The Washington herald., 1910-11-13
SAILOR LONG MISSING
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Continued from Page One.
bold and successful circumnavigation of
the globe. alone in the little spray. dur
ing the years 1S95-lsss. This great achive-
ment is without parallel In ocean navi-
cation and may always remain SO.
History Interesting.
The captain leaves an intensely inter
estIng and instructive account OF as
famous voyage In his book, Sailing
Alone Around the World" In il he tells
us how a friend gave him the Spray.
which was then lying abandoned in a
field at Fairhaven. Mass. With his own
hands, as before stated. he rebuilt and
refitted the vessel, until there was scarce
~ anything left of the old craft except
the name, which was retained. He was
thirteen months In doing the work. at a
cost Of s552.62 for material and fittings
The Spray was only sc feet inches
long; Il feet inches beam: feet 6 inches
depth Of hold Sls feet draft: tons bur-
den net. u tens gross. She was sloop
! rugged. and was ballasted with cement
Three anchors were carried. one OF 40
one OF 100. and the other of $50 pounds
After passing through the Straits of Ma
gellan, the yawl rig was adopted The
heavy mainsail was reduced in size and
small mast carrying a jisger sail was
erected at The stern. This rig is the best
and safest for one man to handle and
the captain says he made no mistake in
adopting it.
A Worlds Voyage.
After spending a season around home.
Capt Sloeum resolved upon voyage
around the world. alone, in the Spray.
1t was a great undertaking. and IL was
commenced not without some misgivIngs,
when. on July 2. 1895. he sailed from
Yarmouth, Nova scotia, his last hold on
North America
From Yarmouth the Spray headed for
Gibraltar, where she arrived in twenty
nine days. She next visited in the order
mentioned. the following places: Cape
Verde Islands, Pernambuco. Rio de ia
metro, Montewdeo. Bueno Ayres. Straits
/ OF Magellan. Island OF Juan Fernandez.
Samoa. principal ports of Australia. is
lands OF the Keeling COcos. Rodriguez,
| and Mauritius. Natal and Cape Town. ST.
/ Helena, several Of the West Indies, New
port, K. L., and FaiThaven, Mass.
| When the Spray arrived at the Straits
Of Magellan, February II. 1896. she en-
tered that gloomy and treacherous pas
sage with high, battling gales and fierce
currents. Three different times the little
vessel was driven back. and II was not
until after month OF determined and
perseYering effort that Capt. siocum
| finally succeeded in reaching the Pacific
and laying q course across that vast ex-
panse.
Cross His Compass.
OF his run to Samoa. the captain says.
Il sat and read my books, mendsd my
clothes. or cooked my meals and ate
them in peace. Nothing could be easier
or more rsstful than my voyage in the
trade winds. For one whole month my
vessel held her course The Southern
| Cross I saw every night abeam. The
sun every morning came up astern:
every evening II went down ahead ]
wished for no other compass TO guide
! me. for these were true"
| The Spray possessed the remarkable
| quality OF practically steering herself For
instance, ia the run from Torres Strait.
Northern Australia, TO the Keeling Cocos
distance OF 2,T00 miles, The captain says
/ he did not spend altogether more than
4 AAA4N2 ilAiG al TIC AEAttY liIll4llE TIE
| time occupied in beating into Keeling
Harbor. just dashed the wheel and Ter
her go. whether the wind was abeam or
dead aft II was all the same; she always
sailed on her course"
/ Long newspaper accounts OF the Spray S
endless trail around the world preceded
her 10 most Of the ports that she visited
When the vessel put in an appearance a
warm reception was always in waiting.
Her modest commander was often
| abashed at the demonstrations in his
honor. He once told the writer that he
| preferred to enter port quietly. unbe-
known TO any one.
! Funds for the necessary expenses OF
the voyage were secured I'm various ways,
but principally by lectures IN halls for a
| small admission fee. To heaT the intrepid
captain relate his adventHfes-the seas
ne had crossed, the storms he had safely
weathered and the different countries and
people he had yisited-was a treat never
TO be forgotten.
In Track OF Liners.
Has the bold sailor who repeatedly and
successfully braved the severest storm,
OF three oceans finally met disaster OF
his own coast? Or has his wandering
spirit prompted him to stray far from
the usual track Of ocean travel I'm search
Of new adventures? However this may
be, II Is highly improbable that trouble
overlook him from any mismanagement
OF the Spray. Il is far more likely thai
he was run down in a dense fog while ir
the track Of the great liners. In sucl
an event, the slOop would have beer
| crushed like an eggshell. and probably
without the knowledge or any one OF
board the larger craft.
Capt SlOeum seems 70 have had a pre-
monitor OF his fate. as he remarked tC
his wife only a short time before hi
last sailing that ''seaweed would probabl.
mark his grave"