Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1899-05-04
BLOWS on IREL.ND.s COAST.
Former Coast Guard Relates n Story
of Furious storm.

From the Chicago mtcr-Ocean.
People talk of big winds here" said the
captain of a brigantine. who was once in
charge of a coast guard station in ireland,
but if they want to know what real
storm is like they should experience some
of the big blows Oh the east coast of Ire
land, along the Irish sea, north of ST.
Georges Channel. l have never Yet eX-
perieuced anything like them in this coun-
try, though l am told of western cyclones
that tear up big trees by the roots and
carry houses and occupants through the
air.
But for good blow give me the east
coast Of Ireland when there is a storm. /
have sometimes found it impossible 10 keep
my feet along the shore, and the II .nc'.iHg
of a lifebOat at a coast guard station there
during u storm is a big job. TIE worst
storm | ever remember occur ed when |
was chief officer, or chief boatman it
was called. in a coast guard station at u
watering place called Newcastle which lies
along the base of the Mourne mountains in
County Down, just opposite the Isle of Man
The village faces the sea in tie center Of a
small bay, and is near tn" sea wall that
when there is big storm the spray leaps
over the wall and comes down the MIN
neys of the houses nearest the sea, putting
out the fires
AT the north of the village is n Ions
stretch of sandy beach called Cut Throat,
vessel is driven ashore al Cut Throat there
is no hope for her. She always sticks until
she il beaten to pieces by the waves. The
storm l refer to came up from the south
east in the afternoon. Some hours before
a big storm the Isle of Man, which is in
visible in good weather, is Seen distinctly:
even the waves can be distinguished break
ing ON its shores. The day before the storm
the weather was unusually fine. and there
was nothing to be seen hut sea and SKY
from the shore of the bay. Toward evening
the Isle of Man appeared almost as sud
denly as If it had risen from the water.
never saw it so distinctly from the shore
before, and it meant a big storm within
twelve hours
When the storm arrived the next day
the rain came down in sheets. but Was
blown ir horizontal direction in spray.
SO that if you were out it was Impossible to
see before you. 1t was dangerous To be out,
as states blown from the roofs OF houses
We're flying in all directions, and every now
ana then a chimney would be blown down.
l watched people from my xirdoN. trying
to go from one place to another. hut strong
men were blown about like feathers, and l
saw men who had to b" out catching hanns
to steady one another. The storm Increased
until / was going to bed, when knock
came to the door ard a coast guard clad in
tarpaulins' staggered in and said that
vessel was ashore IN Cut Throat.
Il had just been reading letter from
my brother. who was coming from Wales
on a schooner and hoping he was nos at
sea in the tempest and the news that a
vessel was ashore scared ne. | put on my
tarpaulirs in a hurry and went out, but
the wind met me in the teeth when / went
out and blew me down The coast guard
pulled me up, and hand in hand We went to
Cut Threat. which was about three-quar-
tiers of mile away. and had Il lifeboat sta
ton. The noise of the storm was terrible
1t made roaring and shrleking in my ears
like the sound of thousand fendS fighting
The rain struck up the street horizontally,
and though the night was not very dark
We could see only sh ri way ahead. owing
our backs and blew US along, so that we
seemed to fly "a Their than walk. Now and
then one or the other of us was blown
down. We collided helplessly with lamp
posts and everything else in our way and
occasionally were thrown against men who
were trying to get home in the teeth of the
wind, knocking them down.
AT Cut Throat we had to reach the beach