The Hawaiian gazette., 1909-05-18

the water line that forced her 20 make
port for repairs at Rio Janelro, the
big ship Dirlgo, which arrived here
yesterday with 1853 tons of coal for
Uncle sam. has had such an eventful
passage that her skipper, Captain
George william Goodwin, declares
that he win never make another voy-
age around Cape Horn. The Drlgo is
one of the finest ships afloat, but Cap.
tain Goodwin, states that it will take
more than money to induce him to
run the chances OF having to undergo
another such experience as he has
just passed through.
A story of terrific gales, thunder
storms Illuminated by flashes of light
ming. and bad weather almost from the
beginning of the long voyage away
back in October. 1905, until she ar
rived here yesterday is what the
Dlrigo brought. Hurricanes in which
smaller vessel would, in all proba-
bility, have gone TO the bottom were
encountered. Mountainous seas that
washed the decks and made the vessel
almost unmanageable became part
of the daily budget of events. But
through it all the old Dirigo stood up,
and yesterday morning she was sight
ed off Diamond Head, being towed to
her berth at the Channel wharf late
last evening.
Captain Goodwin tells the tale of his
eventful trip In few words, with the
exciting details left out. He does not
tell all he might of the steadfast labor
that was performed at the pumps
when the vessel was leaking badly, nor
does he waste words in the descrip-
ton of the Incident when a bolt OF
lightning shot from the sky and, in
the twinkling OF an eye, converted
what had been q fine piece of sail
carrying timber into million tiny
spinters. Things like these Captain
Goodwin doesn't wall over; but they
we're enough however, to make him
declare that, after over half a hun
bred trips around the Horn, he'll
never make another one,
1--WE left Baltimore" said Captain
Goodwin. ION October &c, 1905 Owing
to a heavy gale which was blowing
from the eastward, we anchored at
Cape Henry and did not proceed to
sea until the following Friday. We
then sailed in company with the ship
ACIIlc, WHICH was DOuHu lOE Cdi
Francisco, for considerable time. OF
course, we stuck on canvas and tried
to show clean pair of heels to each
other. For several days we were to-
gether, with strong west and north
west winds blowing all the time.
ION Friday. November 6, we had
heavy gale from southeast to south
west, during which we lost several
sails and, incidentally, left the Acme
behind. The loss of those sails was
merely the beginning of our troubles,
however, for things came in punches
| after that. OF course, the first ill-luck
which befell us was when we ran into
the gale which delayed us off Cape
Henry thus forcing us to go to sea on
Friday.
During the terrific wind and the
heavy sea which came up, the ship
rolled from side to side, creaking and
groaning, and, owing to the cross-seas
running-one from the northwest and
the other from the southward-the
decks were flooded fore and aft 1t
was a nasty situation.
"At four p. m. on November the
carpenter came to me and reported that
the ship was leaking. He also said that
there was a great quantity of water in
the hold. / Immediately went down
in the lower hold, through the lazaret
hatch and found the water rushing in
through a crack in a plate twelve feet
under water. To stop this, if possible,
| made pad out of cotton batting,
soaked it in white lead, and placed it
over the crack. Then, over this, |
fastened a plank that wedged it in
and stopped the great part of the in.
flow of water.
"There was not any water in the
hold when the pumps were sounded at
eight o'clock that morning, but, when
we had stopped the leak, we found that
the hold contained two and one-halt
feet of the brine which had poured in.
Perhaps you think i wasn't thankful
that the leak was where / could get
at It'll The crack was twelve inches
long, and if it had been in place
impossible for me to reach, doubt
very much if the pumps could have
kept the ship on the top of the water.
"Well, we pumped out as much of
the water as we could, and then took
up the floor and hoisted the rest up
through the .lazaret hatch, using big
oil-drums to do the work. We were
two days getting all of that water out
of the ship. AS the leak was so far
aft, thought at first that could build
bulkhead, fill it in with cement, stop
the leak, and keep on my voyage.
worked on this scheme for several days,
but in spite of all we could do-and
we left nothing undone that we could
possibly think of-the water continued
to force its way through and wash the
cement away. We had to hoist from
forty TO fifty barrels of water out of
the hold every day,
$50 il seemed that | could do moth
ing, and / decided TO go into Rio for
repairs. Two days after the gale we
sighted the Acme with her foretopgal-
liant mast gone, She had had taste
Of the medicine which the elements had
been giving u.s.
"The following Friday-fateful day
we had another gale, accompanied by
thunder aud lightning, During this the
ship was struck by lightning, tho fore
skysai mast receiving the blow Re
sides splinierlng this mast considerable
other damage was done, but We eonsid