The San Francisco call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1895-1913, 1896-05-23
NEWS OF THE
WATER FRONT.
Evolution of the British
Iron Bark Sharp
shooter.
A RELIC OF THE STORM.
She Is Now the Pretty Little
American Barkentine
Samoan.
IDLE FOREIGN SHIPS IN PORT.
The Opinion of a British Master Is
That There Is Too Much
Tonnage Afloat.

The American barkentine Samoan of
| this port will start about the 5th of next
month for voyage among the South Sea
| Islands. The vessels name is a new one
! and the Samoan herself is almost in the
| same condition.
A few months ago she came Imping
into harbor at the end of a tugs towline,
badly wrecked among her spars in Mex
lean coast gale. She had lost most of her
masts, all of her yards but two. besides
being otherwise damaged around the rails.
However the Sharpshooter, that was her
name then, had an iron hull that was as
sound as a dollar, and while a terrible
storm of weeks blew over the severely
tried little bark not a drop of the wind
driven waves ever entered her seams.
Captain Watts, wife and three small
children were aboard at the time, and
when the vessel was finally moored safely
in this bay they were completely ex-
hausted from their long siege of dreadful
storm. Not feeling able TO incur the heavy
expense of having the Sharpshooter re-
paired by getting her new set of spars
and rigging, Captain Watts sold her al
auction. She was purchased by J. +.
| Gu nningham, grocer doing business al
! the foot of Clay street, who fitted her up
/ as q barkentine. Her former iron main
mast now does duty as the foremost. This
| was the only mast that the storm left her,
the others being somewhere down under
the Pacific.
Two yards remained with the Sharp,
shooter through all the fierce blow, and
they are the upper and lower foretopsail
yard of the Samoan. The decks, bulwarks
and houses have been repaired, and she is
a stanch, swift little vessel, her change OF
rig from d bark TO a barkentine making her
a better sai;er and easier to handle.
The Samoan will be commanded by Cap
tain c. B. Kustel an old and experienced
navigator among the South Pacific isl
ands. In 1880 he took the little twenty
eight ton schooner Pearl from this port
across the ocean to Singapore and re-
turned, being absent something over two
years.
There are now fifty-one deep-water YES
sells in port Contra Costa and Sausalito,
of whom thirty-six are disengaged. This
represents about II, S98 tons, against Is, 40
| tons this time last year. Many of the for
tanned here for long time before they get
a charter.
Speaking of the great number of idle
deep-waters ship captain recently stated
! to a newspaper representative that there
was too much tonnage afioat.
Sailing vessels, especially English, are
eating their heads of, he said, land the
steamers are running their owners"
His own vessel. one of the largest and
| best British ships in this port, had not
earned dollar over her expenses since she
was launched four years ago.
II would not take the best ship in this
harbor to-day as a gift" said he, ''if had
to run her myself. l would know that
would not clear cent and have all the
risks on my hands. And yet the British
shlpyards are all the time turning out
new ships. But they are doing it cheaply
at about f7 or f8 per ton. Ships are 6
poor property now. There is the Blair
more under your bay. She will cost
probably not as much as she was built for
but much more than she was worth when
she capsized. If she were mine I'd give
her to the junk man as she lies. The pay
ing days OF ships are over, and they hav,
now become the poorest property in th'
I world"