The San Francisco call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1895-1913, 1896-06-14
LOT T|EST OF ALL
VESSELS IN PORT
She Is Loaded With Red
wood Lumber for Lon
don, England.
rs A VERY FAST SAILER.
Very Clever Feat in Towboating
Done by Captain Thompson
of the Monarch
IN DOCKING THE "OLD GLORY"
News From the Sealing Fleet Shows a
Poor Catch on the Japanese
Coast
IN DOCKING THE "oLp GLORY

The Hottest and fastest vessel in port to-
day is the British ship Cromdale. She is
as pretty as a yacht and Captain E. h.
Andrew keeps her looking like one. She
is loaded with redwood lumber for Eng
land and will sail in few days.
Captain Andrew has been on the Crom-
dale for five years and during that time
she has made some splendid runs. Last
year during the wool season she was the
first out of sixty vessels to reach England
from Australia. The ship Brilliant made
the trip in the same number of days, but
the Cromdale had an hour the best of the
race. The CromdaIe's record is 1913 knots
in twenty-fou hours, steamboat time.
This time was made when the ship was
running down the castings from Sydney,
N. S. W., to the Horn.
The Cromdale came here from Australia.
While in Sydney the captains wife was
taken sick and remained behind She
came over on the last trip of the Monowai
and will make the trip to England with
her husband. Captain Andrew was almost
a stranger when he came TO San Francisco,
but during his stay here he has made hosts
of friends. One of his boats was the first
to reach the scene of the disaster when the
BIairmore capsized. Two of the crew of
the Inflated ship were rescued by his men
and were cared for on the Cromdale until
other arrangements were made.
The first news from the sealing feet in
Japanese waters arrived in private letter
from Captain Fred Nelson of the schooner
Rather yesterday. He says that the
weather is very calm, seals scarce and that
the season on the Japanese coast will be
very poor one. The Rather had taken $50
skins up to May Is last and the skipper
considers himself verv lucky. Last season
the Rather lost boat and three men from
the attack OF killer. The fish rammed a
hole through the boat and the captains
brother hunter and boatsteerer were
drowned. When Captain Nelson was fit
ting out this season he refused to take any
thing but lifeboats, and owing to that fact
three lives W re saved. Last April killer
attacked one of the boats and knocked
big hole in her, breaking three of the ribs.
The lifeboat hoated and the men chung
to it for five hours. Luckily a returning
boat sighted them and they were rescued
more dead than alive. The boat was after
ward recovered and repaired, and Captain
Nelson is now determined to always carry
lifeboats when sealing.
The Philadelphia and Monadnock will
sail for Santa Cruz tomorrow. This will
be the last occasion for some time 10 come
to inspect the warships, and to-day the
launch Amy will carry excurslonists,
leaving from the Folsom street steps.
Half-hour trips will be made between the
hours of and 5 P. NJ.
One of the prettiest feats of towboating
ever seen on the bay was performed by
Captain Dan Thompson in the tug Mon
arch of the red-stack line yesterday.
Single handed he brought the big Amer
lean ship Glory of the Seas out of Oakland
Creek towed her stern first across the bay.
and with an ebb tide and a strong breeze
against him put her into the narrowest
slip on the water front, without hitch
Captains SiIovich, Gilbert and Marshall of
the black-stack line watched the operation
with keen interest, and when the ship was
safely moored they all concurred when
Henry Peterson said: 1.-The prettiest Job
ever done on the 'front.'" When con-
graduated Captain Thompson blushed
like a schoolgirl and said: "Oh, go and
Josh some one else" He is most unas-
Stunning man, but easily ranks among the
very best towboatmen on the Pacific Coast
On the run down from Vallejo yesterday
the steamer Sunol broke a small crank
pin. As soon as Piper, Alden, Goodall &
Co. heard of the mishap, with their usual
| promptitude, they at once sent the tug
| Sea Queen to bring her to this City. Re-
! pairs were rushed and the steamer was
! only three hours late in getting away on
suffer by the delay. as the owners, with
! their well-known hberality, saw that they
were well taken care Of
The Pacific Coast Steamship Company's
steamer OriZaba left Guaymas on the 18th
inst. and may be expected here on the
21st. The Al-Ki left Victoria for Alaska,
and the Arcata sailed for Empire City yes
terday. The latter will be due here to-
morrow.
! The Columbia left Astoria on the 18th
inst. at P. N. and arrived here yester-
day, thus beating her own record of
thirty hours, which she made be-
| fore her machinery was overhauled.
George Scarbrook, coxswain of the
Philadelphia's launch, performed a very
daring and clever feat yesterday. The
boats propeller got foul of rope while
lying at the Folsom street slip. 1t could
not be removed, and the launch was use
less. In the quandary Scarbrook threw
off his outer clothes, put knife between
his teeth and dived overheard. He was
down two minutes, and when he came up
the propeller was free. He had cut the
rope away with his knife. George seems
to be able to compete with the South Sea
Island divers.