New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1888-12-30
THE ILL-FATED MOHAWK.
A ONCE FAMOUS YACHT NOW IN THE COAST
SURVEY.
SAILING FROM TARPAULIN BAY TO sECoNET
RIVER IN A GALE THAT KEPT OTHER YES
Sells AT ANcHoR-HER GOOD BEHAVIOR

RIVER IN A GALE THAT KEPT OTHER VEs-
sells AT ANcHoR-HER GOOD BEHAVIOR
UNDER TRYING CIRCUMSTANCES.
or., ann, time long before n entered the heart
OF Mr. Burgess to build his wonderful boats, or the
little Madgc had whiskcd her white wings around
Sandy Hook cbtship with the sloops that tried 10
follow her left far in what would be denomIhacu ny
the modern politician the soup" the Americans useo
TO vaunt themselves the superiority Of the broad
shallow boats over the deep ones OF the beeteatihg
British So while the English made their yachts
narrower and narrower and deeper and Deeper, inc
American cousin made his broader and broader ana
shallower and shallower.
The climax was reached in the latter case, when
Mr.. Garner, a Ncw.York gentleman of great wealth
and taste for yachting. who had been elected commo
dore of the New York Yacht Club, built the Mohawk
schooner 142 feet all. thirty feet beam, and
draught Of only seven feet four inches A sklmming
dish Of the mmng dishes she was called, and great
things were expected of her. Elegant In all her
appon tments and perfect all her fittings IL s SAID
that the yacht when completed cost her owner no less
than $50 she designed TO be the vindlcsor OF
the skmmng-d7h idea, but she proved Its annlhiiaoor
For time she the great show yacht OF the new
York feet and then, one pleasant morning lying at
anchor in New York Bay, with ncr sails hoisted ana
her anchor hove short, ready to get undoIeweigh'
sudden squal came cut the land and capszed hef
drawing Commodore and Mrs Garner aud several
guests who board
At such price the liberation Of the American
yachtsmen from the Swimming dish idea purchased
The Mohawk was towed to the Jersey Flats rased
and after being rchabIiltated, offered for sale But
no ono seemed inclined TO buy her 1t was In vain to
state the undoubted fact that any yacht caught under
similar circumstances would have capsized. The
ira edv which had talen place her made yachtsnien
look askance at her and the opponents OF the SKIM
mng.dish saw in her capslzng an illustration OF ue
dangers against which they often had given warning
Finally the Government bought her and she became
the Coast Survey schooner Eagre Manned and
Differed from the Navy and employed in out OF the way
places on the coast survey nothing known by the
general public of the cruises the good bad behavior
OF the Mohawk RunOr had t that no enc dared
to sail her. that she always owed from place to
place and these ISLANDERS by much repetition became,
If not the TRUTH the next best thing to it, something
universally believed.
Thus the Mohawk condemned never to have an
opportunity to vndicate herself or to show what good
qualities there really were IN her She had been
sailed for all she was worth while yacht and her
exploits I'm the hands of the Navy were sealed DOCK
The last homeward bound cruise OF the MohawK or
Facre was one well calculated TO test her sailing abues
I'm all sorts Of weather Lieutenant Paine, her COM
mander pushed her, and while the boosted American
coasters huddled, forest Of mass in every har
Dor along Nantucket and Vineyard Sounds, the yacht
tore her way through rolling and freshening gale,
past the stormy headlands OF Gay Head and Guilty
hunk The Eagre left Nantucket on Friday, october
. at IL q. M with stih breeze blowing from thc
southwest She was under foresail, mainsaIl, fore
staysai lib, fyingjib and main gait topsaiL when
she was fairly the track of the schooners stand
ing down the sound she quickly overlook and passed
everything within sight. Even the fnely-modclled
loftv.suarrcd and fleet three-masters could not COM
pete with the feet yacht speeding rapidly TO the
westward.
Tho breeze was freshenng all the time and when
West Chop was reached 1t blowing half a gale and
a heavy sea was rolling up from the southwest II
was then that the defects in the model of the yacht
became apparent. She pounded heavily In the seas,
which Increased every minute and was
sluggish in stays The foot Of the foresail
tore out where it was laced to the boom. but was So
cured BY recfng It down. Before this the lying
lib and mantopsal were taken in. The bonnet TO
the jb split into taters still the historic yacht
noby fought her way against wind and sea toward
the southwest where the stormy headlands were
already looking vague and indistinct in the mist
which was being blown up from the ocean,
1t was now getting toward dark, and wind and sea
increasing Captain Paine decided to run into Tar
paun Cove for an anchorage for the night In all
the expause of the wind-swept waters the Eagre was
now alone The other vessels had long since sought
shelter, and In every h1rbOr from Monomoy Point to
Gay Head their mass like forests of eahess and
hills OF Mr. f0rbcss barOnal domain the Eagrc ured
her WHITE wings and rocked all night the heavy
swell rolling INFO The halDOF, the stayllgh cleaning
like a star through the darkness and the storm.
During the days run She had proved that Ia smooth
water she fast and stanch. She stood up like
a church when cOasting schOOners were buryfng their
lee rails, and 1t seemed 10 those board that her
sails would be blown away or the mssts taheh OUT
OF her before she wOsld capsZe. But in tho heavy
10 the westward Of West Chop light she behaved
badly and made heavy weather Of IL. The next morn
Ing at II o'clock the captain again ordered the Eagre
sea, and under dOube-r' fed foresail and nalnsal
sail and lb She out to do battle with the
elements. The had been increasing all night and
rolled up In great whitecapped waves that
tossed the vessel about like cork and seemed 10 reach
UP with their long white arms II TO drag her down
into that watcry from which she had once been
taken. They dealt her great blows that made her
groan and SILVER from and drenched
her until the water stood ankle deep on the wardroom
floor.
OF all the hundreds OF schooners along that coast
not far could be rad left her anchJr-
age. The Eagre the only vessel that passed out
Of Vineyard Sound by Gay Head that day. To add TO
the unpleasantness Of the day. thick mist shut down
every and then. and when II lifted little gusts OF
was q long and hard struggle. but the Eagre finally
ard weatheIcd the Vineyard sound Ilgh.ship
Then she stood ont for secOnct River where she
dropped anchor at u O'Clock thar night. Whilo the
Iagrc was struggling to reach SecOnet River the
yacht SYrcl fOundcTcd of SecOnet Point at the
trance 90 the river The rpst Of the Eagre's cruise
10 New-York though evcntful did not particularly
test her sailing qualities In Long Island sound
however, with good sailing breeze and smooth
water she showed that she sailing under the con-
dtlon best suited TO her and exceptionally
fast yacht