Los Angeles herald., 1910-06-14
THIRTY-SIX HOUR
CALM HOLDS BOAT
Sweetheart in Race Around Cata-
line Island Runs Into
DoIdrumS
ORIENT GOES TO THE RESCUE
Craft TOsSes in Rolling Sea Near
ISthmuS Harbor While the
Others Race Away
ORIENT GOES TO THE RESCUE
BY BERT s. COLEMAN

BY BERT s. COLEMAN
After Commodore r. V. p. Smiths
schooner, Sweetheart, had been miss
ing for over twenty-four hours and it
was feared she had foundered off the
south coast of Catalina, search boat
was chartered yesterday afternoon by
Frank Garbutt, Joe Pugh and Clar-
ence Hebler of the South Coast Yacht
club, who felt considerable anxiety
over her appearance. They Sc
cured the launch Orient apd steered
for the west end of Catalina, where
they met the missing yacht reeling off
nine knots an hour on her way to Los
Angeles haT5oT.
The Sweetheart had started in the
Whitley cup race around the island
on Saturday and when last seen by
the other yachts in the race was drift
ing In toward the rocks surrounding
Catalina harbor, the wind not being
strong enough to give her steerage
way. The other yachts were only a
few miles away, and when they ar
rived home Sunday night and the
Sweetheart had not appeared twenty
four hours later, fear was expressed
by the other yachtsmen that she had
come to grief in the light winds and
the eddies which draw ships to the
rocky island.
ON HER WAY
When the Orient met her coming
home sailing like a witch, the launch
made all haste for shore and notified
relatives and friends of those on board
the Sweetheart that all was well and
that she was homeward bound. When
she dropped her hook In the mud at
San Pedro quite a number of people
came down to greet her skipper and
crew, expressing great thankfulness
and relief that nothing had happened
to her.
With Commodore Smith were Fritz
Whitney, Harry Hazard, Seaman
King, William Jordan, Joseph 'Blick,
Walter Brennick, Nelson christensen,
a sailor from Iseland, and Bert S. Cole
man.
The Sweetheart was first over the
line at the start of the race on Sat
urday, with Fritz Whitney, who sailed
the Lurline in the Honolulu race two
years ago, at the helm. 1t was try
out for the big schooner, the boat hav-
ing had her sails hauled up the day be-
fore for the first time.
On the run over to Catalina the
Sweetheart caused a surprise among
the yachtsmen of the fleet by arriv-
ing at the east end third to the Mah-pe
and Winsome, which led all the way
across. To windward were the Wave
and the Mischief, which were having
a contest of their own. The Shadow
came next to the island and was fol-
lowed by the Seabird and the Royal
Both the latter boats got into dead
calm Just below Avalon and that was
the last seen of them by the rest of
the feet Saturday night.
MAH-PE GETS WIND
The Mah-pe struck a breeze south
of the island and disappeared up the
channel on the south side of Catalina
like a streak. The Winsome got the
breeze a little later and followed, along
with the Mischief and the Wave. The
Shadow chased along after them In
manner pretty to behold in such a little
craft, the heavy seas tossing the small
sloop about like a cork.
AS darkness fell the Sweetheart held
her course toward San Clemente is
land with the intention of making one
big tack in an effort to reach ahead
of the other boats, which were keeping
close in. The wind grew light toward
morning, however, and about o'clock
the Sweetheart was becalmed in a
heavy choppy swell four miles off the
isthmus at Catalina. BY daylight she
had drifted close in to the southeast
erly headland and the rest of the fleet
was seen several miles to windward
and also hugging the rocks danger
ously close.
With the rising of the sun in the
natural harbor, which is lined with
towering rocks and hills, where even
the wild goats must have felt isolated,
the heat beat down on the crew Of
the Sweetheart, which lay rolling
frightfully, her canvas tapping from
side to side as steadily as machinery.
Not a breath of air reached the crew
i on this Sunday morning and the
heavy, dead rollers, the result of a
Z recent storm at sea, shook the craft
I until she groaned and became an in
-
was out Of the question because of
the rattle of the swaying sails and
rigging. All the skipper and crew
could do was to say things regarding
the weather which would not look well
I in print. They invented new sayings
of the calm which had never been
heard before on land or sea. -
Fritz Whitney hugged the wheel and
searched and whistled for wind. Com
modore Smith came up from a rest
less rest" below and looked disgust
edly around. Harry Hazard COM
menced to joke about the weather, or
lack of it, and "Bill' Jordan came near
being thrown overheard when he sug-
gested that NELSON" the Swede from
Iceland, get breakfast. "Bilr' was as
cheerful as a cricket, however, and
tried to rouse out the Swede. The lat
ter had sailed around the world in
''windjammers," but he was found to
be "all in" He had met his Nemesis
in a rolling sea on hot day in small
schooner.
Walter Brennick, who sailed to Hon
olulu two years ago in the Gwendolyn
II, was undisturbed by the rolling
swell and still air. He gave one look
at the "Swede" and laughed cruelty.
He declared that the only cure for sea-
sickness was work, but he failed to
apply the cure to Nelson" Still, al
though not hungry, those aboard the
yacht were not feeling so bad. 1t was
yet Sunday morning and the other six
boats of the fleet were in sight at the
next headland of the island. They
were wallowlng around and 1t kept the
= bunch cheerful to know that the rest
were also suffering. Besides, they
were convinced that the westerly
trades would come along not later than
noon of Sunday and then the yacht
would slip along and be out of the
doldrums
Little did they know that it would
be thirty-six long hours before the
yacht would get away from the bleak
and uninviting coast and dangerous
rocks. The place appeared for all the
world as though it were 10000 miles
from North America. The schooner
\ drifted in close with the current and
L then drifted out again. Light zephyrs,
which drew the .other yachts-much
lighter craft-slowly up the coast,
spilled the wind out as she lay in the
trough of the sea without steerage