The Hawaiian star. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu]) 1893-1912, 1901-02-22
ARRIVED IN DISTRESS
TOP GALLANT SAID TO BE
UNsEAwORTHY.
Her Master Forced to Seek Refuge in
Honolulu After Terrifying Expert
ence With Typhoons and Hurricanes.

The American bark Top Gallant from
Manila was towed into port this morn
ing by the Fearless ana when Captain
Hans Lunvaldt found himself saLe IN
naval row he breathed the first sign
of relief ne has known IN many montnS.
After weeks of battling with north
Pacific storms the skipper decided that
the bark was unseaworthy ana put
into the first port. He says that the
vessel is unsafe to proceed any fur
ther and he will ask that a commission
be appointed to pass upon her. Ac-
cording to the statement of Captain
Lunvaldt the Top-Gallant has had a
- terrible experience and her days OF
usefulness are passed.
The vessel which is a 1865 ton boat
went from Port Townsend last fall to
Hongkong with lumber. The Chinese
port was reached all right and the car
go discharged and on September "a, the
boat set sail in ballast for Port Town
send. When Is days out of Hongkong
she lost her rudder and had to put
back to port. She went on the. dry dock
at Hongkeng and was given a new
rudder and started again.
After several days out the boat got
caught in terrible typhoon in the Chi
ma sea. For eleven hours the wind
and waves tossed the vessel about at
will. The two lower top sails, the stay
sail and the spanker were blown away.
Worse still the vessel was unusually
under SO inches of water on her decks
all the time. She began to creak and
strain. The knees were torn up and
so great was the force of the wind 6that
the bolts holding the fore stay sail
were torn out of their sockets and the
heavy beam which held them below
decks broken.
Fortunately there was a good crew
ahngrI n
through the typhoon but the men posi-
lively refused to take orders and the
skipper was forced TO seek refuge at
Manila on November "a
Here the men demanded a court of
inquiry. The seams closed up some
what and canvas was patched across
the worse looking holes so that the
court decided the bark was seaworthy
enough to proceed. The sailors paid
the costs of the inquiry but they were
wise enough not to re-ship in her SO
Captain Lunvaldt was forced to ship
a crew as best he could. He got II men
eight of whom were Filipinos. Out of
this number only two beside himself
knew the first thing about a ship. They
were absolutely ignorant of how to
steer the vessel or even reef a sail SO
that the entire responsibility fell upon
Lunvaldt and his first and second
mates. They left Manila December 13
The old boat managed to creep along
slowly but off the Japanese coast in
latitude 40 degrees the vessel encoun-
tered a strong gale. In longitude 1SC
degrees tn only death of the trip oc-
CURED the cook Maurice Minte, an
American succumbing to consumption
He was buried at sea on February 7
In longitude IT'S degrees west another
hurricane came up and blew for two
days. With his green crew Captain
LunVeldt was sorely tried to stand the
storm. The main sail, main lower tor
sail We're carried away and the main
upper top yard snapped.
Captain Lunveldt realized by this
time that his only chance of safety lay
in steering for the nearest port so ht
came to Honolulu. His wife was
aboard the vessel during all the voyage
The vessel is owned in San Francisco