The San Francisco call., 1909-01-25
Seas Smash ROderick Dhu's Wheel
Injuring Two Seamen
Crew of Wrecked Schooner Sequel Rescued
by Revenue Cutter Manning


for IS hours in the midst of furious
gales the schooner Roderick Dhu was
finally towed into port by the tug Her
eules yesterday morning. The schooner
had as much trouble getting into this
port as it had getting away from Re
it tried to put to sea. The steering
wheel of the vessel was smashed and
two of the sailors, Charles Verdich
and John Maher, so badly injured that
on arrival here they were taken to the
harbor emergency hospital for treat
ment.
The Roderick Dhu, heavily laden
with oil, mades an attempt to start up
from Redondo beach last Wednesday.
1t was in tow of the tug Navigator at
the time, but the tow line parted and
the vessel drifted up on the banks,
where it lay for several hours, pound
ing on the mud
The Navigator, after some delay,
succeeded in getting. out another line
and with the schooner started up the
coast. The weather was tempestuous
all the way up and the vessels made
slow progress. They arrived off the
Golden gate at 1880 o'clock Saturday
. afternoon and just as they started to
cross in the hawser again parted.
4 furious sea was raging at the time
and it was with great difficulty that
Captain MADISON OF the Navigator
succeeded in making a second line fast
to his tow. The two boats then again
started to cross the bar when the
hawser once more parted.
Captain Madison got out third
line, and had no sooner made 1T fast
TO the schooner when it also gave way.
4,
rious gale was raging. The schooner
was now adrift and with all sails
blown from the bolt ropes was at the
mercy of the sea.
Again a tow line was made fast,
and as Captain MADISON found it was
useless to attempt to pass in he sailed
off the bar all night with his tow in
charge.
Yesterday morning he again made
an attempt to get in. and just as he
got to the bar the hawser snapped
again and the Roderick Dhu was car
ried out to sea. At the same instant
that the hawser parted a great wave
came towering down upon the stern
OF the schooner, smashed its wheel
and swept the two sailors, Verdich and
Maher who were at the wheel at the
time. a distance of 40 feet along the
decks. They were rolled over and
over and both were picked up uncon-
scious. They were badly cut up, but
not seriously injured.
At this time the tug Hercules hove
in sight and made fast to the schooner
and towed her in.
While the Hercules was getting out
its line the revenue cutter Hugh Nc
Culloch came out and took the 2 men
off from the schooner and brought
them in over the bar and then placed
them back on board the vessel. Cap
tain MADISON says it was the roughest
weather he had ever seen on the bar
The Dhu was towed up to the sugar
refinery, where its cargo of 1900 bar
reis of oil will be discharged and it
will then be drydoclSed for repairs
Both the schooner and the Navigator
are the property of the Associated oil
company.
The British steamship Yeddo ar
rived yesterday frob Newcastle, n. s.
w. Captain Woodfield reports that for
the last seven days he ran into a sue
cession of terrific storms, the gales
coming from the southeast and south
west. No sooner had the vessel run
out of one storm than it ran into an
other
The Yeddo was 40 days making the
run from Newcastle, 33 days from sgd
ney and 81 days from Apia. 1t brought
$500 tons of coke, 1000 tons Of coal
to T. Waterhouse.
Crew of sequel Saved
News came from Tatoosh yesterday
that the crew of the Sequel had been
taken to Neah bay by the revenue cut
ter Marning.
The Sequel was wrecked Saturday
near Victoria. portion of the crew
managed to get ashore at that time, but
six sailors were unable to get away
When they were taken off yesterday
they We're all in sad plight. One had
a broken leg and three others were in
jured.
Queen Has Rough Passage
The Pacific Coast steamship company's
steamer Queen. which arrived yesterday
from Seattle, had an unusually rough
passage down the coast. Captain Cous-
ms reports that during the entire voy-
age he encountered a succession of
southeast gales. accompanied by heavy
transforms.
Lumber Arrivals
Lumber arrivals yesterday from the
north coast by sea amounted to only
$50 900 feet.