New-York tribune., 1901-07-28
IN CASE OF ACCIDENT.
THE EQUIPMENT OF PLEASURE CRAFT
AGAINST DISASTER.

fleet of thirty steam and sailing yachts
watched the big Wreckipg tu@ Champion pun
the Philadelphia yacht Vanitzia from the sixty
foot depth Of Long Island Sound last week Thd
owners OF this fleet were On board their boats,
and they toos. a personal interest i'll solving
the problem involved in the laundering Of
stauch yacht il a mild squaU on an inland
sea. Their interest WAS personal because they
are often out m mild squalls and some that
are not so 1uild.
IF a stanch vessel like this can plunge TO the
bottom without a moments warning, with her
sails uuto'n, with her ropes uutroken and her
hun intact. what is to prevent my boat from
doing The same tliug:" was thu question which
the owners of the sailing y~cht5 asked them-
selves.
The steam yacht owners thought of the mar
row escapa of General Fra-cfs Ninton Greenes
Wild Duck. which ran down passenger packet
further up the Sound Il few days before thg
Vcnitzia disaster. The same thing might hap
pen to their floating palaces. and they might not
lie as fortunate as the Wild Duck.
Then the owners Of both kinds Of pleasure
craft ue-an to think about life saving appliances
and to wonder whether or not their sailing mas
ters ard captains were competent. As a result oi
these accidents thr life saving apparatus Of
number Of boats VIII bc Increased. Those own
ers who have already equipped their yachts to
the fullest extent are hoping tadt additional
devices VIII bc invented.
There are no, many things On the market
which a rich owner can place on his yacht for
the purpose of saving lives in the case Of acct
dent The most valuable apparatus, in the
cpiuiun of many yachtsHcn, is strongly bullt
UCerlft The model most used has three ar
tirht tubes. which are buoyart enough 10 bear
ton cf human fr,ieht. Some Of them have
provision boxes and woter casks fastened 70 the
top. Tn others there is place i"r a mast
These uter4fts usually break away from
wreck no matter how quickly the vessel
founders. They ALWAYS float right side VI.
Yachts are usually provided with one or more
H(ehcnts. which not TO be greatly depended
on in ease Of accident. Tt-y have a way OF
turning upside down IN striking tn water, or
ALLOW, themselves to be washed away before the
,..ht i.ts so seriously injured as to force aban-
d.urueut The Lf-boa;s in use 10y the govern
rn,rt III. saving crews are too heavy To he car
ried on most yachts ana the difficulty in launch-
INK them is great.
All Il tLr larger yachts carry power tenders
o1 ltuncacs Of some kind. They arr propelled
by electricity. vapor Gosolcne or steam ana are
v,ry convenient when vessel is at anchor in a
harbo~. bu, II little use in cas- ot = wreck IN
4 storm or collision In q fog
Man, yachtsmen who are not good swimmers
e. k
a f.,y seconds. and which can be- worn as an
ordinary bolt When inflated this bit will sup
mort three. men with their clothes On. In some
II .surc craft the cushions. mattresses and other
fittings are made of luoyant material, and some
times are handy as life preserVers.
None Of the many yachts sailing out of this
harior are known to carry oil, although its use
in uui,ting stormy waters has been demonstrat
ed tir.,. and again. The amount Of oil needed
is very small and shipping men wonder that
more Of the vessels which sail for pleasure do
not keep few barrels.
Most OF the yachts about New-York make no
extra provision for saving life in case of acci-
dent" said the manager of yacht agency, in
speaking of the recent accidents. They all
carry boat two, and plenty of life Preservers
and buoys. In fact, there are not many other
things " hich they could buy Their r.ch owners
do not look forward to accidents. They so
for IA pleasant time. and keep under cover
much as possible in bad weather. Only few OF
the larger yachts provided with watertight
compartments and air chambers. which are OF
value in case of collision. These chambers take
up great deal of room, and are hard to keep in
order, the yacht owners fight shy Of them.
yachts not liable TO accident mer-
chant vessels, although the prominence always
given to yachting accidents has caused many
persons to think otherwise. Many q merchant
vessel sails into port with her flag at half-mast
ana the world does not even wonder why. The