New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1893-02-24
THE DERELICTS' TRACK.
WRECK CHART OF THE HYD2CGRAPHIC
OFFICE.
INTERESTING RECORD OF TIE wASDEGINGs OF
ABANDONED HULKS.
,BY TELEGRAPH 10 THE rhiBUSE.r


dcrellc,s in the North Atlantic Ocean during the five
years from loo7 TO 1891 inclusive. Il il the first
time In the history Of the Office that such Chart
has been prepared, and it will be Of great value TO
shippers In showing the direction wrecks have been
taken since the vessels lost and the general
tendency Of all Of them to drift in northeastehy
direction the track Of European steamers
where there is the greatest amount Of traffic and
where most damage is liable to occur to steamers
bound either way.
The greater number Of wrecks have occurred along
the New-England coast and In vicinity OF Cape
Ilntteras, while along the New-Jersey and Virginia
coasts the Chart Is dotted with marks indicating
hundreds Of derclcts floating in the path OF coaswise
traffic and constant to shipping bound up
and down the Atlantic. Around the Bermudas there
dozen floating steamers and schooners directly
in TIE line OF from the Cape OF Good Hope
and south American ports, and which show little
tendency to lHan few hundred miles a
Year. on the Florida coast which, years ago. was
regarded the mos> dangerous with the exception
Of lIatteras fewer wrecks have occurred than for
merry, due I'm great measure to the excellent light
system which has been povidcd In late years. Twenty
years ago there were as many wrecks of this coast
yearly Off IIatters, and ~. captains bound round
TO the emf always gave II rs wide n berth as the
weather and circumstances would permit.
The island Of Martinique Is almost surrounded with
dcr,cts Of all sorts. which have chung tenaciously
to that vicinity since the great cyclone n feW years
ago, which wrecked every vessel in the larbor and
threw many Of them high and dry the shore.
About twenty miles of llacras there are no less than
fifty v,.srls floating around bottom up else nearly
submerged to make II exceedingly difficult FOR
mariners 10 them except on very clear day.
before they are close aboard and often too late to
change their course to avoid them OF the Maine
shore and around Nova Scotia dcreicts are thicK,
and In Marla's Vineyard sound and around MaNSa-
chuscs Bay the already large list is being con family
Increased by the loss sch0oncTS and occasionally
steamer
The chart shows by dotted lines the tendency OF
all wrecks along the Tantic coast as far south rs
Florida 10 b. in northcastcrly direction and toward
the Gulf stream. When derellct gets In the
warm waters Of the stream II generally floats azlv
along northery and then nearly due east until many
Of them II they remain intact. bring mp on the shore
Of Ireland In the sea north OF scotland lhose
near the Ecrmndas usually take sou'hcasery alrec
ton and ultimately land In TIE -nrngossa sea where
they spin round and round aud seldom again get out
side #, boundaries This has been particularly true
q, tbe schooner Wycr G.. Sargent which has echps'a
all prevo,s record, In days ahoat ard miles travesed
T., tho history OF the photographic ONCE TIE chart
hoys 60 unidentified abandoned vessels seen no''-
ING In the North Atl8ntir during the hve years from
1857 10 1891, Of which number elghN'yo "c'o ~"
In the first cgl.,y-one in the second, lao IN 'ne
,h,r, IA in the fourth, and last years record
&C
November are shown TO have been the most "''''''
Seasons Of the year 10 shipping .
Ttcsc unidentified derclcts Include all the r'p'r''
n, vessels floating bottom up. hoatmg nuns "''''u'
mast, and abandoned vessels "l'n ma',' s''"an'S'
Indicating the ric but not ESTABLISHING inv "'"''
Ihcr. are many reports Of known derenctS ho' r',',
l,a, ~ a.. vessels making the report but which
u.cro evidently the Known dcrelci. because u '"e
daic and position The foregoing hSt ao'' no'
r.,,ac any wrecks otherwise reported. The once
sc .lwav, assumed that when several reports OIL u"
cocri,cd vessels are for the same time ana pace
IL 1, the same one. -
Tho movement, Of tho schooner Sargent are per
han. tbe most interesting and important III sno"hs
~ ,, distance a derelct travels on the align seas
mis- vessel vas wrecked March 81 l7'l near nav
,r,. and has since been drifting nbont the N'"'"0
e. rho region known rs the saragossa sea mlu""S
,o,,,,.n the West Indies and the Azores III "'I
wandering, she came came - wthin 2'o ill'cS "
pcru,,ida then took slant across INC Jun "'
and started In on a crnlsc toward lr'hh"' ~ ""'
last shc changed her course ana was seen ""''"H
,,rd I'm tbe ,arigossa sea. where she remained i'r
o,,c months, She wa, last reported December '" !"s'
ON the outside Of IT. cddcs, little more than 'n'.'
