Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1908-09-26
SMALL FLEETS TRIP.
LightShipS and Tenders to Go
Around the Horn.
JOURNEY OF $4,000 MILES.

One Boat Is to Go to the Sandwich;
Islands.
At the piers Of the Third distric.
lighthouse establishment, off Tompkins-
vile, N. Y, there are six sturdy littlt
ships that are soon to make voyage
through the strait of Magellan and up
the Pacific coast. They are now max.
ing ready to put out to sea. Three
lightships and three tenders make vi
the mosquito feet which is to have q
deep sea trip that well might win the
envy of greater ships than these.
They are resting at the piers without:
buster or parade in the midst of thu
other ships of the service, putting
aboard tackle, provisions and equip
ment fer the trip.
The little fleet will soon start for tho
Pacific coast Of the three tenders
the Manzanita is the flagship and will
lead the way until San Francisco il
reached and then will go on duty in
the Portland district. The Kukui is
destined for service in the Sandwich
Islands and the Sequoia for the en-
gineering department on the coast. o.
the three lightships, Nos. 88, 90 and
90, one will be used in the strait
Juan de Fuca. the second on the Co.
lumbia river bar and the third as re-
lief.
Both the lightships and the tenders
are strongly built The lightships are
high out Of the water and are tightly
closed at every point to stand the
toughest of weather while on duty.
On the sides of the ships, which are
drab or red. the number and position
stand out clearly painted in huge let
ters In the bow just at the water
line is the odd looking mushroom an
Choir. like an inverted flower. The
ships are fitted out with full equip
ment On each is a submarine bell
operated by compressed air and used
for signaling to the other boats, on
each of which the messages are taken
in a special receiver.
The tenders, whose duties are TO put
out buoys, do repair work and serve
the lighthouses and ships, are more
interesting to the observer. The large
single beam chain derrick mounted st
the foot of the forward mast and cen
trOIled by steam windlasseS, with Il
maze of levers and brakes. picks W
the heavy buoys. swings them over thu
side and places them in the water.
Down in the dark hold one sees the
great iron balloons of different shapes
dashed together to prevent their roll
ing and an endless mass Of tackle.
On the decks are piles Of chains, bells
and lights to be stored away for the
trip. The engine room and the ma
chinery are bright and shining. and
the mems quarters are clean and
roomy.
The undertaking of these little ships
is amazing when one considers their
size. The tenders are 100 feet over
all, with a beam of 80 feet and
total displacement of only 900 tons.
The lightships are even smaller, $50
feet over all, and have a displacement
of $50 tons. The engines Of the tend
ers are triple expansion, with twin
screws, and those Of the lightships are
simple and single screw.
Yet they are to set out on journey
of $4,000 miles through the perilous
strait Of Magellan and around and
up to the upper part Of the Pacific
coast. On the western coast of South
America the mosquito fleet will make
it's way through Smythe's channel.
Just off Peru, coming out at the gulf
Of Penas, taking the same route that
the destroyers took in the trip last
year.
The ships will go under their own
steam all the way, and although the
bunkers and all available space have
been utilized to store coal, even to the
temporary bulkheading of the COM
panion ways, leaving only a narrow
passage to the engine room, many
stops will have to be made for coaling.
Captain Wertz, who is the naval Of
ficer in command of the fleet, expects
to have a cruising radius of 2.7OO
miles with the extra coal by keeping
a steady gait of IA knots, which has
been found to be the most economical
speed of the lightships.
Even with this wide radius the fleet
will stop at Porto Rico, Barbados, Per
nambuco, Brazil; MOntevideo, Uru-
quay; Sandy Point and Valparaiso.
Chile; Callao, Peru; Acapulco, Mexico,
and at the coaling station near La
Paz, in southern California. There
the lightship for the Sandwich Islands
will leave the fleet and make her way
alone.
According to Captain Wertz, the trip
will last about 115 days. counting 10
miles a day while running and making
allowances for stops and bad weather.
The sturdy little ships will stand
lot of hard knocks, and the captain
does not fear anything worse than
short delay
The crews Of the lightships number
about twenty each and Of the tenders
800, ~ n