The record-union. [volume] (Sacramento, Calif.) 1891-1903, 1895-08-03
Crosses the Atlantic III Less Than
Seven Days. With an Average
Hourly Speed of Is 1-3 Knots.

! NEW York, Aug. 1.-The United States
commerce destroyer Columbia, next To
the Minneapolis, the fastest warship of
| her class atloat, arrived here to-day from
her race against time across the Atlantic.
No Yankee warship ever chased herself
away from British soil with such celer-
| ity. and no warship ever built crossed
the ocean in the same time. The figures
are: Time from The Needles, Isle OF
Wight, to Sandy Hook Lightship, days,
% hours, 80 minutes. Course. 8. III knots.
| Average hourly speed, Is. 53 knots Best
hourly run, 2060 knots. Best four hour
run, S0.40 knots.
The daily runs were from p. NJ. of
July 26th at the Needles to noon of the
following day 405 knots, and 10 noon of
| each succeeding day 467, 40. 45S 400, 453,
405 TO Sandy Hook iightship at $40 a. NJ.
to-day.
on July 3Otb at 2 A. NJ. it was squally
and storm threatened. The wind was
southwest by west. Heavy seas came
over the bows, and for four hours the
speed was reduced to eight knots an hour.
In The evening OF the same day, IN lati-
tude 460 05', longitude 49, 20, the Column
bia ran near an iceberg which was about
$50 yards long. 100 yards wide, and 10 feet
high.
TIE Columbia took on pilot 400 miles
east of Sandy Hook, only slowing up
sufficiently Tor the purpose. She passed
the Quarantine shortly before noon, re-
porting all we'll 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 eIe-
ments. Her four great tunnels were COW
cred 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
altogether she looked as though an early
securing at the navy yard would be the
best thing for her.
said: II consider her run across very
successful. 1t was a smooth run, though
we had rough weather. We slowed
down only once before head seas. We
met some Jog, but went through it at full
speed, with our eight boilers and three
screws. The wind was varying, but
westerly generally. We had what we
call battle matches throughout, making
us water-tight forward. The vessel was
somewhat down at the head when we
started, despite the fact that we had our
trimming tanks aft filled. This is be-
cause of the natural trim when her bunk
ers are full. She is good boat, though.
/ ne TOll was OH 10 W SLdE UOdTu anu /
to port. She has rolled, however, from
50 to 81"
The coal consumption, the Captain said,
varied from 200 10 go tons per day, about
| half that OF the Luc2nia, the Cunard
crack. The Columbia had the best coal
obtainable at Southampton. 1t was that
used by the American Line, and comes
from the Dolai-s Merkyr mines. While
her bunker capacity is only 800 tons.
i Captain Sumner took 1875 tons, filling
the bunkers and utilizing the wind pas
sages, firerooms, and even the decks,
where forty tons were stored under the
superstructure. Thus freighted with
fuel, she drew 26 feet 4 inches forward
and % feet Z inches aft, an unfortunate
trim, but unavoidable. Her tireroom
force was twelve short, and that number
were taken from volunteers OF the deck
crews, making mp the full complement
of 1876.
In addition, forty-fye men from the
deck force and three petty officers were
transferred to the engineers department
to assist in carrying coal. They were
used night and day, and though futigued,
none gave out.
The plan to speed the vessel under
forced draught during the last twenty
four hours was abandoned as impractica-
ble Whlle there were 800 tons OF coal
lett when the vessel anchored in the
North River, what was left at the expira-
ton of tho fifth DAY was all at the ends,
and could not be moved sufficiently fast
to feed the fires for such q run. If it
could have been done. Captain Sumner
said it would have shortened the trip
three hours and brought the Columbia's
average to about nineteen knots.