The San Francisco call., 1895-08-03
FAST TINE FROM ENGLAND
All Records for Warships Fairly
Beaten by the Column
bia.
In a Little Less Than Seven Days
the Big Vessel Crossed the
Stormy Atlantic.

NEW YORK, n. Y, Aug. 2.-The United
States commerce-destroye Colum bia, next
to the Minneapolis the fastest warship
afoat, arrived here to-day from her race
against time across the Atlantic. No
Yankee warship ever sailed away from
British soil with such celebrity and no war
ship ever built crossed the ocean in the
same time. These are the principal
figures: Time from The Needles, Isle of
Wight, to Sandy Hook lightship, days, %
hours and 40 minutes; course, 3112 knots;
average hourly speed, 1888 knots; best
hourly run, 20.60 knots; best four hours
run, $3.50 knots.
The daily runs were from P. NJ. July 26
at The Needles to noon of the following
day, 405 knots, and to noon of each sue
oeeding day 467, 470, 458, 454, 453 and 405 to
Sandy Hook lightship at S;49 A. NJ. to-day.
On July 80 at A. NJ. it was squally and a
storm threatened. The wind was south
west by west, heavy seas came over the
bows and for four hours the speed was re-
duced to eight knots an hour. In the
evening of the same day in latitude 1906
longitude 4S.20 the Columbia ran near an
iceberg. which was about $50 yards long,
y
The Columbia took on a pilot 400 miles
east of Sandy Hook, only slowing up
sufficiently for the purpose. She passed
quarantine shortly before noon reporting
all well on board and dropped anchor in
the North River less than an hour later.
She looked as though she had been doing
something with the elements. Her four
great tunnels were covered with salt CRYSTALS
where they were not black with smoke.
SCOT covered the upper structure and her
sides were smeared and streaked with rust.
Her decks were covered with coal dust and
cinders, and although she looked as though
an early securing at the navy-yard would
be the best thing for her.
The Hamburg-American line steamer
Augusta Victoria. from Hamburg and
Southampton via Cherbourg, followed the
Columbia in, arriving at the Hook at 1880
A. NJ. The distance covered by the Augusta
Victoria from Cherbourg was 3054 knots,
and her time of passage 6 days 20 hours
and 20 minutes. The average speed of the
steamer on this trip was 1854
knots per hour.
The ST. Louis of the American line left
Southampton the day after the Columbia,
passing The Needles at 1: 40 P. NJ, or %
hours and 43 minutes after. She is ex-
pected early in the morning.
Commenting on the cruisers perform
ance, the officers of the Columbia said:
at should be remembered that our
highest speeding is lower under forced
draught and is supposed to be availed of in
spurts when chasing the enemy's mer-
chantmen or eluding more powerful war
ships, and while designed to carry enough
coal for cruising purposes and such spurts,
she cannot carry coal necessary for trans
Atlantic run under forced draught. Nor
is it likely that she would ever be called
upon to make such run.
This run across has shown that she can
steam the full speed of natural draught
the entire distance, and show her heels to
most vessels with little more thar her nor
NAL coal capacity"
The express steamers of the trans-At-
lantic passenger lines use forced draught
and burn 300 to 500 tons of coal a day.
Some records of interest in connection
with the Columbia's record are the fol-
lowing, between New York and South
ainpton: Paris, 6 days 16 hours 43 min
utes; New York, 6 days 7 hours IA min
utes; Fuerst Bismarck, days 10 hours 80
minutes; Normannia, 6 days II hours 30