The San Francisco call., 1899-07-12

q steamship bound "up the channel.
Off ITshant a course was set for Start
Point, a distance of, roughly, 10 miles,
At sunset the position was determined py
both stellar observation and soundlnS
(that Godsend to the mariner the oIr
William Thomsons sounder being at my
disposaD. The chief officer of the ship
quite as we'll, indeed better. locally ac-
ouainted than myself-rejoiced at the an
ticipation of a good run to Dartmouth
(for coaD. In the early morning hours
II clouded over but fog was not IN eNl-
dence and so 1 did not potner the
bridge" When the Start light had 1alleo
to make its appearance when due "ol-
ried a little and when the watch was re-
ieved at 4 a. m. binoculars were pegln-
ming to get polished every thirty SECONDS
l decided to take a sounding ana as was
my habit-not a bad one, my marine
friends-I hied me to the chart room 10
find out exactly what water we shoulo
be in. Scarcely had my rulers got on
the chart when l heard-almost concur
rently-"Hard-a-sta and "Land
ahead" 1t took about second TO get
on the bridge, and when the ship had
completed her semicircle the engines
were, of course stopped. A sounding was
being taken by the chief officer and am
open to confess until he brought the
bottom" to me 1 knew not whether
was near Alderney or on the Enghsh
coast. ct may be explained that req
sand is always found to some extent on
the southern side of this vicious channel
and never on the northern.) Where was
L? Absolutely inside Start Point and al
most on top of Bolts Tail!
Ny experience in crossing the channel
1t has been greater than that of any ten
admiraIs or seven inspectors of steam
vessels is-that once inside ''the race" off
Falmouth when it has been blowing (and
1t is not necessary that the gale has been
on the day Immediately preceding) is that
it is ''good-by'' unless you use the lead.
If Captain Watkins did not use the lead
he certainly is to be blamed, but why
Judgment should be passed on him by
men who aver that the tide must have
struck the Paris on her port bow Cher
port stern and trif1e of the cur
rent having gone below for rest pre-
sumably)-when they show their ignor-
ance of localities by not knowing that
the Lizard lights in line lead absolutely
clear of the ManacIes Ghey are about 23o
feet above high water and cannot be seen
many a time and oft from where the
Paris lies), l think it right to ask why
are not competent naval officers appoint
ed to posts which they could and would
creditably fill?
It is fair to state that it was high water
at BreSt, the standard port Tor that part
of the channel. at O:32 and 6:46 a. m. on the
morning the Paris struck. Whether she
struck at lis or 7:15 (accounts differ)
matters not, but in any case it appears
to have been at nearly high water. Il
may be that not quite a sufficient allow
ance was made for the inset. but the al
most certainties are that one of the rushes
of water into that corner of the channel
(where 1 have nearly lost my life a score
of times) is responsible for Captain Wat
kins' accident, and not carelessness or
bad judgment.
To conclude: These inspectors of steam
vessels assert that his report is ''meager
in detail" 1 wonder how he made a con-
nected one at all. This man, whom have
met but once and yet highly respect, is
an excellent seaman. He is to-day at an
utter loss to explain how he got his ship
where she unfortunately is; but 1 am
willing to gamble my reputation a
marine critic-and that 1 value slightly
that the milk in the cocoanut is in this
article.