Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1899-10-21
New York Harbor Said to Be Tricky
Planted With Them.
RECOVERY EXPENSIVE and UNCERTAIN
Patent instruments for Holding YES
sels Not Favored by Sea Captains.
WORK OF "GRAPPLERS."


From the New York Tribune
SeGfaring men assert that New York har-
Dor is thicky planted with streyei. lost or
stolen anchors. More than a score part
from their cables each year under great
strain. ard of this number less than one
third are restored to their riEhlful owners
such 10 the estimate OF a retired sea cap
tain. but az official OF wrccking company
was inclined to place the average al ola A
Week. Frequent calls are made for divers
and the hoisting apparatus used I'm r.turg-
ing runaway anchors 10 their capstaus.
The last notable success in anchor nshtus
was the recovery Of the siN-ton anchor at
tached 10 the Omitted States cruiser Erook-
lyn. The loss was caused by a law in one
of the links OF the cable ana occurred Al
the government anchorage OF r,makius-
Vile while the cruiser was getting urGtr
way. Great uncertainty prevailed az to me
probable location Of the anchor. and the
Wreckng steamer spent several laws al the
anchorage. the crew dredging constantly
TN the capture was finally made Six tons
Is not an unusual weight for .hc anchor q
vessel OF large tonnage. The weight
varies from few hundred pounds Ter
schooner to eight tons for an ocean liner
Ana their cost can be roughly determined
ny doubling the current price OF iron for
the number OF pounds in question The as-
oluohal half represents The working and
marketing OF so much iron. This uynnor-
lIoh increases with the decrease IN weight
of the anchor
A wreckng company will not respond 70
the cry of lost anchor unless M sbf,,
master be prepared 10 point to the .x9,t
locality where his anchor lies embodied
II would he futile undertaking 10 drag
section OF New York harbor a rod square
Other anchors might be brought 10 light by,
the graphing irons, buj not the anchor d.
SIieu; but anchors are appropriated when
louhd, tEough rust may have seriously i'm
paired their value. one establishment T.,
Broad street ard another in RrnoEIyn Gaal
extensively in secondhand anchors. When
lew III" name of the vessel II baIaY.~s IN
may be painted or branded on he anchors
STOCK nut rust obliteratts this sign Of
lQeAtlhcation quickly. and when brournf 20
the waters surface the stray anchor razses
INTO the possession Of The discoyarcr.
How the Anchor is Lost.
Almost invariably an anchor is lost in
consequence of "A flaw in one link Of irs ca
bic, and as a chain is no stronger than ft.s
weakest link. a sudden tension has a dis
astrous consequence. A chain strong
enough to hold against every strain placed
upon it would be too unWieldy to handle on
beard ship. The necessary cornpratuEs. ar
counts for the presence of many of IN,
anchors IN the harbor.- The uipprr AZ
lached TO the anchor run may Gauss The
lhlSchlef The proper position Of this at
tachnent when the anchor cable is running
OUT Is upward to the last notch I;tlf tn.
mate often becomes forgetfm of lis u,.i-
u"n during the excitement Of making port
and the uipper down and under pr,ss5Ir..
may snap the chain, while the vessel is Vet
moving, as though it were u bit pf w iu,.
But the fact OF lost anchor one.
stated with nautical vocal aduruments, an
Is attention. If the vessel possess Il Sep
ono aLchor, as is usually the case. tEa
mate bellows the order 10 loose her keep
ing the while a keen eye on tho dfssp,..ar-
ing point of the lost anchor and the speed
at which the vessel is moving Tho mo-
ment the vessel comes to anchorage. lh,.
boats are cast of and the brawniest mon
OF the crew are ordered to manipuIara
a MISREPRESENTATION chain with rope ex-
tensions at each end. The rope ends are
heIu IN each OF the boats. which are rpwad
over the probable location of the anchor AT
distance Of twenty feet apart They drag
between them the chain. which is certain
TO eaten IN either the stock or the fiukes
1t would be impossible for an anchor 10
ran IN such position that no projection
was offered to this graphing chain When
the crew feel the resistance of the can
tured anchor one Of the boats makes m on
circllng detour. thus making the chain fast.
The anchor is then towed back 10 the YES
sci and is raised to the deck with the wind
lass.
Anchor Hunting is Costly
But the recovery is not so simple a mat
ter In some instances. The wreckirg COM
E.El
a day. The diver attached to the outfit
first prospects on the harbor bottom To de-
termine the location. and then huge grap-
pling claws rip wide swaths In tba or-,r
bed. This is a certain but an expensive
method OF recovering lost anchors Many
captains. when confronted by this sitrIa-
uon' make no attempt at recovery prefer
ring TO order a new anchor Hence the ls,,l-
eral conclusion that not more than one
third of the fifty anchors torn from their
vessels each year In New York larh1r 3-a
restored to their owners. Fhey settle into
their green beds, and in the course 81 years
become incrusted with parasites and wh,lly
buried beneath marine deposits. The Mas
sachusetts coast line is thought to be, in
rested with sunken anchors by reason of
the rough seas so common In winter The
quarantine anchorage also holds A n.sf ~
them. so tangled that their combined
weight has so far defeated the grapp,crs
class Of men in New York harbbr
known as grappierS make a comfortable
living from their operations. With prirni-
1--WE apparatus they raise anchors by day
and night. and sell their game to dealers i'm
secondhand anchors. In this Way tho
pioneer house in Broad street during an
existence of seventy years, has replenisb-d
It's stock. Anchors are also bought al a No.
uon from the wrecking companies. who
thus dispose of all ship iron This h,,Fsa
sold seVenty-hVe anchors during the live
severe months of last winter to vessels
which had lost their anchors from lea,-v
seas Wlthln that time. These anchors
ranged in weight from five to six thousand
pounds. and sold at cents a pound. while
uhwrought IRON was quoted at $40 per ton
Patent Affairs
Several American and English patents
contest the market with the old-fashioned
wrought iron anchor. but the odds are
against them. The great oceanic vessels
cling to the anchor of one piece though
conceding the advantages OF a stockless
anchor with half revolving fuke which
may be on occasion drawn well up into the
steamers hold. Vessels built at the
Cramps and other yards are there eouip-
ped with the anchor desired by the owner
but the choice usually falls on the pattern
used by the forefathers. Conservative are
the men who go abroad on the deep seas
The English cling even more strenuously
to custom than do the American shipmas-
tiers. When an English captain finds Il
necessary to buy an anchor he makes GER
tain that it carries with It a certificate from
Lloyd's in Philadelphia to the effect that
certain tests sanctified by age have been
applied to the anchor offered to him. The
American captain buys his anchor and
trusts to chance, and usually fares as we'll
according to the dealer. who finds the En-