The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1909-12-09
NUUANU HAD
A ROUGH TRIP
Captain JosseIyn Reports Worst
Time Off the Horn for
Fifty Trips.


looking craft around from New York
in good shape, after what he describe.
as the worst trip of the fifty he has
made through the storm belt of the
Horn. Some of his cargo of stoves
may be found broken when the steve
dores commence discharging the YES
sci. and Captain Josselyn said he only
wished the owner of the cargo could
have been aboard for a week or two
or only for five minutes, just TO hear
the racket the cargo made when the
ship rolled and twisted, for then they
would not expect stoves, for instance
to come out whole. Captain Josselyn
gives a very breezy account of his
voyage, as follows:
eve sailed from New York July
II, and had pleasant weather to the
equator, which we crossed August 81
in longitude p west. This weather
continued to Staten Island. which we
sighted September 20. A moderate
gale from the southwest drove US back
behind the island. where we spent q
delightful day with smooth water and
the land only five miles off We en-
j0yed looking at the land, for though
the mountains were covered with snow,
land looks good after two months of
water only. My intention was to take
the Straits of LIE Marie. as usual, but
when a breeze came up from the north
it was so foggy that | went around
the island, ard when we got to lee
ward the fog cleared. and we had Il
delightful sail to Cape Horn, with all
sail set and the water as smooth as a
pond.
"'We passed Cape Horn on September
% sixty-eight days out and passed with
in five or six miles of the cape with
the wind still from the north. A large
full-rigged ship was in company, but
steered away to the south and east
wards of the Diego RamerIex Islands.
while / Rugged the coast as long as |
could until the wind came out north
west and headed me off. But / was
then one hundred and thirty miles to
the westward of Cape Horn and thought
all my troubles over, and began to
think of a quick passage and a glad
surprise to my New York friends, for
they had bid me goodbye with eau
ton to take care of myself for they
all new | had hard cargo to handle
They did not know what | knew for
1t was impossible to stow it without
having the vessel too stiff. Only nv
self and the stevedores knew that. but
they had lost so many friends the last
few years off Cape Horn, and so many
good ships have disappeared lately, that
they said goodbye as though it might
be for the last time.
The day we passed the cape two
large steamers passed us bound east.
and with the fine weather and smooth
water and steamers never met one
off Cape Horn before-it was like a
yachting cruise. But old Neptune was
{ My foOiing. The next dav it was a
bowling gale from the northwest. and
all we could show were close reefed
sails We passed the English bark
with signals, M. P. H. L.. eighty DAYS
out from the Tyne river for Gallao. As
we passed her we signaled all the fore
room. What seemed to puzzle them
was when they asked me to spell nv
name or rather the bark s name. They
could not believe that 'Nuuanu' would
spell anything, and said they could
read the signals but could not make
1ut what they meant. Evidently they
had not been to Honolulu. Then it
came on to blow. l never knew it to
continue so long. From September %
o October II was & bowling gale.
We ought to have been under goose
winged main topsail only, but we roll
I'd so fearfully | was afraid the masfs
would 60 over the side, so | kept both
over topsails and the fore topmast
taysail on her until the two latter
blew away, and also blew away the boat
overs. We shipped one sea that filed
he decks, washing away the tanks and |
adders. All that kept the main top
All on was hemp sail. We had by |
ms time drifted down to 81 south lati- |
ude and we found it was cold and |
reezing During the height of the gale. |
We heard a crash and found the truss |
L the foreyard broken. That was a |
lad job as We had just had a new truss |
maize IN New York. We spent several |
lours with chain and lashinps seeurinn /
t, but we did it all right, although the |
ards almost touched water as we roll |
a. The gale continued until Sunday. |
october 10. Then it moderated and the |
ca went down and the sun came ont.
'uT we were a sight The whole shin |
yas coated with ice from truck to deck. |
nd we also had bad list to port for
he cargo had shifted We could scarce
Y stand on deck which was slippery |
Win ice. We made sail as fast as we /
ould with everything frozen. but at |
en- 0 clock the sun melted the ice from |
he deck so we could stand and we had |
II sail on her.
= But Neptune was not vet through
nth US. BY two o'clock the wind was |
ut northwest again and blowing a gale.
ontinuing for three days but not so
ard but we could carry a little sail
nd hold our own
One day. IN the height of ttese
aies, large fourmasted ship passed
5 on the other tack, heading north.
wo weeks afterwards we were again in
ompany, but had reversed our position
lie was five miles TO leeward and dis
ppeared. We still had hard foht
NTH October p when we passed the
Stand of Mas-a-Fuera and had another
God look at the land Then Neptune
ct up on Us. the wind came southeast
nd for four weeks we never braeed
yard, till we took the northeast |
rades in ten degrees north latitude
Ne crossed the line in the Pacific I2-
ays out, in longitude l25 west. from
hence to the Hawaiian Islands we ha4
resh northeast trades
-ss @-s-
NO EXPERIMENT