The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1898-12-02
CATE CITY SAFE IN PORT.
,yCHORED IN VINEYARD SOUND TO
RIDE OUT THE STORM.

c,IIy Uninjured by the BIow-TyvO
sails Were Blown Away and Com
siderable CrOckery Was Broken.
soldier Passenger Slightly In
iprcd by Being Pitched About in
His Bcrth-Gate City Met the storm
on Cape Cod.
The steamship Gate City arrived in port
yesterday morning at 11:SO O'Clock after her
stormy. voyage down from Boston. She
mas thirty-eight hours overdue. This time
ms lost while weathering the New Eng
land storm, in which it was thought pos
sbje that she had been lost. and after it
had spent its fury, in beating down the
coast against adverse winds.
No serious damages were sustained by
the Gate City. A good deal of her crock
erv was broken up by the rolling and pitch
ing but no more than might have been
exnected during storm. Two of her
sails were blown to shrewds, but the dam
AGE ceased there. There were some 200
TONS of freight and this was shifted some
what. 1t was feared that it had possibly
sustained some injury, but the port ward
ems examined it during the afternoon aad
pronounced the cargo all right.
Considerable uneasiness was felt for the
Gate City at one time A report was re-
cejyed Tuesday night that a plank had
been found on the coast of Massachusetts
mat had the name of the vessel painted
upon it. This caused grave fears for her
until the news was followed by a dis
IL.
NJ Egan Of the company, which stated
that the steamship Chattahoochee, bound
for Boston, had passed ana spoken the
Gate City 100 miles south of the point
Peaked Hill bar-where she had been re-
ported wrecked. 1t was Monday after,
noon az $40 o'clock that Capt. C. B. Goo
gins of the Gate City saw the Chattahoo-
chez That vessel saw nothing wrong
with the Gate City, and the report of
the captain to that effect upon mis- arrival
at Boston was a great relief TO anxious
minds.
Twenty hours of the time lost on the trip
down was spent by the GAZE City riding
at anchor in Vineyard sound, eighty miles
out of Boston. Capt. Googlns ran for this
anchorage as soon as he could get his
bearings from the lightships at the en-
trance to the sound. He is proud of the
way his vessel stood it, and at no time
had matters reached such a crisis as to
cause him to feel any fear for his ship
He has been on her for twelve years. ana
knows all her strong points and all her
weak ones This long association with his
ship, coupled with his ability as a seaman
and navigator, enabled him to weather the
gale beautifully
The captain does not hesitate to say,
hon ah,N
uneasy if he could not have found his
anchorage in the sound and the storm had
continued outside with the severity with
which it had ragged before he found the
smoother waters within.
II was at 4 o'clock Saturday afternoon
when the Gate City left Boston. Capt
Googins knew that the weather bureaus
information signals were flying, but he
mad no idea that there was such a storm
brewing as he encountered six hours
later when rounding Cape Cod His
vessel ran right into the midst of the
storm, and its full fury was withstood for
twelve hours. All this time the Gate
Citys nose was to the storm. There was
furious northeast wind, and the vessel
had about all she could do to with
stand it. The snow was driving thick
ana the obscurity was toe. great for any
thlng to be seen. Sunday morning the
weather cleared sufficiently though it was
not Tor any length of time to enable the
captain to see the lghtshps that mark
tne passage to Vineyard sound. Here was
mis- opportunity to ride out the gale in
comparatively safe anchorage, and he
steered for the entrance. Anchor was cast
some miles southwest of Monomoy Point
In the sound the waters we're much
smoother than outside, and the wind was
not quite so high. The sound is almost
landlocked, and protection from the wind
was thus afforded. Seven fathoms was
the depth in which the vessel was an
cnored. She remained there from about 10
o'clock Sunday morning until the next
uay' when, the wind having abated and
the weather having partially cleared, the
cate City was again put on her course
lor Savannah. On the way down the
winds were unfavorable and she was
further DELAYED
AS Capt. Googins passed Vineyard Hav-
en- he counted eighteen vessels that had
been blown ashore and eight that had
sunk. Other evidences of the fury of the
storm were to be seen. All Geographic
communications were down between the
coast and the cities. or a report could have
been received much earlier of the safety
OF the Gate City There is an observa-
tlon station at Woodstock, which is at the
western entrance to the sound. from which
the passage of vessels bound to or from
boston is reported to that city. The wires
being down prevented this, so il had to
remain with the Chattahoochee to bear
the first news Of the Gate City having
been seen.
The waves washed the decks of the Gate
City and the spray was sent flying high
into her rig ging. The salt from this spray
was crystal lied upon the smokestack, and
as Mr. Egan remarked when the vessel
came in, the streaks that were eft were
the only external signs of the ship hav-
ing been through a heavy storm. Had
these strealSs been washed away il would
not have been apparent that the Gate City
had had anything more than an ordinary
trip down.
The Cat City was sighted yesterday
morning a 7;3O o'clock off Tybee The
news was at once telephoned 10 the city,
and the officials and many others were
relieved to know that she was safe. There
had been no great fear entertained since
the receip of the report of the captain