Shenandoah herald. [volume] (Woodstock, Va.) 1865-1974, 1893-04-14
MARINE NEWS.
REPORTING INCOMING AND OUT
GOING VESSELS AT NEW YORK.
Inside Workings of the Observatories
Down the Big Harbor-How the
Ships Signals Arc Read-The
Observer as a Life Saver.

of the most profitable branches oil the
service. There is a station on the bluff
of the Highlands Of Navesink, coast Of
New jersey, from which stretches wire
that taps stations at Sandy Hook and
the Quarantine grounds on Staten ISL
ana on its winding way to this city.
Those three stations report all the ve'-
sells that enter and leave port by way OF
Sandy Hook. The stations are called
marine observatories. Those OF Sandy
Hook and the Highlands OF Navesink are
conducted by three men, who take turns
of eight hours each. Their principal
duty is to sight and signal passing craft,
but, in addition to being marine obserg-
ers, they are experienced telegraphers.
First OF all they sight an incoming craft
in the east offing OIL seaward toward the
east or south, and then they read the
four colored flags which she flies. These
flags are part of the international code
of signals.
By means of an international agree
ment every registered ocean vessel has
a certain set of signals to indicate her
name. No two vessels belonging to the
same company have the same signals.
There are no vowels in the code. After
"reading" the flags or letters, as they
are uautically called, the observer goes
to big book containing the names and
signals of every ocean going craft, and
he picks out the name Of the incoming
vessel in jiffy.
Then he goes to the telegraph key,
and before the incoming vessel has tray-
eed more than a few cables length the
report that the So.and-So is looming
up" is on the Maritime Exchange and in
shipping circles generally. The opera
tors have a regular code for reporting
the vessels. Hi stands for Highlands,
G for Hook and Rn for Quarantine.
Here's how the crude reports read: s,
Veendam L Rn; 9;04, City of New York
P in G; 7:4O, La Bourgogue clear G,
1O:40 stg P in G; no sig from cast;
11:O3, Newport, S of L b, Hi.
All of which interpreted means s
o'clock, steamer Veendam, leaving Quar-.
antine; 9;O4, steamer City of New York,
passing in Sandy Hook; 7:lO, steamer
La Bourgogne has cleared the bar
'bound seaward; 40, strange steamer
passing in Hook, shovel no signals,
came from the east; aud 11;03, steamer
Newport, south Of Long Branch, re-
ported by the Highlands. That's how
the marine news is dishcl up. Flags
are used as signals during the day, bat at
nights lights are 1arel up, SKY rockets
and roman candles are discharged by
vessels to inform the observers Of their
names.
Every line has a fixed night signal,
such as three white lights burned for
ward, amidships and aft, blue and red
forward aud aft, three reds, etc. There
are hundreds Of different ways of burn.
ing these lights aud rockets so that the
observer may know to what line the ves-
sci belongs. He cannot tell the name of
the vessel by them, but he generally
knows what ship is due in any particu-
lar line and his good judgment does the
rest.
In addition to reporting the move
'ments of shipping, the marine observer
has to maintain an hourly inspection over
an instrument which records the velocity
and direction OF the winds. This is done
for the Govern nent, aud for that sew
vice he gets extra pay. Then he has
frequently to give orders to incoming
vessels. This, too, is done by flags.
"You are ordered to Philadelphia, or
"Go to Charleston to load,' is told by
two flags, but it requires lot of hard
work to pick these signals from the cole
book, hoist the fIgs to the peak of the
flagstaff aud keep an open eye for other
vessels, aud receive private telegraph
"business" at the same time.
The disaster signals Of incoming craft
are also a source of great trouble to the
marine operator. The mere presence OF
the signal flags H. B., N. II. or N. V.
in the rigging of an incoming ship would
mean nothing to the landsman, but to the
marine observer they indicate dreadful
predicament, the first signal reading, "I
want immediate assistance" )" the second,
~ am on fire." and the third, ~ am
Striking"
The marine Observers have saved many
good ship from destruction. They have
handled the letters J. D.-"You are
standing into danger. thousand Of times,
and with their aid have warned mariners
who had ventured too far in shore or too
near some dangerous shoal.
At the Quarantine station there are
four operators and two news gatherers.
The latter go aboard all the vessels from
foreign ports, get their manifests, abb
stracts OF logs, PASSENGER lists, il they
have any, and such other papers and in.
formation as the shipping world may re-
quire. One works during the day, the
other at night. The wire that runs from
the Highlands Of Nayesink, Sandy Hook
and Quarantine has three connections in