The San Francisco call., 1899-09-24

come OF q long tropical voyage ana hao
aU unpleasant habit of sticking TO one
clothes with all the coHiding irieiio-il-SS
OF porous plaster As 10 tEe res, 9L my
equipment the hospitauIe pilots TOOK care
Ct that. / found myself on board q N.'@-
sci lrted with all the comlcflS ga yd1Q-,
everything needed t8r am extended cruise
was ut hand we could have remained OUT
for weeks without the necessity Oh Colt-
Jagaurse steward hustled about getting
on board the ueedtuI supplies for the V0y-
age The sailors We're occupied on deck
putting the finishing touches 10 the Ils-
giug AS is always the case there were
lots Of small things to De done, o boat
load Of wood had to be brought on from
Mliggs wharf the anchor had % be move
short the sails looseneG from thelF
straps. and IL was quite time before
us were ready. At last Captain Jordan
and another pilot made their appear
the hawse with a rush and rattle as
fast as four stout men and a. patent
winch could bring It, up went the Jlb and
teresau and the America swung gently
0Gt into the tideway. Then 1t was all
hands to the mainsau halyards haul aft
the main sheet, and our four days cruise
was fairly started.
First let me say a word about our gal
liant craft the America. and in doing so
7 may premise that she is only typical
VI the whole service mere are lour
boats iu aIi the other three being the
Bonita Oracle : and Lady Mine. They
ere ali nearly equal in size, of admittedly
Looked AT from the wharf as she lies at
anchor. the America shows sIngulaTly
graceful lines. She has the ideal yacht
like, lgh-shecred bow, Tor which AmcU-
can ehubuiidcrs are famous AS she is
ugged Tor cruising her spar5 are not of
exceptional length, but they taper up
ward with a jaUnJy rake which promises
speed. For her size she spreads Consid-
cradle area of canvas her main boom
alone is ffty-eiEht feet in length, and the
other spars in proportion. The America
rr.s s.f4 l.rr~ wa no RI
long, "a feet beam and 10 feet deep.
Sine was built at Benlcla some ten years
ago, but shows no signs Of service, iOok-
Ing to-day, after recent overhaul, al
most as If she had just come off the
stocks. Indeed boat Of this class, never
having been strained by carrying heavy
tribulauOn which falls 10 the lot Of the
ordinary merchantmen, and II properly
kept UP VIII last for many years. The
thOroughness Of her construction may De
Judged from the fact that she cost SlS.59O,
an enormous sum for such small craft
For ballast she carries siNty-hVe tons
OF lead built into her bottom, quantity
sufficient to stiffen her and give her
WeGtheTly qualities.
There are few vessels she meets which
can 0Utreach her in q race TO WiudWard,
while as TO speed. her captain confidently
declares that her record is thirteen knots
Few yachts can beat this.
Below the America is fitted up with all.
the comforts Of passenger steamer. ne
main saloon, some twenty teet long. mas
wide sleeping berths for half q dozen
pilots while as many more can, at
pinch. be accommodated on the settees
ia the forward cabin where the crew IS
berthed there is room for more pasSen-
gers There the cook and steward, rolled
into one presdes over busincssilke
cooking stove and turns out meals which
would DO credit to any city restaurant
Our patrol, which was 10 last at least
four days. began as soon as we had
beaten out against a stim westerly breeze
through the Golden Gate. We took up our
station Just half way between the light
shin and the entrance to the bay and there
We dawdled up and down all through tue
long afternoon waiting for a ship which
might perchance have escaped the Vlgl-
lance Of the Bonita on the outer station
But ships did not come, or at least they
did not get past the watchful Bonita out
side and the night found Us hove TO close
inside the ightshIp. enVeloped In a thick
fog During the afternoon we completed
our complement by taking on board Cap
tain Tyson, the youngest pilot OF the de-
partment Already we had on board Cap
tain Murphy the Oldest who has seen
more thnn thirty years duty guiding shlps
IN end out Of the bay. There were thirty
years OF life service between these two
years Of faithful. devoted work, which
has been Of incalculable benefit to the
Under tho rules OF the pilot service
there arc always three pilots on each
boat and she must dispose OF her pilots
or else remain out four days before re-
turning 70 port. The system engenderx
O healthy rivalry between the pilots. Nat
uraliy the outside boat has the first
chance, but often she may miss ship,