The Republican journal., 1904-11-24
A VOYAGE TO SHANGHAI
IN THE BArH-Bu1Lr SHIP DIRIGo.

Captain George W. Goodwin sent tc
friends at his home in Calais journal
OF the voyage from New York to Shang
hal in the ship Dirigo, and it was read
at recent meeting of the st. Croix
Club and published in the Calais Adver-
tiser. We make the following extracts:
Owing to thick fog and light east
winds we did not get to sea until May
tho and then we had easterly winds,
from moderate breeze to strong gales,
hick fog and rain for two days. The
Erskine NJ. Phelps the Sewell ship that
was built after the DirigO) sailed, or
was to sail, the same day that we did.
She was at Philadelphia, bound to
Honolulu. We fell in with her on the
sixth day out and again on the tenth
day out, and we had very exciting
race hence to the Equator. We could
do better than she did when the wind
was light; with an eight knot breeze we
would sail side by side without altering
the bearings at all; going ten knots she
would range ahead IA of a point in
four hours. We kept that up over two
weeks, going at the rate of $50 to 230
miles per day. The Dirigo was draw
ing four inches more water than the
Phelps and being loaded with oil was
tender, and going ten knots on the
wind would be too much on her SIDE
The Phelps was loaded with pipe and
coal. | am telling you this because the
) Phelps beat the Dirigo when Captain
Colby had command of her 80 days on
the passage from Honolulu to Philadel-
phia. We were also in company with
CoUacal nfhar ChinS that sailed
several days before us; but the Dirigo
outsailed them all.
The average passage to the Equator
in May and June is 36 days. We cross
ed the Equator 81 10 days from New
York, and three days later saw the
Island of Fernando Ronaka. We have
had very squally S. E. trades and they
were well to the southland and when we
got out of them we were within 100
miles Of Cape St. Thomas, on the coast
! of Brazil. The past few days we have
had fresh breeZeS from west and 5. w.
We have just completed days run of
| 222 miles. 1t has been too Squally to
carry sail and not much wind between
the squalls. Although we are only 25
| deg. south there is quite chill in the
air and the days are getting short. The
sun sets at 5-12 tonight. June 26th.)
! We did not have a very good chance
for ten days after we passed the Cape
of Good Hope, but things came our way
after while and we made some good
runs. 1t was little moist about decks.
One sea boarded us and stove one of the
/ boats and washed away section of the
| bridge. We had the best run [ ever
heard of from the Island of st. Paul to
the Strait of Sunda We were fifteen
| days and made from 200 to $50 miles per
day. We made the light on Java Head
at s p. m. and we passed through Prin-
cess Channel and were off AMER point,
Sunda Strait, at daylight, and it was not
long before we were surrounded With
boats with fruit, fowl and vegetables
for sale. To give you an idea how cheap
/ things are, l will tell you what l got in
exchange for barrel of hard bread.
got twenty ducks, ten chickens, eight
small baskets of sweet potatoes and
three lunches of bananas, and for a
$500 bill got as much more, with the
addition of % cocoanuts, 800 ducks eggs
for tin of butter. We have been hav-
ing roast duck and chicken curry, sweet
potatoes and vans, for everyday food
for some time. Some of the green cOcoS-
nuts have four glasses OF milk in them
; L
drink. We were becalmed m the strait
all day, but we made up for it that night
with squalls of rain, wind, thunder and
lightning The next day we were in
the Java Sea, with islands all around
us. That night we saw the light on the
North Watches and with fair wind
shaped course for Casper Strait. The
next day we made Banka Island and at
dark, the wind being ahead, anchored
The next morning got under way and
beat about all day. At night the wind
favored us and | got hold of the light on
Shoal Waters Island. l ran through
Stolts Channel, Casper Strait, and at
daylight was in the China Sea. Since
then we have sighted many islands and
to-day we are 81 degrees north, AND
wondering if we are going to get out OF
the China Sea without getting a ty
phoon. We saw the north star for the
first time last night. We have sailed
thousands of miles since we lost sigh
of it in the North Atlantic and it wa:
nice to see it again. While you were
enjoying your June and July we wer'
having a southern winter. We are max
ing up for it now; for there are no
many places where old Sol gets his worf
in more than he does in the China Sc;
in August. [ wish l could be with yo'
again this summer. There is not place
on earth where l enjoy living as do OF
the banks of the st. Croix.
Sunday, Sept. II, and 125 days at sea
We are now about 115 miles from tn
Shanghai river bar and are jogging
along five miles per hour. We had
fair run up through the China Sea ant
could easily have gone in to Hong Koni
. in 112 days. We made the light on tn
n. w. Cape of LuZon and passed GU
between the Baskee Islands into tn
Pacific and with light winds, passed VI
the east side of Formosa anG were il
sight of the island several days. w
finally drifted by into the Yellow Sc
and we are now praying for what littl
wind we have to hold, and push us int
the land by tomorrow noon. We hav
thought and spoken of you all man
times this passage, and have pleasan
recollectiOns of the way we spent las
September, and of our genial host an,
hostess, also the kind way they made i
pleasant for us. [ was just wishing
this morning that could have some o
Mrs. Lyford's popovers for breakfast
/ can taste them yet.
We anchored at the bar Monda
night, Sept. 18th, 1876 days from New
York, and find that we are ahead of al
of our competitors. The pilot came OF
board this morning and brought all o
| Al l,l~ %1,,t fyry