The San Francisco call., 1905-02-27
VESSEL T0WED 1900
MILES COMES TO PORT
Steamer Atlas Brings an Oh
Barge From New York.

The longest tow known in the his
tory of marine affairs was brought to
a successful conclusion yesterday,
when the steamer Atlas came into port
leading the Standard Oil Company's
I barge No. 93. These vessels left New
York seventy-two days ago. During
this long period a great steel cable $50
fathoms in length has held them to-
gether. Ii parted but once, and then
only for an hour.
The Atlas had 5000 barrels of fuel
oil on board when she sailed from New
York, and has now about 5000 barrels
left in her tanks. The barge has in her
tanks 1,255,000 gallons of naphtha.
The only port stopped at during the
voyage was Punta Arenas, from which
port they sailed on January 26.
Captain Thomas Fenlon. commander
of the Atlas, said that in the Straits of
Magellan they experienced thick.
foggy weather, with the wind blowing
to beat the band" They were three
days in the straits. He reports seeing
the British steamer Cumbal which
went ashore some time ago in Smythes
Channel. When seen she was about
half lightered, and it was expected it
would take a months time to float her.
The Cumbal was bound for Valparaiso
ashore.
The total distance covered was 1900
miles, straight run. When the vessels
parted company in the North Atlantic
1t was due to the automatic towing
machine on the barge giving out. A
new hawser was at once put out and
this hawser has been in constant use
for II 900 miles Both steamer and
barge will be employed in coast trade
here.
The Atlas was built for the Standard
Oil Company at Chester Pa, in 1898.
She is 24S feet long, 40 feet 1 inch beam
and % feet inches deep. Her net ton
mage is 1913. The average speed on the
trip was nine and a half knots, but
without tow the Atlas can make about
/ fourteen knots. The crew of the Atlas
numbers twenty-five, but on this trip a
/ stowaway was found after leaving
New York so she has twenty-six on
her articles. Barge No. SO is in COM
mand of Captain Edward Erickson.
The barge is peculiar-looking OBJ
| ject, something like a four -masted
schooner. Her Inasts are of steel. Her
foremast also answers the purpose of a
smokestack, and long clouds of smoke
were streaming out Of 1t as she lay at
/ anchor off Meiggs Wharf yesterday
afternoon. This smoke comes from her
( engine room forward. Her steering
/ gear and all the general mechanism
/ are run by steam power, but she lacks
steam-propelling power. She is about
! two years old, is built Of steel and is a
! thoroughly up-to-date oil-tank barge
/ She is $50 feet long, As feet beam and q
! feet depth Her capacity is $4,000 bar
rels of oil. but on this trip she only
brought u, 900 barrels. The great cable
six inches in circumference, which had
kept the two ships in company, was
coiled up on the barge yesterday. In
one place il showed great strain at
a point where it had been Joined to-
gether, and but a few strands remained
in contact. 1t could not have held out
for many more miles
A mascot in shape of sort Of goat,
which was taken on board at Punta
Arenas, was gayly frisking about the
deck of the Atlas, evidently glad to be
in sight of land once more.