The Savannah morning news., 1904-01-04
AN ATT-ANTTC CTJpPER SERv1rE
A Suggestion of Sailing ships for
LefsureIy Travellers.
From the Scientific American.


From the Scientific American.
A lover of the sea has been prompt
ed to write to the daily press, sug-
costing, in all seriousness, that it would
be a profitable and popular move on
the part of our leading steamship COM
panies if they We're to add to their
fleet one or two passenger sailing ships,
with a view to affording those passen-
gers who take the transatlantic trip
purely for health and pleasure, an OPP
portunity to spend more days upon the
ocean than they can enjoy in a trip
between America and Europe on a fast,
modern steamship. At the first blush,
the suggestion that We should return
to the leisureiy speed of the clipper.
sailing ship, seems almost preposter-
Gus; and yet on second thought, when
we bear in mind the wonderful growth
of the yachting spirit as shown by the
vast fleet of sailing yachts and steam
yachts that covers our waters in the
summer season, the idea is by no means
visionary; and. indeed. if put into eff
feet to a limited extent, it would prob
able prove to be a very successful ven
ture. To a large and ever-growing per-
centage of European travellers, the sea
voyage is one of the greatest induce
ments to make the trip. With all our
Vaunted advance in speed and comfort,
there is a question whether we have
not sacrificed many of those very fea-
lures of sea voyage which tend to
give rest to mind and body The great
demand for space for engines, boil
ers, and coal bunkers has made it
necessary to cut down the stateroom
accommodation to absurdly narrow
1iY,asf e
elaborate furnishings and finish can
disguise the fact that the average
state room is not much more than
stuffy little box in which one is veri-
tably "cribbed, cabined and confined"
The compensation for many travellers
is to be found in the short duration
of the passage, and for those to whom
time is an object, either for business
engagements or to escape the inevi-
table miseries of seasickness, the
cramped quarters are regarded as part
of the price which must be paid for
high speed. If a clipper sailing ship,
however, were designed especially for
transatlantic summer travel. it would
be possible, in the absence of any pro-
vision for steam power or cargo, to
give up practically the whole ship to
passenger accommodation, and indi-
vidual staterooms could easily be made
double the size of those usually found
on the modern liner. There would be
a complete absence of vibration, and
of smoke and cinders, and a general
steadiness of motion which only those
who sail the seas under canvas can
properly appreciate. If the ship were
built with modern speed lines, 1t should
be able under favorable circumstances
TO make the eastward passage in from
twelve to fifteen days. The westward
passage would, of course, take longer;
but as the travellers on such a vessel
would be taking the trip largely for
! the sake of the sea voyage. a three
or four weeks journey would be look
ed upon rather with. favor than with
| regret Such vessel would be fit
| ted with every luxury that is to be
found on the modern liner. and the
absence of engine room skylights and
smokestack openings, would render 1t
possible to provide magnificent prom
enades extending the full length of the
vessel and almost entirely free from
| obstruction. The experiment is sure
| ly worth a trial on the part of one
of the more wealthy companies: for it
would be somewhat in line with that
most successful venture of the German
companies. in building steam yachts
of slow speed exclusively for yachting
| cruises of many weeks or months
duration.