The San Francisco call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1895-1913, 1896-08-18
Supervising Inspector Berming-
ham Decides Clark Was
Guilty of Negligence.
SHOULD HAVE CAST A LEAD
The Colombia's Commander Placed
Undue Confidence in Compasses
and Faint Fog Signals.

When the steamer Colombia went crash
ing into the rocks off Pigeon Point on the
morning of July IA, not only was stately
vessel doomed to become the plaything of
the boisterous pillows, but her commander
had found in this rude landing the termin-
alton of his last voyage as master. For
Captain Clark will go down to sea as
captain no more.
Supervising Inspector Birmingham has
rendered his decision as the result of the
inquiry into the Colombia disaster. He
finds that on the morning of the wreck
Captain Clark was unskillful and negli-
gent. In navigator upon whose discre-
ton human lives are staked such faults
are objectionable, and the inspector has
decreed that Captain Clark's license as
master of a steamer shall be revoked.
The following is Inspector Berming-
hams decision:
Captain Clark took the stand and testified
that on July ID, at 6 80 P. NJ, three miles off
Point Arguello, going 1872 knots, the weather
being clear, he shaped his course NV. Il w. to
carry him about FIVE miles outside OF Point
Sur, then 119 miles distant. About 10 O'Clock
the same night fog set in very thick. His
steam whistle was kept sounding, and at 20
A. M, July ID, he heard the fog whistle of Point
Sur abeam, which he and his second officer
estimated to be five miles distant They only
heard that signal two or three times. Captain
Clark then altered his course to NV. "a n.
and, after running thirty-three miles, heavy
fog still continuing, he hauled in "a of point
10 NV. Il N, and ran on that course until he
and his third officer, John Thompson who was
on the bridge with him, heard fog whistles
we'll on the arboard bow, which they again
heard abeam at 40 A. NJ, but not very dis
tinctly.
These whistles they took to be from Pigeon
Point, which they estimated to be four miles
off abeam at that time. He then hauled in
NV, by N, standard, NV. by N. magnetic,
Tor the whistling buoy off San Francisco bar,
and at 7:30 A. NJ. he heard another faint
whistle on the port bow. About three or tour
minutes before A. NJ. Third Officer Thompson
heard two or three faint blasts of q whistle, the
last blast being a little the loudest, which he
reported was from a steamer about two points
off the port bow, and directly he saw the rocks
ahead and sung out to the captain, who Or
dered the helm hard a-starboard The Colon
bia at once struck, at A. NJ, and became
wreck, about half mile ESE. of Pigeon Point
lighthouse and fog signal, which, it appears
from the testimony, was not being operated
full blast.
The Colombia was built in 1891 at Chester,
Pa, of steeas616 s gr 0e, 2S3a: As net tons,
valued at about 1926, 600.
Captain Clark, in his written report of the
disaster to the United States Local Board of
Inspectors of Steam Vessels at San Francisco
July 81, 1896, descriptive of the course steered
by him on the Colombia, sta ties that he had
the fog signal at Point Sur abeam at 3 :25 A. M,
estimated distance five miles, In giving his
testimony before the supervising inspector
July 49, 1896, he estimated the distance off
that point to be seven or eight miles, judging
from the sound of the whistle, but allowed he
was i've miles off, and shaped his course NV.
magnetic, rs before stated, or by compass NV
large Il N.
the Colombia were Influenced by local attrac-
ton between Point Arguello and Pigeon
Point 1t was her second trip up from Pana-
ma and the first one IN command of Captain
Clark, who testified that, SO far as he knew.
the error OF his compasses should have taken
him off shore, but the result shows 1t did not
The compass course he steered from, three
miles off Point Arguello. may have carried
him much closer to Point Sur than he esti-
mated
The difference in the courses at from five
miles off shore at Point Sur TO five miles off
Pigeon Point, and from the same distance off
Point Sur to Pigeon Point (fftyeight niles
is about one-quarter OF point; but, from two
and half miles off Pigeon Point, less than
one-eighJh of point northerly variation in
his compasses would have carried him inside
Pigeon Point.
Captain Clark alleges that he was carried in
shore by what he termed an "inset," that is to
say, current running inshore across his
course. If this were SO, there must have been
at the time movement of the waters there
apouts that did not exist seven or eight hours
previously, when the teamer Santa Rosa passed
in that locality. Captain E. Alexander, who WAS
in command OF the Santa Rosa, testified in this
fog whistles i'll that vicinity. He passed Point
Sur four miles off, in the same dense fog exper-
fenced by Captain Clark, at S:15 P. NJ. the pre-
yious day and shaped his course n. Al deg:
whistle abeam, estimated distance four miles,
at j :25 A. M. The correctness of his estimated
distances from those points were verified by
his subsequent movements.
It is clear Captain Clark relied too much on
the accuracy OF his compasses A more skill
full master would have got cast OF his lead
after crossing the mouth OF Monterey Bay,
before shaping his course during dense
fog for the whistIing buoy off San Francisco
bar. A cast of the lead at any time after 2 A. NJ.
would have pointed out the error of his judg-
ment as TO his distance off shore. He did
not use the lead, rather preferring to be guided
by what proved unreliable sounds from fog
whistles What was the result? He, besides
ship, drove her at full speed to her destruc-
ton on the rocks.
Possibly the fog whistles at Point Ano Nuevo
and Pigeon Point were not going full blast
about that time, and SO deceived them as to
their distance. But that is poor consolation for
his owners, or Others interested. Manager
Sch werin of the p. M. s. s. Co. testified that he
had given Captain CLARK imperative instruc-
tons to take no risks in fog, and said to him
that it was very much easier to find the bottom
with the lead than with the ships keel, which
Captain Clark will now concede to be trnism.
After careful consideration of the foregoing
the supervising Inspector is of the opinion
that Captain "; A. Clark did, on the morning
of July ID, 1896, negligentiy and unskillfully
navigate the steamer Colon bia, then under
his command by hugging the shore and
causing her wreck near Pigeon Point, Califor-
mia, without getting a cast OF lead, all the
while going at full speed in dense fog, con-
trary to the provisions of rule 81, section
1923, United States Revised Statutes, which
provides that every steam vessel shall, when
in fog, go at moderate speed.
For such negligence and unskillfulness and
violation of said rule 81 on the part of said
w. A. Clark the Supervising Inspector hereby
vnt ic Ter
ties prescrib bed in his said certificate.
JOHN BIRMINGHAM,
Supervising Inspector First District.