,a,, loft II i estimated that this vessel has GOV
ot m her wanderings ever 5000 miles. ana mas D''''
oeo,, c15 DAYS. and by passing ships 'ifS lou"
times. v.,, :, a,o,h.r
vessel with n record Tor miles She mas traN'r'u anu
aov. She has been "A dorclict. she was apa"uoh''
March 49, lass was last reported January ~, i''",
and up 10 that time had gone over 3'''oo '''''' %
- sbe may vet hc drifting aimlessly about III
,ho track Of vessels. Tho next schooner WIN E""'
rccord Is the David ". Hunt. wrecked III N"N'"'''
., M .o,n. voor The last heard Of her a year la''r'
.h WA, On good order aud likely to last some .li'
longer Up TO then she hnd tIHN'r'eu ~
The shin II. Adams lost also In ISIS ana hiHc
,av of,er .h. was abandoned. and when last see"
eh had made, the remarkable diifi ot o@o m"''' Inc
shin MARYLAND wrecked In 1851 covered ninety '"'''
III nv r~o ,n, Trustworthy statistics gathered by me
,Ivdrocranlic Ofcc show average annual tolh los,
Of III. vessels with 1000 hvr,, III W. yeorIs and
carr"e, LOST Is about SOOo0ooo0 TIE chart srnpm rc
cay shows the places whore me "o2 with the
wrncknd on the Atlantic coast toe"lhr 10 Ti won.
~ .itions of So abandoned wrecks OF Whol i n,ed
nmenily reported and have their arm, rnm' d tne
n an Interesting manner The % ni aig drrm~ M.
,s kno.u dcrellcs make t3,a @i 10, %iI"S The
five years. an av"rag" "i sNS'n rIict f. about
table shows that the average ne oi @ n, InoSt
%rt days $" that II Is evident that thrr" arr, ~ '"'
siXtssn dcrclic., constantly aioai IN h' rTi" ch met
rhe International Marine conference Nmon ' H.
f. NJ Whm"tnn I'm i--9. discussed the danger 10 liz
and properly Of dccIlcs In the No, , H nd slate"
,nd the m-anmous report OF the 'nitd states "''
cgatrs was ,, accommodated that n steam
vessel Of aiont 200 tons displacement Ie nn W' iSn
Shall bc especially fitted for ana nda n t TO ,h ,
".ri., of t,lfug the ocean In bad weather lur nc
SrIn'r y" ~ Ii"yinr M or otherwise destroying wreck
20 bringing them mo port Hn'n W.
49, bc Lur- under the direction OF ana ata,nn 10 r.
Navy Department. and that piricular n,'en , d
- IA her strength and To the Si'helI SIZE anu
rhnroct.r 81 her beats owing to the il't tna' III,
snrvicr, Of such vessel are required pnmr piN Jua,
f,.,r storm when Tie ARE SIN running hieh anu
,,h.n mo- ordinary boat could tax" IN" sea- sp'cIn
T"n In Tie hull Is required on account OF being sub
ic Ca r,uph weather and heavy s"1>, ANA on account
If having frequently 10 Tow W',rlH snnrIE,u. rpr
his latter reason extra htng for towing should be-
added ,.on ,oo, mazda for .ucb ,
No appropriation hnS eyer '''n ,',r "r ," rn,
N.Y. nIv mean, at the control Of the Government
nov ."' ,Irovs Ie had when their services most
required.
THE rUTNiNAN ~ POLITICS.
-. rho Gan Francisco Call.