The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1905-05-18
TUG AT THE CARONIA IN VAIN.
HER NOSE IN FLYNN'S KNOLL AND
HER PASSENGERS ABOARD. e.
Biggest Cunarder May Have to He Light
ened Before She VIII BudEe-Passen-
gers Iiberate . Flock OF shOregoing
Postal Cards in Default OF wireless

gers IfberAte FLOCK OF SnOreSOlnS
Postal Cards in Default OF wireless.
The Caronia, biggest Of Cuna rders, stuck
all day yesterday on the edge Of the main
channel out Of this harbor, where she had
grounded at o'clock Tuesday afternoon
In the fog. Her nose was lodged ten feet
deep III the mud and sand OF F1ynn's Knoll,
A submarine hillock which has been STUN
bling block for pilots since the first ocean
railways into New York were felt out.
Mighty efforts Of her own engines and OF
a small fleet Of tugs were of no avail to dis
lodge her. The final effort OF the day was
made at little after o clock last evening,
when the tide was at its highest and was in
creased by a high off shore wind. The
Caronia did not get loose and it WAS even
thought by some of those on the SUR
rounding tugs that she swung still further
into shoal water.
The ritt-Chapman wrecking people,
whose tugs, aided by the steam pilot boat
New Yorker were straining to get the Ca
roma out of her fix, came away at 8 o'clock
last night and said that they would take
another pull at high tide this morning.
Aboard the pilot boat it was declared that
an effort would BIO made to tighten the
Caronia of some of her cargo early this
morning before the tide was high.
Unless a storm Of extraordinary fierce
ness should come up, of which the Weather
Bureau discovers no indications, the pas
sengers on the Caronia will suffer nothing
worse than the inconvenience Of delay.
Ehe lies on an almost even keel and is about
as deep in the water as she would be II her
keel forward were not bedded in the edge
Of the channel.
She lies nearly mile north Of Sandy
Hook, just beyond the turn OF the channel.
The main channel follows an almost straight
line south from the Narrows to point in
side the Hook; then ce it turns at an acute an
gle and runs out, north Of east, to the open
Atlantic. There Is a short cut across this
angle for ships Of lighter draft, called the
Swash Channel. Somehow, the pilot Of
the Caronia, after getting the leviathar
around the sharp corner. veered OF to
port and bumped into the edge Of the main
channel almost at the point where the
Swash Channel rejoins It,
The shoal at this corner rises rather alb
ruptly and Is called Flynn's Knoll. So
lightly did the Caronia verge on the shoal
that merely her bow is across line drawn
between the red buoys which mark the
northerly edge Of the channel, and her stern
is out in deep water. She ran on slantwise
at an acute angle and heads about north
northeast, toward Coney Island. The fog
had cleared up good deal last night.
The Caronia is tilted over bit to starboard.
The draft scale shows that she is drawing
tw enty-eight feet at her bow and thirty
one feet astern. The charts show
that under her bow there are seventeen
feet of water at high tide. Hence the
knowledge that eleven feet Of her bow is
in the mud.
Vernon H. Brown, the agent OF the cunard
line, went down to the Caronia yesterday
morning and stayed aboard OF her all day.
He went down full of an expressed deter
nination to find out why the ships wireless
equipment had not been used in commu-
nicating her plight to the shore. The first
hews Of her getting into trouble came in
q message from the Kaiser Wilhelm IL.
to the wireless station at Babylon. L. I. The
Kaiser Wilhelm ii. passed the begged
Cunarder as she went out through the fog.
The wireless did not get to work after
Mr. Brown boarded the Caronia. and it was
surmised that perhaps it was out of order.
Late yesterday afternoon a tug carry
ing the flower of Park row chivalry went
down to the Cunarcler to find how she was
getting along and to bring back what cheer
might he gained. A megaphone was brought
to bear on the bridge to inform Capt War;
Of the Caronia Of the tugs errand and to
rsl; if reporter might come aboard. Capt.
War; caught up II megaphone and replied
NO" with great dist inctn ness.
He then retired from the bridge and
reithnr he nor any OF his officers would
f".wer amy other inquiries. But the pas
ser gers We're more cheerful The news
Taper tug driftcd in under the eide OF the
(aronia ard a small sheaf OF postal cards
ard letters fer delivery ashore was sent
down ly steward to lie thrown aboard
tho tug through coal port. There was a
vc,loy Of cheerful hadnage from all decks.
is New York still there"
whats the baseball score?"
"Scrd word 10 the other side that we'll
ret thcre..-some day. some day"
About this time the captain Of the news
rnrcr tug found himself caught in the
o5des formed by the chuning OF the big
Ships propeller and those of the tugs strain
ing at her side, and was therefore unable
to back away as quickly as he would have
liked Capt. War; appeared again.
Get away from our side, there" he
shouted.
Tell him" roared "A passenger from the
hurricane deck. that it's his move!'
There was a considerable chorus Of APP
proval from the fellow passengers OF the
intelligent individual who made this sug-
gestion. As the tug was backing away
the only message which was audible was
Il wall asking Are we in any danger
Among the passengers who hung YEARLY
over the ratings it was not possible to
recognize any of the better known OF the
Caronias cabin list.
Among these are Lady Brassey, MIR. and
Mrs. Cornelius Vanderbilt, Sir James and
Lady Hane, Miss Ethel Barrymore and
the Right Rev. Thomas l.. Bowman.
The effort to take advantage OF the high
evening tide WAS begun little after
O'Clock. The tugs George hirkman and
/. j. Merritt took a four inch hawser from
the Caronia's stern and went out toward
Sandy Hook with it. The stocky Battler
took another line from the stem and went
10 the eastward Of the two others Hedge
anchors had already been planted on the
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