Arizona republican. [volume] (Phoenix, Ariz.) 1890-1930, 1893-02-04


Any one strolling along the bulkhead
of Erie basin, which is vast hospital
snd haven for craft of all sorts, may no.
tee great ship with skysail poles,
seemingly fragile as toothpicks, tower
ing above the Hottest spars Of the big
gest vessels moored around her. She is
four master, and her aerial inlcicaoies
of rigging and halliards and ropes are a
Chinese puzzle to the landsman, but a
vision Of delight to the shellback. She
is the Roanoke, giantess of wooden sail
ing vessels, and the last of her type that
will ever be constructed in America.
For that reason she is worth more than
passing notice. She represents the van
ishing era of wooden bottoms, discrimi-
mated against by the marine underwent
ess since the advent of steel ships.
Long ago the wooden sailing craft
ceased to be carrier of any significance
In the British trade. All of the big
British clippers are Of steel, and nearly
all those of recent construction are four
masters. The British skipper calls his
four master a bark because she is
schooner rugged on the fourth, which is
known both as the spanker and jigger
mast The Yankee skipper thinks that
any sailing vessel with three mass
square rugged is ship.
The four masted British ships may be
numbered by the score. The four masted
American ships may be counted on the
fingers of one hand. But the nautical
Optimists say this is to be changed, and
that the change is at hand. The keel Of
the first American steel ship soon will
be laid, and after she is launched others
will follow her down the ways in rapid
succession. The builders hope TO do
with the steel clippers-which will be
constructed on approved American rae
ing models--what our builders did with
wooden clippers before the war. They
held the record then from every port,
near or remote, and they made modest
fortunes for their builders and owners.
The best of the steel British ships can
not approach the wonderful perform
ances Of the great fleet of Yankee fliers
of forty years ago. The Northern Light
Is credited with making the voyage from
San Francisco to this port in seventy
two days. The Flying Dutchman, built
by William II. Webb, Of this city, in
1852, covered 1920 knot in sixteen con-
secutive days, an average Of nearly
twelve knots an hour. The Dread7ought
made the $500 knot run between New
York and Queenstown in less than ten
days.
The Sovereign of the Seas made the
passage from the Sandwich Islands TO
New York in eighty-two days, covering
an one day 1915 knots, which is better
Khan the best days run Of an eight day
steamship from Queenstown. The Mary
Whiteredge ran from Baltimore to Liv-
erpOol IN thirteen days and seven hours.
The Red jacket made over 1925 statute
miles day for one week. These are
some of the records the Roanoke will
ny TO equal. Veteran shippers do not
believe she can do it, but her commander
rs hopeful
The Roanoke is not the biggest Amer.
fcau ship ever built. That distinction
belonged to the Great Republic, which
was even larger than the colossal steel
e five master France, the largest sailing
vessel in the world. The Great Repub.
nc was built in East Boston by Donald
Mckay in 1853. Her master, Captain
Joseph p. Hamilton, is the same Hamil-
bOn who now commands and partly owns
che Roanoke. The Great Republic was
not so heavily spared as the Roanoke.
She carried 1868 square yards Of can
vas, while the Roanoke spreads nearly
10000 From boom end to boom end
that is, from the tip of her bOwsprit to
the tip of her spauker boom-the Roam
olie measures $40 feet. Her length on
the keel is 81 feet, and her length over
ali is 33l feet. Her extreme beam is
493 feet, her depth @0.lO feet and her
draft p feet. The golden ball on the
top of her main sEysail pole is nearly
200 feet from the deck. Her main and
mizzen lower masts are 90 feet high, and
her fore lower mast is 81 feet high. Her
lower spanker mast is 90 feet high.
Her fore, main aud mizzcn tOpmasts
are Sc feet high and her spanker topmast
is s. feet high. Each of her three top,
gallant masts is - feet high, her three
royal masts 10 feet, her s6ysail masts -
feet and her sliysail poles feet. Each
of her three lower yards is So feet long,
her lower topsail yards So feet long, her
topgallant yards &C feet long, her royal
yards 50 feet long and her skysail yards
a feet long, These are gigantic spars,
and their size can be appreciated only by
the sailorman who furls sail on them.
On her maiden voyage from Bath to
this port, with l,4O0 tons of ice in her
hold as ballast, the Roanoke had only
light winds and could not test her sail.
ing qualities. She will go into service
on the triangular track from New York
to San Francisco, to Liverpool (or
Havre), and back to New York. She
will carry a crew of about forty men of
mixed nationalities. She will also have
what are rare in these days-six or seven
ambitious American apprentices, mostly
from the schoolship st. Mary's. Her
chief officers, who are American navi,
gators of gch experience, are First