The San Francisco call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1895-1913, 1895-05-12
WHAT THE LIGHTS TELL.
The Signals Displayed by Ships at Night
and What They Mean.

The Signals Displayed by Ships at Night
and What They Mean.
A railroad train cannot turn to the right
or left at will, for it is bound by the iron
tracks to go the way they lead, and the
trains coming toward it are guided by an
other set of tracks to pass safely by.
Therefore the engineer may rush his
train along over the guiding tracks through
the brightness of day or the darkness of
night, with no fear save for the most un-
foreseen and infrequent accidents On the
sea, however, a ship can go whichever way
she is turned and other ships may meet
her coming from any direction
The broad ocean, then, may be looked
upon as covered with an enormous net
directions, where a ship may be switched
from one track to another at will.
In the daytime ships can be seen from
each other and be turned aside to pass in
safety; for not only can they be seen, but
the direction in which they are going Is
known. Still, even in the daytime certain
rules must be followed to insure perfect
safety. How, then, do ships, pursuing SO
many interesting tracks, pass the others
sa ely in spite of the darkness of the nightf
Imagine yourself on the bridge of big
ship. 1t is really a bridge, you know,
high above the deck, extending from side
to side near the bow, and projecting
little beyond the sides so that
from each end a man can see straight
ahead without rigging or masts to inter
fere. 1t is night, and very dark. Even
the, ship is only a long, dark shadow
under your feet. Over the sky may be
pail of cloud, and you peer away
into the darkness, but cannot even
tell where sea and sky.come together.
All is inky blackness above and below.
Spreading outward from the bow of the ship
is foaming, phosphorescent wave, whicQ
tells how rapidly she is rushing onward
over the unseen waters and into the dam
gers of the impenetrable gloom. In the
middle of the bridge stands man holding
wheel and gazing at compass lit up by
little lamp. With that wheel he turns
the rudder to keep the ship steadily
pointed in the same direction by the COM
pass. That direction is her track. Other
ships may be on that track; other ships
may be crossing that track in the dark
ness. How are they to be avoided?
On each side of the bridge stands man
peering continually into the gloom ahead
while back and forth, almost necessarily,
PAGES fourth man, an officer, who, like the
others, is continually gazing ahead or glanc-
ing at the compass. He is the officer of the
deck. On him rests the responsibility of
| avoiding all other vessels which may cross
his vessels track or be approaching her
upon it. Upon his quickness and iudg-
ment depends the safety of the ship. In
the daytime he has seen one, two or per-
haps dozen ships around him during a
single hour, and he well knows that just
as many may be around him during any
hour OF the night. How, then, is he to
know where they are and how to keep out
of their way?
Their lights will tell.
When you face toward the ships bow the
side at your right hand is called the star
board side, and the side at your left hand is
called the port side. On her starboard
side ship carries at night green light,
and it is so shut in by two sides
of a box that it cannot be seen
| from the port side, or from behind.
On her port side she carries red light, and
it is so shut in that it cannot be seen from
the starboard side or from behind. If the
ship is steamship, she carries big white
| light at her foremast-head, but if she is a
sailing vessel she does not This white
masthead light can be seen from all around
except from behind.
So long, then, as the officer of the deck
sees no lights he feels sure that there are
no vessels near him, and PAGES his watch
in security.-Ensign John M. Ellicott in
| Nav st. Nicholas