The Republican journal., 1911-08-10
The Dangers Of the Deep.

Inc dangers OF the Deep.
Some Rough Experiences on the New Emo
land Coast.
This record-breaking season. with ifs
drouth and excessive heat, has also o;van
us September gale in July that furnish.
cd a long list OF marine disasters ali
along the New England coast. The loss
OF lie IS less than might have been ex-
pected, While the bringing into port of SO
many badly disabled vessels attests the ,e
skill and pluck of our seafarers. The
story of some of these experiences Is
! well worth recounting. The Mach;as
schooner Hortensia loaded lumber at IA.
munds and sailed for New York Jnlv
oath. Off Petit Manan Tuesday evening
she encountered heavy southwest paIe
and with such fury the little three-mas-
ter could not be made to head up to the
wind, and with all the attempts of her
captain to make her reach along to wind
ward she was driven many miles to lee.
ward and far off her course. When the
storm abated Capt. Clark found himself
to the southwark of Machias Seal Islands.
The little craft would almost stand on
end so great was the sea, the cabin was
flooded, and John Anderson, one of the
ships seamen, was injured while in the
rigging and had to be conveyed to the
marine hospital for treatment. Capt.
Clark arrived at Machiasport Wednesday
evening, July 18th, and made slight re-
pairs. He was unable to ship man to
take the place of the seaman he had
placed in the hospital, so sailed FRIDAY
evening. short-handed, in the teeth Of
what the weather bureau had been re-
porting all day was to be northeast
gale.
The Hortensia sailed from Starboard's
creek at 6 O'Clock, and when but two
hours out, her captain found himself in
the heart of northeast gale, with sea
making up from the south. He short
ened sail as best he could, tried the
pumps, and at 10 O'Clock got a suck on
the schooner. At II O'Clock, however,
the wind had shifted to the south and
increased in such force that the staunch
schooner could withstand the strain no
longer. Her seams We're opened and
she became waterlogged almost in the
time it takes to tell the story. All night
the crew hung to the wreck with the lib
and mainsail to its full height, Capt.
Clark fearing if the sail was lowered to
reef that he had not men enough to hoist
it back to its proper place, so the vessel
was allowed to carry her full mainssil
during the entire storm. The sea was
so rough that everything movable was
washed overheard, the doors were
washed off the cabin, every chair and
| table was completely demolished, the
clothing hanging in the cabin was torn
in strings by the wash Of the water from
one side of the cabin to the other, and
the crew was relieved from all their
belongings except what they stood in.
For Is hours they expected to see the
vessel knocked on her beam ends and dis
masted at any moment. The next morn
ing they found themselves near Bakers
island, and had the gale lasted an hour
longer, all would have persisted in the
breakers off Mt. Desert. With the
storm abating and a fair wind, Capt.
Clark shaped his course for Machias,
and on the following morning came limp
ing into port in a dilapidated condition.
The schooner Annie A. Booth, a Rock
land schooner, commanded by Capt NJ.
j. Atkinson of Machiasport, sailed in
company with the Hortensia and ex-
perienced even more hardships than did
the latter, which had gone through two
gales in five days. The Hortensia load
ed lumber for the Machias Lumber Co.
and was bound to New York The Booth
got away little in the lead of the other
vessel and for that reason reached the
heart of the storm in advance of the
Hortensia. At II o clock that night the
Booth was full of water and on her beam
ends with the foremost and miZzenmast
broken off at the deck, the deckhouse
and top of the cabin washed off, boat
gone and deckload strewed in all direc-
/ tons. The schooner rolled over to wind
ward, thus forming some protection for
/ the crew OF five men cllnglng to the yes
sells bottom, while the sea was running
mountains high and breaking over the
men grouped in bunch on the bottom of
the vessel, all clinging to one rope near
! the after rigging. Thus they hung for
! most certain as the schooner's hulk was
fast drifting toward the breakers. Sat
urday forenoon a sail was sighted which
proved to be the Portland fishing schoon-
/ er, Rena Persey, Capt. Turner, which
bore down on the wreck. With heroic
work in the dory, assisted by the fisher
mems crew of y men, the Booths crew
was rescued from their perilous -ondi-
ton. A line was run to the wreck and
Sunday morning the Booth was lowed
into the harbor from which she had but
two evenings previous sailed.
After three days almost ceaseless
work at the pumps to prevent their fast
filling vessel from laundering, nearly
two days without water, and only few
biscuits for food. the crew Of the little
schooner J. Arthur Lord, brought their
battered craft into Portland late Monday
afternoon. The schooner sailed from
St. John for New York July 9th with a
load Of lumber and on FriCay encoun-
tered the terrific gale and rain storm off
Cape Cod. The Lord was riding under
her foresail and jib, which We're ripped to
ribbons before the blast. The boats
were smashed, the davits torn away and
the deckload of lumber swept into the
sea by the seas that swept over the
vessel. AS the schooners was being
driven up to the coast of Maine by the
wind her seams were opened and the
water rose to depth of eigat feet in
her hold The men kept at The pumps
until Saturday morning. when Capt.