The evening times., 1900-03-07
swept BY MANY GALES
A Review of North Atlantic Wealth
er Conditions.
Report of the United States Hydro
graphic OHce-Fourteen DereIicts
Which Mariners Dread-The Re-
suits of storms Along the Coast.

A review of the weather conditions which
have prevailed upon the North Atlantic
from January 10 to March 1 has just been
issued by the United States photographic
Office This report is printed upon a chart
illustrating the direction and the velocity
of the various high winds which havo
swept the North Atlantic in the last
month and a half. Dereliots. icebergs, and
floating masses of wreckage reported to the
photographic officers in that time are also
charted. The report shows that nearly
dozen gales have swept the track OF trans
Atlantic vessels in February, and that four
teen or more derelicts have been added to
that already long list of sodden, washing
wrecks, which mariners dread. Not an
iceberg was sighted in February, although
a little field OF ice was reported near the
50th meridian. latitude as north. There
was also very little fog last month.
The high winds which prevailed in the
last six weeks, however, more than made
up for the absence of ice and fog and the
list of marine casualties is formidable. The
month of March is not likely to be any i'm
provement in the matter of weather if the
following forecast of the photographic Of
fee may be taken as an authority:
Forecast for March-Frequent gales
north of the 23th parallel, along the trans
Atlantic routes, occasionally from the
eastern quadrants. Gales to the north of
the routes less frequent than during jan
uary and February; more frequent south
of latitude 40 north. Occasional fog north
of the trans Atlantic routes. Ice on and
near the Grand Banks"
Many of the highest gales in February
and the latter part Of January occurred
along the North Atlantic coast. A few Of
these storms however. turned to the east
ward in the vicinity of Newfoundland and
went out TO sea There were also num-
ber of gales in the vicinity of the Azores
at various intervals throughout February
The location and the direction OF these
storms are illustrated upon the chart by
red lines. The chaTtmakers are guided en-
tirely by the reports which they receive
from captains of vessels and from stations
along shore. The result of the storms
which have lashed the Atlantic Of late are
shown in the number of new derelicts
which appear upon the chart. Among them
are the ]. c. Hamblen, Jr, reported on
February 3, 4. and p. schooner Allen \.
Mcintyre. reported January 80 and the
schooner r. W. Morse. reported February
Z. Besides these seven or eight deTeliCts,
the names of which are unknown, have
been reported since January % in the vi
cinity of the United States coast line. Sew
eral old-timeTs which il was hoped had
disappeared have again turned up and
they will doubtless continue to show up un-
til the Government sends out a cruiser 10
search for and sink them.
The derelict schooner Yale was again re-
ported on February ,. Her drift has been
the most remarkable of any recorded by
Ir1- nh in he
She was first sighted on October 80 in the
vicinity of Hatjeras. Next she was sighted
on November l. about fifty miles TO the
southwark. Then she started out 10 sea,
crossing the track of coasting liners until
she was several hundred miles off shore.
After this journey the wreck took another
turn to the southwark. and when last re-
ported. on February ), she was several
hundred miles off shore in a direct line
with Jupiter. Fla.
Another wanderer which is exciting the
interest of mariners is the schooner Al
furetta 6. Snare. which was abandoned on
Georges Shoal. off the New England coast,
on December Q. She has pursued an er-
ratio course, pointing at various intervals
toward all quarters of the compass. She
was finally sighted on February 9, going
out TO sea. The Snare has been seen over
a dozen times in the past three months.
The bark Oxford was reported water
logged in mid-ocean on January Q. She
has not since been seen. Mariners will not
feel safe until these derelcts are blown
up or disposed of in some way.
Hundreds Of vessels have been lost or
damaged in the storms OF January and
February. Marine underwriters say that
last month was the worst month of the
winter. The winter OF 1899 1900 has, how
ever. been such a general Improvement on
the previous winter as regards big losses
that the underwriters say that they have
no fault to find.