The San Francisco call., 1896-04-13
Perilous Trip of the Sloop Mack
All the Way From San
Luis Obispo.
SOME VERY NARROW ESCAPES.
An Encounter With the Gale That
Wrecked the Elairmore Off
Pigeon Point

K. s. Eaton and c. Church. two Young
men from Moro, a little town few miles
north of San Luis Obispo, have Just fin
ished noteworthy and very perilous feat
in navigation.
In twenty-foot sloop, only three feet
deep, but lily fitted up for even small
young men sailed from San Luis Obispo to
San Francisco, arriving here Yesterday
alter series OF perilous and exciting ad-
ventures.
The purpose of this 200 miles voyage by
sea, in what is practically an open boat,
was to gain neither notoriety nor wager.
Church, the older Of the two, is a married
man with three children. He had met
with reverses at home; work and money
alike were scarce, SO he set out to seek-if
not his fortune, at least living-in the
new gold fields of Alaska. He expects to
do boating for hire in the northern waters,
and perhaps some prospecting on the side.
Lacking the necessary funds with which
to purchase boat, and being good me-
chanic, he built the present craft at Moro
and sailed her to this port, where she will
be shipped to Alaska on the steamer AL
bion, which sails Thursday.
His companion came along simply to
help him out on the trip, and will return
home by the next steamer
The boat, which is named the Mack,
is 20 feet over all, 18 feet on the water line,
steel centerboard a feet high and 5 feet
long.
She is stanchly built, her entire frame
being of oak, and her only upper works
consists of curbing 10 inches high, which b
extends from a few feet forward nearly
aft, making her practically an open boat.
For ballast she carries pigiron placed be-
meath the floor.
Her spread of canvas is as follows
Boom 1917 feet, hoist II feet, gaff feet and
a small working jib.
What makes the trip all the more re-
markable is the fact that the boat had no
sooner taken her initial dip into the water
from the stocks than the mast was
stepped, sails bent, provisions stored and
the men were off ON their risky trip.
They rowed a mile out from land, when
sail was hOisted for the first time. They
had yet to learn how she would act under
her spread of canvas and whether she
was sight or leaky, but they adjusted their
compass, got the charts out and were
ready to meet the worst-which was not
long in coming.
The first day out they encountered a
stiff northwester that tossed the little
boat about like a feather in the wind, but
she managed to maintain her equilibrium,
and, as the storm became more bolster
Gus, they squared away and made for port
San Simeon, which they reached in safety.
They made no more stops after leaving
San Simeon until they reached Monterey
Bay, where they put in and replenished
their stock of provisions.
After leaving Monterey Bay their trou-
bles began afresh and were enough to quail
the nerve of the bravest.
While scudding along under full sail, to
stiff breeze, the throw halyard carried
away and the malnsail became useless.
To remedy this it was necessary to climb
the slender mast and reef new rome
through the block.
While one of the men was aloft fixing
the tackle heavy swell struck the side of
the boat, and the mars weight on the
mast caused the craft to careen over until
she became almost filled with water.
The sun was sinking IN the horizon and