Newark evening star and Newark advertiser. [volume] (Newark, N.J.) 1909-1916, 1911-04-07

Irene. tbs was done as an emergency
measure in case a storm develops.
The Irene looked like an immense
spider in a web of tow lines, which
radiated from her stem and stern to the
bobbing fleet of revenue cutters and
tugs. Near noon, as the tide began to
flood strongly. the Trene's big proper
lers began churning the sea, while the
tugs strained laboriously to free the
steamehip from the shoals. The and
however, hold the big ship fast.
An accommodation ladder has been
Let down on the lee side OF the Irene,
down which the passengers will be
taken to the boats for transfer to the
Prinz Friedrich
Captain Charles w. Baker. of the
Polnt-of-Woods 1ife-sayins station,
said at noon that he northwest Wind
sounds good to me. as II will knock
the sea down and hatten out the
ground swell"
THE position OF the Irene said
Captain Baker, lis about the same as
last night. though che has worked IN
shore a little more. She IS embedded
il the sand, ans 1 think from stem
TO stern. and for this reason / don't
think she will spring aleal;."
Those OF her 1.72o passengers who
srose early after a ~sleepless night and
surveyed their predicament from the
decks Of the big liner. saw to the lee
ward the l~ife-savers who had been pa
trolling the beach all night. When
they looked 10 the seward they we're
spat in the ace by the spra% OF great
swells. which an increasing wind was
piIing higher and higher in threatening
onslaught against the ships ~broadside.
Whether their safety rested with the
big tugs which still remained on the
scene. ready to have another pull at
che teaner today: whether in trans
fer to a sister ship sent from the Ho-
boken docks, or whether they would
have TO resort 10 the grim-looking
breeches buoy apparatus and the life
savers boats. were questions a%nxiously
exchanged, with nothing better than
suesses for an answer
From the Lone Hill life-saving station,
only a stone-throw away, where patrol.
men had kept watch all night, the his
ship was plainly visible at dawn. The
tugs, which had pulled at her at high
side this morning had hauled the stefa
Of the vessel twenty-five degrees from
her original position, but their effo.ts
hsd unfortunately only pushed the stem
deeper into the sand-bar.
At low tide the vessels water lire
shows fourteen feet above the sea She
is resting in sixteen feet OF water. and
as she has a draft of Sc feet il is wi
dent she is stuck at least six feet deep
in the sand. Sand is neaped high about
her forefoot and stem. and half Of her
keel is buried in il. So heavily did she
plunge into the bar that her starGoard
propeller shows only half subnnrged at
low water. From shore she is seen to
ron heavily from the pounding received
on her seward side.
The problem OF transferring the pas
sengers is a serious one. The lie
savers said this morning hat it would
be practically impossible to get thcir
boats to the ship without rlskii'g a
smash. Captain Charles W. Baker.
who has seen many bad situations in
his twenty-five years' experience al = =
this so-caiied graveyard of the At
lanffc,' admitted hat this was a inu<t
troublesome problem. He felt no tom
cern about the safety Of the CHS
sengers, even II they had to remain or
the steamer two or three days In such
weather as this. but IL an unexpected
storm one up II will mean resort to
the breeches-bnoy.
There was no evidence early today
that the vessel had sprung even the
slightest leak, but the l~fe-savtrs
thought that a couple of days pound
ing would buckle some of her plates.
The water-tight compartments, how
ever. will probably hold her up inde1-
rfiteiy.