The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1876-08-26 00:00:00

AN ADVENTUROUS VOYAGE.'

One of the most remarkable voyages ever undertaken came
to a close in the Mersey, at Liverpool, on Monday. The
Daily News gives the following particulars of the voyage :

The boat Centennial arrived at Liverpool on Monday
morning after a voyage across the Atlantic. She was
sailed by a man named Alfred Johnsen, a Dane, and
left Gloucester. Mass., on June 18. Johnsen is in good
health, but suffers from want of sleep, and his legs are
stiff and weak owing totheconfinement of voyage. He is
a smart, intelligent man of about 35. On arriving at New
Brighton he was cheered by the passengers on a ferry-
boat. He did not land at the landing-stage where a
number of people had assembled to meet him
but sailed up the river, and was ultimately met by
the proprietor of the Rock Ferry Hotel, with whom
he arranged to exhibit his boat in the grounds. The
Centennial was accordingly taken up and will be
shown to the public. The Centennial is a boat of the
kind known in America as a dory. She is twenty
feet long, partially flit b )ttomed, and had a centre
board. She is decked over, is built in three water-
tight compartments, and was supplied with provisions
for ninety days. She was built expressly for the
trip, and is of pine, extra timbered with oak. She
carried one mast, and can set a mainsail, two jibs,
and a square sail. Johnsen left Gloucester on
the 18th June, the people cheering him heartily
as he sailed away. The weather was fine at first,
but it afterwards changed to fogs and head winds,
which lasted until the 22nd, when he put into Shake
Harbour, his compass being affected by his iron
ballast. He started again on the 25th, and had a fine
passage and fair winds until the 7th July, when in
latitude 41.50 north, longitude 51 west, a heavy gale
from the south-west sprang up, during which the boat
shipped a heavy sea, which started the combing of
the hatchway, and the water got in and spoiled some
of the provisions. At this time he spoke a barque
bound from Mexico to Liverpool, and the captain
invited Johnsen to go on board, saying be would
drop him off Cane Clear, and not mention anything
about it; but Johneen declined. The gale passed
away, and he had fine weather until the 16th July,
when a strong breeze came from the south-west, and
he made a good run until the 2nd of August, on which
day, be;ng then about 300 miles from Cape Clear, he
spoke the brig Maggie Gander, from New York to
Swaneea. After running for a couple of hours with
the brig' which shortened sail to. keep company,
Johnsen hove his boat to in order to ride out the
gale, which had greatly increased. He unshipped
the mast for this purpose. About half an hour
after being hove to the boat got broadside on
to a heavy sea and capsized, but Johnsen got on
the bottom and remained there about twenty minutes,

when another sea struck her, and he succeeded
in righting her. This was about three o'clock in the
afternoon. Just after getting into the boat again he
saw a shark alongside, and its fins struck against the
bottom of the boat. He fastened a knife to an oar
and cut at the shark, which then went away. Tne
boat was half full of water, but he pumped it out and
weathered the gale, which lasted till next day. Every-
thing was wetted, and he lost his kerosene stove, and
his square sail by the upset. The weather continued
rainy arid foggy for four days, during which time he
coald not dry anything. On Monday, the 7th
August, about 100 miles off Cape Clear, he spoke 4
the brig Alfredon, from Liverpool to Bnitimore, and
got some bread and water, his own bread having been
damaged by the salt water. Next day he got sound-
ings to the south of Cape Clear, bat it was foggy, and
be could not see land. On the 9th he spoke tbe ship
Prince Lamblrdo, which gave him the bearings of
Wexford Head as fifty-three miles east by north. On
the 10th he sighted Milfco3, but the wind became con-
trary, and he put into Abercastle. He sailed again on
the 12th, and reached Holyhead last Friday, and
Liverpool on Monday morning. Johnsen estimates
that his average run during the voyage was 70 miles a
day. He was provided with medicines before starting.
When asked if he would care to repeat the voyage,
Johnsen replied that he "thought he had had about
enough of it."

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