The San Francisco call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1895-1913, 1895-05-14
TO co AROUND THE GLOBE
Captain j. w. Morris and His
Wife to Make the Voyage in
a Small Boat.
THEY WILL DEPART TO-DAY.
Two Seamen and a Cabin-Boy Go
With Them, to Be Gone
Four Years.

'They call me crank and an ungodly
man for counting death and disaster, J"
said Captain J. W. Morris as he stood on
the deck of his small vessel yesterday and
surveyed her broad beam and trim rig,
shut Pm going to circumnavigate the
globe in her if it takes the next five years. :"
The little vessel destined for this long
and doubtful voyage is that nautical
freak built by Captain E. a. Won Schmidt
She was originally designed for fast
sailing yacht, being constructed with a
view to carrying an immense spread OF
canvas. Her model may be said to be
without prototype. At any rate, no YES
sci of her length and draught was ever seen
in these waters with such breadth OF
beam. She is equally as unique in the
shape of her build below the water line,
being entirely ON straight angles, without
curve, and resembling the peeked roof of
house inverted, only sleeper in the slant.
Captain Won Schmidt was disappointed in
the speed qualities of his craft, though the
fact was demonstrated that she is absolutely
non-capsiZable. This feature, combined
with her breadth of beam and draught,
render her safe for deep water, and Captain
Morris, who has long had in contempla-
ton voyage such as he is to begin to-day,
bought the Cyclone at bargain and has
spent several hundred dollars in improve
ments and provisioning her for the globes
circumnavigation.
The Cyclone is not such an ungainly
looking craft as one might suppose from
her ut-of-proportioned dimensions, but
one must board her to fully realize the
oddity of her nautical architecture and
the unusual room she has below decks.
L I'D f., IIarr
Captain Morris had everything in readi-
ness for weighing anchor when the time to
start should arrive. Mrs. Morris, two sea-
men and the cabin-boy were aboard. The
remains of savory repast had Just been
cleared away and the captain showed the
visitors the fine points of his boat with
smiling pride.
"You see," he said, cit has always been
an ideal ambition of mine to go around the
world in small boat-one that should not
be too d1minutive for safety or too large to
sap the chief pleasures of the venture. But
never until l struck this craft did l see
anything that approached my ideas. and |
had begun to seriously consider the FEAST
bility of constructing one according to the
model had in my mind. We are forty
five feet in length and sharp at both ends.
The beam is twenty feet and we set eleven
feet below the water line. Amidships we
are four feet above the water. The great
width of the boat and her tons Of iron and
cement ballast enable US to carry an i'm
mense sail though we do sport but the one
mast. Everything is in the hold, and hav-
ing flush deck and hardly any bulwark,
we can ship no water in heavy seas, and
have not the slightest doubt that she will
prove mighty fine sea boat, riding in the
toughest weather like cork. 1 shall sail
for Australia first and then make for the
South African coast. From there on my
plans are not definitely matured. A neat
and trim cabin? Well, I should say.
Well be as snug and comfortable as though
in the prettiest cottage sitting-room with
all the convenlences of home"
The captain had not oyerdrawn the in
viting interior of his little ship. The cabin
is large enough to accommodate eight per-
sons and is separated from the forecastle,
which serves also as the galley, by bulk
head, in the middle of which is door,
The sailors and the cabin-boy will live in
the forward compartment, which is pro-
vided with four berths, tables, kitchen fur
niture, etc. In the hold forward of the
forecastle and back of the cabin are the
provisions, water and two tons of coal.
Mrs. Morris expresses complete conf
dence in the safety of the vessel, which is
to be her only home for the next three or
four years, and is looking forward to the
voyage with pleasant anticipation. They
will start this afternoon.