The St. Mary banner. (Franklin, Parish of St. Mary, La.) 1889-1931, 1910-01-22
PILOTS OF THE GREAT LAKES.
Perplexities for inexperienced Men
Deviations of the Compass.

Deviations of the Compass.
"The finest pilots in the wotld are
in the vessel service of the Great
Lakes" said a photographic Office
official, "but in spite of the magnitude
of these lakes and the volume Of ship
ping there are the fewest possible
navigators in the seaman's sense Of
the term.
Give the average vesselman on the
Lakes a clear sky and good weather
generally and he can be depended up
on to steer a course to hair; but
give him the thick fog, rain, snow and
the elements and he may know so lit
tie of his compass as to place in dan
ger his vessel, cargo and crew, SIM
ply through his ignorance of naviga-
tion.'
According to the reports of the n.y.
geographic Office PIT vessels Of all
kinds stranded in the Great Lakes in
1908. Causes for this have been ascer-
tanned in 1853 cases, and or these ninety
two standings are reported as being
avoidable had the navigators done full
duty as such.
1t would be surprising to the average
landsman on the rims of the Great
Lakes to know how many young men
just off the farms of the country are
wheelsmen and navigators of the lake
vessels Some of them in winter
schooling may have gained some
knowledge of the principles Of naviga-
ton; many of them know little more
than to feel their way across the lake
depending upon the senses Of sight and
hearing to lead them into port. In
dense fog or binding rain or snow
these pilots might be the better off
if the wheelhouse were not provided
with a compass.
In this Great Lakes region between
the eastern and western extremes of
the Lakes there is total compass de-
Walton of 10 degrees from the true
pole At the port of Chicago, for ex-
ample, the compass needle points de-
grees to the right of the north, though
at other points on the lakes the devia-
What the significance of such dev1a-
ton is may be seen when, left uncor-
rected, the navigator attempts to sail
by such a compass. In one compass
point" as considered by the naviga-
tor, there are eleven and a quarter de-
grees. Thus at certain ports on the
Lakes the magnetic compass, uncor-
rected, may be almost one point out
as to the true north. One point out OF
this true north on the part of the
wheelsman steering for harbor 100
miles away will leave him twenty
miles out OF his destination. OF if he
shall be trying to make the mouth Of
a river only five miles away in fog
this incorrect compass by only one
point will cause him to run astray by
one mile This mile or ten or twenty
miles out of his reckoning in thick
weather is promising of almost any
kind of disaster.
In addition to this deviation of the
compass needle, however, the effect OF
cargoes of magnetic iron ore, of which
so much is carried on the Great Lakes,
may put the compass needle even fur
Their off With the needle several de-
grees out of the true north, due to the
influences of the magnetic pole, the
loading of a vessel with these ores may
promise far greater complications to
the sailor
Not infrequently the navigator who
recognizes the necessity of having his
compass corrected does so with cargo
of this ore in his hold. He accepts
the correction, made with due recog-
milton to the cargo, and it's influences,
after which he may shift to a cargo Of
non-magnetic matter, which in turn
puts his compass out again, perhaps
leaving him with no thought of an
other correction as necessary.
Comparatively few of the wrecks of
last year resulted in total loss of the
vessels, but in the delays and dry
docking of vessels for repairs the
money loss to owners was enormously
heavy.-Chicago Tribune.