The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1879-11-28
Speed and Time ON the Atlantic.

|
The disabling of the City of Richmond
by the breaking of her shaft in the storm
OF the 2lst may well serve to enlighten the
nautical public as to their need of the
greatest discrimination in the selection OF
ship routes across the Atlantic and of tho
importance of man@uvring vessels in the
presence OF an Atlantic cyclone. This In
man ship is full powered steamer, with
engines Of seven hundred horse power, and
probably no rival company would claim to
have any vessel which, under stress of q
heavy gale, would be proof against the ac-
cident that befell the Richmond. The
storm OF the 21st off Sable Island does not
appear to have been of the heaviest type,
but it overmastered her machinery.
1t is customary for powerful steamships
to disregard the onslaught of the storm,
and at all seasons our transatlantic lines
run with little respect to wind and weather.
The apology for this temerity is the neces-
sity for speed or the economy of time. But
it is q question whether running through
storm centres does not involve loss of
time, to say nothing OF the safety and COM
fort of passengers aud the wear and tear of
the ship. The Bothnia on her last voyage
with eight breeze" made 334 miles in a
day, while with ''strong breeze, squally
and high head sea-" her log shows her
speed fell off to 235 miles. The Bolivia. in
her encounter with the westerly winds of
the October cyclone. though she had just
before been making $50 miles a day, was
retarded to the amount Of 100 miles in
twenty-four hours, and the Vaderland's
speed was reduced from 287 to 1852 miles--a
loss Of 1876 miles. Countless similar or
more striking illustrations could be cited
to show the impolicy of taking the most
powerful steamer through the heart of q
storm orsthrough its avoidable inner cir
cles. even if speed alone be considered.
No one acquainted with the meteorology
of the North Atlantic questions that, in a
general sense, the quickest route from
America to Europe is found in the axis of
the Gulf Stream drift current and of tho CO.
incident aerial stream which perpetually
drives its surface water toward Ireland. 1t
is in the axis of this great aerial current, as
in deep natural groove, the storms of the
Atlantic cross it's comparatively narrow
basin toward the British Isles, sjust as Ito
use q figure of Captain Toynbee) an eddy
in river is carried along by the main
stream" But the very causes which
| favor this course for eastward-bou
vessels at all seasons operate to make it
the most unfavorable for westwardly
voyages. The present steamship route
from Liverpool to New York runs directly
in the face of that vast horizontal band of
southwest wind in which American storms
are imbedded and in which they are borne
toward Europe. Would it not be we'll for
some Of the westward-bo bound steamers, in
the stormy months, to test the availability
for speed of more southerly route-cross-
ing the meridian Of 40 degrees west ct OF
nothing to the north of As degrees north
latitude? The difference in distance be-
tween this and the most northerly route
taken by the White Star steamers, from
| Queenstown to New York, is only LOG nauti.
cal miles, for which the avoidance of the
toughest weather of a single gale, as we
have pointed out, would be ample compen-
sation in point of time.