The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1900-08-27
Mixed Up with a Waterspout.

[From the San Francisco Chronicle.1
1t swayed and zigzagged over the
ocean like the staggering gait of a
drunken man, then swept with a roar
just under our stern and carried away
the spinnaker boom with it,
That was the way Captain Rice de-
scribed the encounter his vessel, the
Metha Nelson, had with a water
spout on the morning of October Is,
about 80 miles northwest of Point
Reyes, while she was making for this
port. The schooner was bound from
Makawel. Hawaiian islands. with q
cargo of sugar. She had fair weather
during all the voyage until the capeS
which mark the entrance to the harbor
were almost in sight. when the wind be-
gan to fEeShen and come in htful gusts.
The schooner was holding we'll 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 a
few hours after the sun broke through
the banks of fog clouds in the east
ward it was almost blowing a hurri-
cane 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 COL
umn of water.
For a moment it stood almost directly
III the track OF the schooner and only
a few yards in advance of its jibboom.
Just as the vessel seemed about to
pierce it, it moved slowly from the
schooner, then swung off to Starboard.
Captain 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 a hand in
hauling up the sheets.
The work was hardly half done and
the jibs and main sails were Tapping in
n
water changed its course and came
swirling back toward the schooner as
if to strike it almost amidships.
This time it came racing over the
ocean with a roar and with the speed
of an express train. The sailors
dropped the ropes on which they were
hauling and sought the protection of
the heavy beams of the forecastle, that
they expected the next moment would
be torn from the vessel and come tum-
bling down. mass of wreckage, on the
deck.
Almost before the men could reach
the shelter the vessel was caught in
the vortex of air which accompanied
the mighty twisting column of water,
and she spun around like a top. lurch-
ing her port side under the water as
she went. The vessels stern swung
into the twfrling base of the waterspout
and it was lifted high in the air while
the bow sunk down into the waves
and the water rushed in on the sailors
over the bulwarks forward.
1t was only for an instant. but in
that instant there was a cracking of
timbers, and the little heavily laden
vessel groaned as though the life were
being cholzed out of her. There was
a loud report of smashing timbers in
the midst of it all. Then the vessels
bow rose, and with a quick roll to star
board that put her almost 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 water
spout was well 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.