The news and herald. (Winnsboro, S.C.) 1877-1900, 1894-09-15
MARINE NEWS.
INCOMING AND OUT
GOING VESSELS AT NEW YORK.
inside Workings of the Ob<crvatories
, Uown the Big Harbor-How the
Ships Signals Are Hcad-Tho
Obserycr as L Lie SaTar.

Obserycr as L Life Sarer.
THE Western Uuion Telegraph
= = Company makes $1,000
/; year reporting the arrivals and
departures of vessels via Sandy
Gook and Long Island Sound. 1t is one
of the most profitable branches OF the
service. There is station on the BLUM
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
an0 on its winding way to this city.
Those three stations report all the ves-
sells that cuter and leave port by way of
sardy Hook. The stations are called
marine observatories. Those OF Sandy
Hook and the Highlands OF NsTesink 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 observ-
ers, they are experienced telesraphers.
First OF all they sight an incoming c:ait
in the east ofting OF 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.
Bg means of an international agree
ment every registered ocean vessel has
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
"readins" the flags or letters, as they
arc nauticaily called, the observer goes
to q 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,
aud before the incoming vessel has trav-
elcd more than few cables length the
report that the So.and-So is looming
up" is on the Maritime Exchange and in
shipping circle; 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: 8,
Veendam L Rn: 9:04, City of New York
P in G; 7:40, La Bourgosue clear G.
1910 stg P in G.; no sig rom east
11:O3, Newport, S of L B, Hi.
! All of which interpreted means s
o'clock steamer Veendam, leaving Quar-.
sntine: 9:o4, steamer City of New York,
passing in Sandy Hook; 7:4O, steamer
La Bourgogne has cleared the bar
bound seaward; 10:40, strange steamer
passing in Hook, showed nc signals,
came from the east; and 11:O3, steamer
Newport, south of Long Branch, re-
ported by the Highlands. That's how
the marine news is dished up. Flag:
are used as signals during the DAY, but al
nights lights are Aared up, sky rocket:
and roman candles are discharged by
vessels to inform the observers of thel!
names.
! Every line has fixed night signal
such as three white lights burned for
ward, amidships and aft, blue aud rec
forward and aft, three reds, etc. There
are hundreds of different ways Of burn
ing these lights and rockets 50 that t..
observer may know to what line the ves-
sci belongs. He cannot tell the name .
the vessel By them, but he generally
knows what ship is due in any partica.
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 Government, and 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
$50 to Charleston to load,' is told by
two flags, but it requires lot of hard
work to pick these signals from the code
book, hoist the flags to the peak Of the
flagstaff and keep an open eye for other
vessels, and receive private telegraph
"business" at the same time.
The disaster signals of incoming craft
are also q source Of great trouble to the
marine operator. The mere presence of
;he signal flags Fl. B., n. NJ. or N. V.
IN the rigging of an incoming ship would
mean nothing to the landsmau, but to the
marine observer they indicate dreadful
oredicament, the first signal reading. "G
want immediate assistance" the second,
81 am on fire." and the third, 81 am
irking."
The marine Observers have saved many
good ship from destruction. They have
handled the letters J. D.-"Iou are
;tanding into danger thousand Of times,
md with their aid have warned mariners
rho had yentured too far in shore or too
,ear some dangerous shoal. :.
At the Quarantine station there are
our operators and two news gatherers.
The latter 90 aboard all the vessels from
oregn ports, get their manifests, ab-
tracts OF logs, passenger lists, if they
la7e any, and such other papers and in
ormation as the shipping world may re-
luire. One works during the day, the
,ther at night. The wire that runs from
he Highlands of Navesink, Sandy Hook
md Quarantine has three connect ons in
his city. One IS at the Maritime Ex-
.hange, the second at the Ship News
Office at the Battery, and the thru in
be Western Union main office. There is
! wire to Fire Island, but this connects
Flth the main Office only. These wires
originally belonged to the Sandy Hook,
Quarantine and City Island Telegraph
Company, an enterprise of the Maritime
Exchange, which was absorbed by the
Western Union a few years ago.
The observatory at Fire Island is
tbout as tall as that of Sandy Hook. The
-, n;oo 10