The record-union., 1899-12-04
CALIFORNIA PACKETS END.
Two Famous Boats and q Spanish
War Prize Carrying Coal.

While the war and yachting fleets in
New York waters have been attracting
all eyes nautical, two coal barges with
a history, towed by a vessel with a
past, have stolen IN and slipped away
with the fog, almost unnoticed. The
Buena Ventura, the first Spanish mer-
chant ship to be taken in the war, came
down Eight" on Tuesday, on her way
the Sovereign of the Seas and the San
Joaquin, vessels which twenty years
ago were among the best known from
San Francisco to the Horn, but are now
degraded to be coal packets. The three
lay off Sandy Hook all day yesterday,
waiting for the fog to lift.
When the Buena Ventura was
here Immediately after her capture,
many people thought her worth a long
trip to visit. The story of how she was
warned off Havana, slipped back, and
was finally taken, was told as one of
the events Of the war. Afterwards she
was bought by the Luckenbach Towing
Company, put in command of Captain
Stewart, an Englishman. and now runs
from Norfolk and Newport News, car
used on Government trials, being con-
sidered about the best speed; and the
Buena Ventura, deposed from the
dignity Of a merchant vessel under her
own steam. is now jerked from Norfolk
to New York, with 1880 tons of coal
in her insides, towed by fussy tug.
She has had part of her masts taken
off, several compartments knocked out;
but she makes as good a barge as she
ever did a purveyor of wine and silk.
1t is forty eight-hour tow, and the
two barges are carried alongside the
Ventura in the bay, afterwards being
towed 200 fathoms astern.
AS for the San Joaquin, she was new
er taken as a prize in war, but she is
a barge of experiences She was built
as a, steamer twenty-three years ago in
Frankfort, Me-. and called Portland
her home port. Both she and the Sow
ereign of the Seas ran from San Fran
cisco to New York around the Horn,
and generally made the trip in 100
days. Even now that the Magellen
Straits are cut through, it still takes
steamers seventy days to make the trip,
which is proof enough of the stuff Of
which the old boats were made. They
were famous UP and down the Califor-
MIA coast in the seventies California
seamen are still telling how the San
Joaquin once lay hove-to for six weeks
off the Cape, riding out a gale, and
when at last the owners had given her
up as lost, came serenely up the harbor
to Frisco.
In spite of this adventure and round
dozen minor ones, it was not until two
years ago that the San Joaquin estab-
lished her reputation beyond a doubt
and insured remembrances so long as a
scrap of her remains. Her bad wea Their
usually came at the Horn, and her men
came to be possessed of a fine supersti-
ton concerning the rounding Of the
Cape. Either, they said, the San Joa-
quin would go down some day just as
the journey north began, or else she
would show them that riding out a six
weeks gale was not the greatest of
her accomplishments. Two years ago
she left San Francisco in fair weather,
but encountered a gale off the Horn.
which dismasted her Sixty-four days
later she appeared in Hampton Roads
under a jury-rig, having accomplished
the entire distance from the Cape, in
rough weather, in this guise. She was