New-York tribune., 1907-12-15
LONG FIGHT WITH SURF
WRECKED OFF THE HOOK
L'fesocers Win Eight-Hour Battle
for Bark's Cre1c.

hdmund Phinney which went ashor. at 10 2 m
and took the half dead captain and crew 70 tho
beach - "
The lfesavers tried all day to get ou. 70 the
bark, but no ifeboat could float in the COM
perS that rolled off Sandy Hook The lifesav-
erS rieo 10 get life line over the Phinney but
the resistance of the gale made the line fall
snort at every shot In desperation Captain
Patterson of the Sandy Hook Station sipns,Ied
the Merrltt-Chapman wrecking tuSboat | +
Chapman that he would like a tow out IN the
stranded vessel
The Chapman responded promptly. Soon the
big hfeboat Rescue equipped with 30-horse-
power engine, was in tow Of the wrecker which
headed for the Phinney. A great crowd. which
mad assembled the beach, were Mortified TO
see the Rescue disappear under the comber and
ii was thought that the Iifesavers would be lost
lost
Suddenly the unsinkable Rescue appeared
again on the crest of comber and was hurled
closer to the Phinney. The gale Increased and
the waves rolled higher as the only possible
chance of saving the Phinney's crew was at
hand. The lfesavers were forced TO pull away
from the bark. seeing that a rescue by boat was
impossible.
The Chapman returned to the shelter of the
Hook and the ufesavers came back to the beach
nearly frozen.
Sho1 LANDS Al LASI-
BY the time Captain Patterson and his men
got ashore CAPTAIN Joseph Wooley. of the Sper-
maceti Cove station. began firing at the Phin-
ney. The first shot fell short. but the second
caught in the crosstree of the mizzen mast, the
other sticks being broken off at the deck. AS
as the Sandy Hook lifesavers saw that the
Spermaceti Cove crew had made fast line
they ran along the beach with the wreckers of
the Chapman. and arrived just in time to be of
great assistance to the other lifesavers
Had they arrived off Spermaceti Cove three
minutes later there would not have been enough
men to run with the whip line with which the
men of both crews managed TO from drown
ing James Goslee. the first to get into the
breeches buoy.
Captain Anderson Of the Phnney feared that
the mzzen would snap off in the gale while his
men were being hauled TO the beach. and he or
dered Andrew Hansen and John Jacobson. two
Scandinavian sailors go aioft and untangle
the line and bring it down on deck. These two
men were the only ones who had enough
strength left TO climb the mizzen and the feat
was accomplished more through nerve than
from strength. The line made fast to the
nizzen about seven feet above the deck. and
this was an exceedingly low and dangerous alti-
fude from which TO start shoreward in the
breeches buoy.
There was no ouibbling about who should
get ashore first. The men had to think quickly
and there was no time for courteses. James
GosIee who was nearest the buoy, jumped in
first and had hardly got a firm grip on the side
ropes when the shears on the beach gave way
and the buoy shot down into the combers- In
an instant the crews of both lifesaving stations
and the wreckers from the Chapman grabbed
the whip line and ran with IT along the beach as
fast as they could go. 1t was due TO this Trick
that Goslee saved from drowning
Had the Hfesavers hauled in on the line In
stead Of running with II Goslee would have been
drowned before he reached shore. Captain An
derson's men begged him to go ashore first long
before the line was made fast. but he declined
and was the last man TO shoot shoreward in
the buoy.
MEN LAND EXHAUSTED.
The entire crew of nine men were hauled 10
the beach, at a time, and each was uIoer
water for more than two minutes. All OF uHe
Phinnev's crew, including the captain were
ready 10 collapse when they tottereo on tile
beach Knowing that there was no nope ol
saving the bark and believing that at any min
,,e they would have to jump into the sea- they
took off all their clothing except their under
sh,-e and when the line made fast they
,.a-o hardly able to walk about the deck
The lifesayers telephoned TO Colonei Harris
Of Fort Hancock, and he sent Assistant surgeon
g. T. Tyler 10 the beach with an ambulance anu
az soon as the men were taken from 'h1
,te,y were treated by the doctor IL was 'iooe''
at first that Philip Brown ana Ho7iee
5rowned. but after working on tnen ioi Aaii aii
hour DIR. Tyler restored them to CONSCIOUSNESS
C.ntain Anderson took the Ednuno fhiiiiey
fo,, Savannah Ga, with a cargo OIL ia'ii
- I'D long sticks of Georgia pine lie hao
-. oa+ber all the way up the coast ana dl
% - as.erdav was abeam of the Hlghlanos.
a. . s,iff northeaster. He hauled on shore anu
loot his hearings in binding sho"s'oiiH
IT. .o,+ tho bark touching bottom ana man
aged to work her clear seVerai tiiiie'' Du
80 5-o,,a hin, shoreward and he struck from
one shoaI to another until ne was iiii"iiS
stranded on q knoll about three hunored Saiu'
off shore nearly three-quarters OF iiiiie Sou'h
of Sandy Hook ,,r,ao,
He had shortened sail and was ruiiiiiiis uilue
foretopsaiI. two jibs and nlizzen staysall. ne
ia MAS blowing at sixty miles. and not"ith-
,.nd,np the dropping Of two anchors ne hao iio'
q chance in the world Of getting out 10 sea-
,,ho pbinnev drifted with the gale stern"ard
to the shoal and broken into DIS ia'e lds'
might Had not the lifesavers mace last 'iie iiiio
the, caught in the mizzen rigging none Oh the
mon on the Phinney would have been saved.
Civ members of the Phinney's crew and cap
tain Anderson, her master, were '
,,fas.y,np station at Spermaceti Cove and put
- hed Phillip Brown, Golhaa Golgaa Jap
.,ose cook and William Murphy. of Stonington
~, vore in q critical condition, and were
driya, at once to the post hospital al Fort
Hancock u hill. in 1873 at
The Edmund Phinney was pu1li " ui Jones
r,nr;no Me and was owned by r. V. l. 0ohea
Dee,, sh;s c,tv She was 156 feet long, had beam
90 az feet a depth of is feet and was ,ol sund and
s oi % eha is a total loss. and her cargo ao
tons; o a. s.rewn for miles along the oeach.