Oxford Democrat. [volume] (Paris, Me.) 1833-1933, 1912-05-28
HUNGRY FOR SHIPS
Goodwin Sands, In the North Sea,
Swallow Them PitnessIy.
SCENE OF MANY TRAGEDIES.
These Greedy Shoals, That Mock Mana
Efforts to Tame Them, Once 0uipsd
Down Q Fleet Of War Vessels With
Over . Thousand Officers and Men.

Efforts to Tame Them, Once 0uipsd
Down Q Fleet Of War Vessels With
Over . Thousand Officers and Men.
From the steep rough shore Of Deal.
overlooking the ship swallowing Good.
win sands. many Of the pilgrim ia.
thes embarked for America. and
their descendants, in visiting or leaving
England. travel through the famous
downs from which their stern progent
tors set sail In search Of perfect liberty
The Goodwins were then In the heyday
Of their evil reputation. and for un.
numbered years they have been AS,
much the graveyard Of the narrow seas
as Sable island is Of the Atlantic ocean
With fefvent thankfulness the pilgrim
fathers saw the last Of those notorious
and farreaching shoals which break
the vicious seas In gales and make
them surge and roar like rapids and
which. faithful to their treacherous
character. appear on bright summer
days az restful as golden plains, with
blue and glorious rivers running
through the countless channels.
Ships Of battle. treasure ships. In
diamen with precious cargoes and emi
grant ships have sailed us far US tn"
Goodwins and there have been ensu!f
ed. Most travellers who skirt the coast
between the Forelands see the eanui
remains of melancholy wrecks.
The romantic tale is told that the
Good wins were at one time beautiful
and fruitful island. the estate OF Earl
Good win. but that In 1907 they De
came vast sh0al because Of n turbu.
lent rage of rain and an unheard OF
rage of the sea-" The island disap-
peared and became incredibly covered
with sand" That has been the tradi.
ton for many centuries. and less than
200 years ago there was an aIehouse
keeper who declared that his Onken
Switchboard was made from tree
which grew on the Goodwins when
they were an island.
A clerical investigator. however. who
knew the publican. sorrowfully classed
him as a lying fellow. Although the
tradition is generally credited. It seems
far more likely that the Goodwins are
formed by the strong run Of the tide
down the North sen and the tide up the
strait of Dover. the two meeting OF
the Kentish coast and sweeping vast
quantities OF sand In whirlpool Shoai
In those days of numbering sailing
craft. when vessels were completely at
the mercy of the weather. there was
little hope of keeping clear OF the
Good wins unless the sands could be
discerned and wind and tide were fl
vorable. Every gale that blew gave
tribute OF life and vessel to the Shoals
There have been memorable ds;l>lrr>
In recent years. even since sleain hr
came almost universal for mnrin" pro
pulsion. but the most noted c;llaIniile"
relute to the days Of sail Of all that
have been put on record none II more
terrible than the annihilatiOn Of III en
tire feet OF warships III the storm
which devastated England In lob
Thirteen warships anchored In the
downs were swept from their moor
Ings. Some were driven ashore Five
Including four sail Of the line. were
hurled toward the GOodwins and das!
ed to pieces. Nearly l,l0O officers and
men perished. yet handful were
saved and brought to shore by men VI
Deal and Ramsgate and the little ha
vens Of the coast
""IYs the hard gray weather breeds
hard Englishmen." The hardest nnd
grayest British weather Is that OF the
North sea. The Goodwins are at the
southernmost part Of the North sen.
and there ON the coast line overlooking
the sands men battle csaselesSly with
one of the sailors most pitiless eIe'
mics. The Goodwins cannot be coaxed
or engineered into submission.
They Hout mastery and scorn doini'
nation and In their essentials remain
what they have been for centuries.
Man has tried repeatedly to bride
them. to ind foothold on their slink'
ing bases. More than 800 years ago
scheme was formed to build beacon
or a lighthouse on the Goodwins. but
II came to nothing. Long afterward
attempts were made to raise q light
house. but the work was never m
ished. In lS4l an old ship was scut'
tied and was made dead weight With
ballast A mast was put In her and
bore a beacon but only for a time.
The greedy Goodwins swallowed all.
The only way to conquer the shoah
u to grid them with buoys and light
shipa and that has been 10 well &C
eomplishsd that In fne weather the
sands are marked a. clearly on the
w.tarv a the hours are indicated on
the dial Of q watch. But foss make
bsacons useless, and 70 rapid u tho
run Of the sea IN the swashes or
channels Of the sands that even In
clear weather IN sxperienced pnos
may not rot bis vessel safely through
The indicated tracks--Waltef WOOD IN
HazpsTs Magaxina
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