The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1908-08-09
MUT|NY ABOARD
THE GWENDOLYN
Members of Seattle Crew Came
to Blows Before the Yacht
Sailed From Hilo.

The eventual voyage of the good
little yawl Gwendolyn II. has not been
so pleasant for everybody aboard as
may have appeared. VIM. B. Jack, one
of the members of her amateur crew,
returned from Hilo to Honolulu aboard
the Mauna Kea yesterday, leaving the
yawl to sail without him. His eye was
covered with bandage and his face
bore marks of violent usage.
Mr.. Jack states that Captain Red
fern, the navigator of the yacht, was
the man who assaulted him, and that
there had been more or less trouble be-
tween the navigator and the rest of
the crew ever since she arrived in San
Francisco, on her way to San Pedro.
According to Mr.. Jack s story, he
went aboard the Gwendolyn last Mon
day morning in plenty of time for the
start and was greeted by Redfern in a
very surly and abusive manner. When
Jack replied. Redfern seized a small
be1ayingpin lying near and struck him
a blow in the face which cut a cash
in his forehead and effectually closed
mp his right eye. This staggered him
and he was prevented from fighting by
the other members of the crew, who
held him.
Then he hailed passing launch,
threw his dunnage in and came ashore,
expressing his intention of finding a
doctor and having the wound, which
was bleeding eopiously, sewn up. He
reached shore. was attended to by
doctor, and then saw the Gwendolyn
in the offing with all sail set making
out to sea. Aboard of her there are
only the two Johnstons, Ed Russell and
Captain Redfern to take her back over
the long stretch of ocean to Puget
Sound
The trouble, so Mr.. Jack says, start
ed in San Francisco Under the infIu-
ence of liquor Redfern attacked young
Russell, who is practically a cripple,
and Jack stepped in to defend him.
Since that there has been more or less
friction aboard, although this was care
fully covered up in Honolulu and not
even the yaehtsmen on the other boats
had any mixing of it.
1t seems that there was quite pop
ping of corks IN Hilo and that Redfern
took sufficient liquor to make him mo-
rose and iiI-natured He was annoyed
with Jack because the latter had not
been aboard the night before and,
when the latter came out to the yacht,
he was in a mood to attack somebody.
It was rumored while the yacht was
in Honolulu that Capt2in Redfern felt
sighted because Dean Johnston re-
ceived the credit for sailing the yacht
in the race, while Redfern was not
properly recognized for his work in
navigating her. He brooded over this,
and his feelings took possession of his
better sense when Jack gave him the
opportunity by waiting till the last
minute to come aboard.
In. a small yacht that is making a
long voyage, if there is no absolute
head of affairs and every man is as
good as another. there is a certainty
Of trouble of this kind arising. Red
fern apparently thought that his posi-
ton was not properly recognized and
the others had not sufficient diplomacy
to keep him rubbed the right way.
Redfern knew that he was absolutely
necessary to the boat as she must have
a navigator and the Johnstons could
not afford, after the great expenses en-
tailed by the trip, to pay navigator
to take them back to the Sound.
Recognizing his necessity to the
others and feeling his own Importance,
Redfern evidently allowed sense of
It to grow on him and brooded when