The tri-weekly standard. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1866-1868, 1866-11-03
THE Loss OF THE EVENING STAR
How She Might Have Been Saved.


To the Editor Of the Herald.
This vessel was lost off the coast of
Florida, about two hundred miles from
the port of Fernandina. 1t appears from
the testimony of the mate that the gale
commenced blowing from the southeast !;
it then hauled to east and then to the
northeast, after which fell almost dead
calm, and then it came out violently
from the northwest. 1t appears also
that the ship was steering south, and
afterwards southwest, and lastly S. S.
w. In order to form better idea of
the causes of the loss of this vessel, it
will be necessary to trace the probable
direction of the storm, and this can only
be done by a sketch of the coast of the
United States. 1t seems that the Even
ing Star first felt the gale when she was
about in the latitude of Charleston, the
wind being southeast. The ship was
then steering south !; afterwards she
was kept away southwest, and finally
S. S. W. 1t seems evident that had the
vessel been steered east, she would
have avoided the most of the storm and
would soon have been out of its infiu-
ence by keeping her away southwest
and afterwards S.S.W., she was injudi-
ciously pushed further and further to-
wards the centre of the storm, and she
finally passed through the centre where
it was calm. At this time there was
tremendous heavy sea, and when the
wind again sprung up furiously from the
northwest, the ship went driving into
heavy head sea, until she was finally
swamped. Every seaman knows what
&C. 4 hiC Ch1,, int hood
sea-how it shakes and racks it-and
also knows how often whole green seas
come over the bows under such circum-
chant vessels would study up the the
DRY of storms, as first published by Mr..
W. @. Redfield, and afterwards more
deliberately by Colonel Reed, of the
British army, and more recently by Mr..
Piddington i'll his Sailors Horn book, I
think the number of disasters at sea
would be greatly decreased for a cap
tain who understands this theory can
nearly always avoid the strength of the
gale-in fact, can always do so if vicin-
ity of land does not prevent him. This
storm passed like wire over the island
of Bermuda, probably the eastern edge
of it. The western edge was felt at
Cape Hatteras, as the United States
steamer Memphis had to run in for
shelter into Hatteras inlet. think it
very probable that the centre of the
storm rau along on the eastern edge of
Gulf stream, and as it advanced to the
northward and eastward expanded so
as to embrace larger extent of the
ocean, when, as a matter of course, the
wind would become less violent 1t is
also probable that this storm passed
over the windward West India islands,
and had it's origin somewhere not far
from the mouth of the river Orinoco or
Amazon, 1t Is lamentable just to think
that our ship captains are VIGOROUSLY
ignorant Of this theory of storms, which
is as simple as beautiful, and, by little
study and care, can be easily mastered
by any seaman who can read and write
l think it is the duty of ship owners and
of insurance offices to exact a knowledge
of this theory from the captains of their
vessels, and to provide every vessel
sailing under the American flag with a
copy of Piddington's Sailors Horn
Book. In conclusion, I attribute the
loss of the Evening Star to the want Of
judgment in steering her into the storm,
instead of out of it, which should have
been done, and would have been done,
had the captain had any
knowledge of the law of storms.
w. P. BUCKNER, Lieutenant.
ORD1NA nee OFFICE, NAVY YARD, NY,
Oct. ls, 1865.