The semi-weekly messenger. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1897-1908, 1904-07-19

How n Sinking Yacht Goes Down.
One Of the most stirring stories oe
1.-THE a ~ wei as one of the most
interesting from a scientific stand
| point. is The Wreck of the Edna.
by Captain +. Jenkins Hams. which
| ppears In the June Success" The
| most remarkable part Of the story "a
| tina 1t il based on fact. Captain
| Hains. who Is the author OF several
| books Of the sea started for the Ber-
| mudas last winter with his wife hh
| wife. a saEor, and a cabin boy in a lit
| tie yawl. the Edna" They encount-
cred a terrible storm. were driven four
hundred miles out OF their course. suf-
fered starvation for Ave days, lost
the boy. and Mrs. Hams life was des-
| paired of. Everything above deck was
| washed away and the lite craft was
rapidly sinking when the party was
rescued. Captain Hams stuck manfui-
ly bv his boat. and his story OF her &C
| tons in the midst o. the storm are
thus described:
THE sea grew heavier until it was a
| moving mountain full forty feet from
trough to crest. the heaviest sea I
ever encountered In the Gulf Stream.
where ! had ridden out many heavy
blows. As it drew toward evening
again. the wind freshened n a heavy
sauall. A little rain fell and the tops
of the flowing combers grew more and
more dangerous. A huge feow rose
some twenty feet or more above Us
| even while the Edna" was rising up
the slope, and trough Its top the green
| light shone. Then down IL fell like n
wa of water over us n crashei SIX
feet deep over the yacht bury1ng her
in the smother. II was an appalling
smash, and. as / was abaft OF the
wheel, I grasped the spokes and set
my knees under IL to hold on. but II
| almost tore me loose and smashed my
breast bone so solidiy against the
wheel spoke that / cousd hardly breathe
for hat a minute. The cockpit was full
OF water but the cabin doors held i
| watched the wave surge against the
doors and heard a banging from the
inside and knew that Anton was try
ing to get out to c what had become
of me. Finally, after the water ran
of. 1 opened the catch and he came on
deck, followed by Sam. The shock
below was like a crash OF hunde
and they were ready to do what they
could to save our little ship.
Seeing that It was getting worse and
| worse, and that something must De
done to keep her clear OF the following
| seas, we decided to rig q draft OF the
| anchor and whatever floats we could
lash to il. She could not take in any
| more seas over her stern. Calling ali
hands, I set Anton and Sam at Work
getting UP adj the cork tenders. These
they lashed about their waists with
stout lines. The side ladder was also
called into use and q bride bent TO IL.
| Then came the dangerous task or get
| ting the gear forward.
1t had to be done. however. and
there coud be no hanging back. An
ton 1onIad ahOrIf him for a few mo-
| ments as IL to take in the situation
| Sam did likewise, and then they ootn
Law fiat and crawled forward along the
top OF the cabin trunk while I ne7u
as true before the sea as possible.
They had Just gotten the anchor
| clear and were bendin gon the floats
when another hiA Of water rose astern.
We were becalmed under its slope
Then it lowered above US and feil
| like an avalanche owe the ship.
| When l could see again there was no
| signs of life forward. A momens
showed Anton with his arms clasped
| about the windlass bits. sam had
] gone.
I hooked astern. There on the top OF
the following comber was a dark OBJ
1ect. Sans fac turned toward me.
His eyes were gazing with q strain
| ing look Of desperate rear, and he was
swimming strongly, trying to regain
the flying craft. A great hill OF waters
| rose astern and he sank over the slope
tina was the last We saw or him. For
an instant I thought of his old mother
waiting there on the barren sandspit,
| waiting for the son VINO would never
come back. But there was no time for
| thinking then, and / yelled to Anton
| to make the floats fast and let the an
| Choir go, I would heave her up as ne
| did so. But the roar OF the gale was
deafening, and although he was but
twenty feet distant. he could not hear
what I said. He finally came crawling
aft. Then I told him to do and
he crawled laboriously back again. The
side ladder was gone but the tenders
had been dashed on in time, and An
ton was Just stepping on the bowsprit
shrouds to swing them clear when L IN
| stinctively looked over my shoulder.
tom Of the trough Of a mighty sea, and
I could tell by the feel OF her that b
would never rise out OF IL n 60 clear.
I bawled to Anton to hold on, and he
turned just as the Edna" started
sternwards up the following slope.
She rose high In the air. and remember
looking down over her bow at the
chasm below. She rose almost perpen-
%dicularly, and yet behind and above me
rose the awful wall with the green
light showing through its crest Then
the Edna actually fell. plunging bow
foremost into the trough below, ana,
as she did SO, the wall Of water behind
fell over her. I remember looking al
most straight down the deck towards
the bow and seeing the bowsprit take
the water on top instead Of under
Meath. I saw IL pitchfork into the
trough and nap of, pulling the mast
head with Ii. Our vessel had fallen
straight down that sea. as IL dropped
from a height In mid-air. like a stick
plunged endwise into the water. A ter
rife blow in the bac from the great
weight Of water almost crushed me
against The wheel.
That was all I saw.