New-York tribune., 1901-09-13
SHAMROCK'S CLOSE SHAVE.
SHE COMES ABOUT WITHOUT WARNING
AND NARROWLY ESCAPES A COL
LISION-SQUALL GIVES HER
ANOTHER SCARE

Shamrock yesterday had the effect of proving
the excellence of her spars and rigging The
boat subjected to severe usage. and had
encounter hard squan that laid her down al
most TO her matches. This wind travelling
at fifty-four miles an hour The vessel was al
lowed to take the whole force of the squan when
she had way on II she had been yacht
of the old centreboard type. or if she had been
capable of capsizng. she would undoubtedly
have turned turtle.
The Shamrock had another close call. Just after
she had gone into her first port tack when out
in the ocean. the captain of the press tug Unity
was cutting corner TO come UP in her AXE
and get her exact line of sailing as she beat
out by the wind The Shamrock kept by the wind
for three and one-haIf minutes and every one
was expecting that she would take a nfteen-
mile beat seaward. but she suddenly paid off
directly across the Unity's course. The only
thing that saved the Shamrock from being stove
in by the tug the promptness of Captain
Walter Slater, of the Unity He Immediately
gave the four bell signal to go astern and then
the single bell. The Unity thus reversed
from full speed ahead 20 full speed asterr. and
the effect was to stop the Unity sufficiently to
let the Shamrock pass in a seaway about thirty
or forty yards ahead.
Captain Slater explained that unless there Is
a high steam power on. a tugs engines
sometimes unable to reverse the propeller when
the vessel is going at full speed ahead. and he
supposed that Captain Sycamore must be un-
acquainted with the workings of tugs or he
would not such a risk
The party on the Erin divided for the days
outing. Those who remained on the steam
yacht We're Hugh Kelly. secretary of the Royal
Ulster Yacht Club: Mr.. McGfdowney, Of the
same club who will probably be Sir Thomas's
representative on the Columbia in the coming
races; Colonel Sharman- Crawford. Of the
officials of the challenging club; Mr. and Mrs
Stewart Robinson Captain Walker, Of the
United States revenue ship Gresham; Collector
of Customs BidweH. Captain Hall. of the Chase.
and Sir Thomas Upton. On the Shamrock
were Mr.. and Mrs. Jameson. George L. Watson.
Commodore HilIiard. of the Royal Clyde Yacht
Club: Robert Ure and Thomas Ratsey. They
went aboard at 10 O'Clock.
The wind was sGutheasterly when the jib and
jbtopsan were broken out. and the yacht paid
away from the moOrngs. setting her foresail
as she went
At 12:03 o'clock she cleared the Ciedney Cham
nel having travelled from the bell buoy at the
point of the Hook and One-twelfth miles.
at the rate of twelve knots hour Sycamore
put the yacht into the port tack at 12:11:30.
| and it then hoped that there would be
an easy registration of her windward pointing
In two tacks. the tug Unity steaming hard
TO come into her wake further on When the
two vessels were coming closer. the Shamrock
heading about southwest by south. Captain
Sycamore suddenly put his helm up and, with
out any warming bore down in direction that
would take the boat directly across the Unity's
bows The method by which the tugs captain
avoided a collision has already been told, but
| there another vessel close by, the steam
yacht Giralda. which heading. like the
| Unity. TO come in under the Sharnrock's lee
and follow in her wake.
| SycamOres sudden move seemed TO paralyze
| the Giralda. The big cutter suddenly wheeled'
/ down her. going close TO fourteen knots an
| hour she put the wind more aft in turning,
/ Instead of Sted ming ahead. as Sycamore doubt
| less hoped she would. the Giralda backed her
engines and Sycamore paid off more and more
as she backed. The result was that Sycamore
came within ace of gybing his mainbOOm on
his topmast and outer baCkstayS, which would
have certainly wrecked the boat The mainsaiI
swung in, the wind spillinS out of it. while it
hOvered for the gybe. and there was no man at
just able to skim past the stern of the Ciralda
without the mainsail coming over.
The Shamrock Their back into calm water
under the Hook and changed her jb and fOresaiI
for smaller ones The boat started out again from
her moOringS at 1:16 O'cOlCk- The sky had for a.
long time been looking threatening and there
was solid blue dirt in the northwest. with thsf
dust flying off the edges. The Shamrock turned
at ::} o'clock and came hack al a tremendous
pace the wind being about abeam and blowing
at eighteen miles an hour She was throwing
white stuff off both bows like a steam snow
plough and her long forward Overhang
lifting high sometimes the great rush of her
sank the fine drawn afterhalf of her hull But
there draS aft-nO QuarteTinS wave
simply grand sailing and q clean bill of health
In the wake.
| There was plenty OF time 10 get in the gaf-
topsai before the vessel came in under the
Hook, but Sycamore sent no up to cast the
IaCing off his iibheader. and. after that. il
probably risky for any human being TO take
the trip aloft.
He got the first change of wind at 90. as the
Shamrock reached the point of the Hook, and
the sheets then fattened aft to beat in
through the channel 10 the mornings Four
minutes later the fOTesail was sent down. The
steam tug Lawrence was standing by, ready 10
give assistance At 1:45 a small trading schooner
could be seen nearly mile off TO the westward
with her mainsail lowered and they were low
ering her headsails and squatting her foresail-
At 40 Just minute after the trading
schooner got struck. the Squa1 reached the
Shamrock from the west. She payed on a little
and then came up with her sails shaking Sne
allowed 10 lose her way wholly here, and
the first sQuall from the west was not very
hard. She then tried TO pay off 10 the star
board tack. but there was no way on She now
got sternway The helm was reversed so as
TO steer her into the starbOard tack. as she
went backward. Navigator Hamilton was help
ing Sycamore the stick while the tiller was
reversed This put the ship about broadside
the northwest, out of which quarter the next
and hardest squan came
IT knocked her fiat; but it did not lift her
ahead-at least. very little. The spinnaker
boom. lashed near the matches the port deck.
submerged the boat lay down. She rose
in about the same spot where she lay down.
and the coming of her decks in wide
cascades. She then staggered around with a.
drunken sort of movement and pointed toward
the shoal on the north side of the channel She
she lay down again she took the baby
cyclone her port side. Here she got little
way on. and she came about into the starboard
tack and eased her sheets bit she ran
southwesterly toward the moorings, with her lib
TO windward. In all this the boat had 10 carry
her gafftopsail and her full mainsail-