money and not again go near the shop there is a certain risk in giving a sailor the money. Jews generally do this business and draw from thence a profit, charging their own price for their goods on account of the accommodation and also a premium too, generally about 10/-, sometimes £1, rarely as little as 5/-, for cashing a £5 note.

?????Lihr said he would not run the risk and, surveying us up and down, said we did not look much like seagoing folks. We assured him that there was no danger of our not going, but he would not trust us. At last the first boatman agreed to be answerable for £l each and Lihr did take us and the slops on board. I declared I would not give so much, and at last he agreed to diminish his charge by half. We then laid our heads together and ordered a good outfit to be ready next morning when we were to go on board. We then went again to the Frankfield and borrowed 2 chests which had belonged to two runaway sailors of that ship and were therefore confiscated, and next day we equipped ourselves in our sailors' dress and went on board with Lihr, who had been told by the clerk in the agents' office that he was going to accommodate us in the cabin or off (?) deck, and the Captain told us the same, not exactly in the certain language of the clerk but gave us good reason to suppose that this would be the case.

The Captain was on board and I asked Purcell if we had not better speak to the Captain about our living on the off (?) deck or cabin. Purcell said it would and begged me to be spokesman, as I could speak he thought better than he could. I went to him and reported to him that we had come on board, hoping that he would then say something about our place. He however said nothing, so I was obliged to say openly that he had mentioned something about our not sleeping in the forecastle. He said then that we might go there till he had time to fix it up. I accordingly, with Lihr's assistance, lowered our chests, beds, &c. into the forecastle. We found it a very spacious one considering the small size of the vessel, between 6 and 7 ft. in it, and surrounded by two layers of bunks most of which had been chosen and had names written upon them. Only 2 upper ones remained, and these were not together so that we must choose of two lower ones which were adjoining one another. I was partly influenced in this choice by the consideration that if the vessel's deck were leaky the upper berths would save the lower ones, and we had great reason to congratulate ourselves on our choice, for soon after we had sailed several were driven from their beds by the water which dripped copiously through the deck while we remained dry.