The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1900-05-27
MET WITH A WATER SPOUT.
Stirring Experience of a Little
Schooner in the Pacific.

Schooner in the Pacific.
From the San Francisco Chronicle.
TT swayed and zlgzagged over the ocean
like the staggering gait of a drunken man.
then swept with roar just under our
stern and carried away the spinnaker bonn
with it,
That was the way Capt. Rice described
the encounter his vessel. the schooner
Metha Nelson had with a waterspout ON
the morning of Oct. IS, about thirty miles
northwest of Point Reyes, while she was
making for this port. The schooner was
bound from Makamell, Hawaiian Islands.
with a cargo OF sugar She had fair weather
during all the voyage until the capes which
mark the entrance to the harbor were al
most in sight, when the wind began to
freshen and come in 1tful gusts.
The schooner was holding well up to The
northeast to get a good slant of wind for
the port, after taking bearings from the
Farallone light. The wind, which had
been pretty brisk at the break of day, kept
increasing and few hours after the sun
broke through the banks of fog clouds IN
the eastward II was almost blowing hnr-
ricane from the northwest.
When nearly abreast of Point Reyes the
vessels course was changed and she was
bowling in toward the harbor, with the
wind almost astern
Suddenly and almost directly ahead OF
the vessel there arose a great, tall column
of water.
For a moment 1t stood almost directly in
the track of the schooner ana only Few
yards in advance of Its jibboom just as the
vessel seemed about 10 pierce it, II moved
slowly from the schooner, then swung off
to starboard Capt. Rice ordered the helm
hard over, to pass TO port of the column,
and at the same time jumped down from
the poop deck to give the men hand in
hauling up the sheets.
The work was hardly half done and the
ibis and mainsails were Tapping in the
wind when the great column of water
changed its course and came swirng back
toward the schooner, as If to strike 1t all
most amidship.
This time It came racing over the ocean
with a roar and with the speed OF an ex-
press train. The sailors dropped the ropes
on which they were hauling and sought
the protection OF the heavy beams of the
forecastle head from the spars
of the rigging. that they ex-
pected the next moment would
be torn from the vessel and come tumbling
down, a mass of wreckage, on the deck.
Almost before the men could reach the
shelter the vessel was caught in the vor-
tex of air which accompanied the mighty
twisting column of water, and she spun
around like top iurching her port sides
under the water as she went. The ves-
sells stern swung into the twirling base or
the waterspout and it was lifted high In
TIE air. while the bow sunk down. into
the waves and the water rushed In on the
sailors over the bulwarks forward
Ia was only for an instant but in that in
slant there was a cracking of timbers,
and the little, heavily laden vessel groan-
ed ais though the life were being choked
out OF her. There was loud report OF
smashing timbers in the midst of it all.
Then the vessels bow rose, and With
quick roll to starboard' that put her al
most on her beam end the vessel sprung
around, the waterspout travelling almost
parallel to her inclined decks. The point
of the jibboom all but poked into the
twisting column as the schooner twirled
around.
Slowly the schooner righted, and when
she came to an even keel the waterspout
was we'll off TO starboard of the vessel and
travelling rapidly away. All danger to the
vessel was past and the greatest surprise
to the crew was the little damage that
had been done.