Honolulu star-bulletin. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu, Hawaii]) 1912-2010, 1913-12-09
STRUGGLE AGAINST THE
cAPRIcEs OF THE SEA

For many weeks there mas Deen an
unequal struggle on San Francisco bay
off Black Point 1t has been the strug-
gle of an cid man against the ele-
ments; a struggle of man against the
caprices OF the sea, turbulent currents,
the ebb and flow Of the tide, restless
winds and a conspiracy of unseen COM.
binations.. The man is Captain T. p.
! H. Whitelaw, wrecker, says the Elk
aminer. 10. -,
This struggle has been going on
out in the open, yet it has been hid.
den. Passengers on the decks of Ves-
sells which pass in and out, of the
Golden Gate have looked long at the
reclining spars of partly submerged
vessel around which are gathered
ibarges ana wrecking tackle. They
have a passive look, yet they form
the mechanical parts OF a herculean
task directed by a veteran man Of
the sea, who since July ID, has been
using them as means to an end-to
save a sunken vessel with $500 tons
Of coal and treasure in her old hull.
The raising of this vessel means a
great deal-to the wreeker. 1t means
J the winning or losing of a small for
tune. }tG So, La,
fygiiI His Pluck Min. >..@ -.@cs IL: ss
h Will tfl3B Sfna4,s wits ana persever-
ancetc conquer the sea ~.
| This question is the subject Of daily
| debate among the men on the wharyes
who are watching the struggle; who
see the spars of the old schooner J. III.
Lunsmann well upright and out of the
water one day and the next day re-
clining, submerged to the point of the
tasks beginning. ~, "a &. .-ss
| All wish the old wrecker luck ex-
1 master of the LunsInann, when, at
anchor in the harbor after her arrival
from Australia, she was rammed and
sunk. by the steamer Francis Fl. Leg
gett. .rE@Fs1 q. 80 -. y
| Captain Weitkanut has peeuniary
reasons for not wanting his schoon-
! er salved TO him 1t means thous-
ands of dollars in insurance from the
marine underwriters If the vessel is
not raised and restored to the sea.
To Captain Whitelaw it means an
equal, if not greater amount Of money
IL he saves the vessel, for he has
4 taken the job on the basis of Is per
cent of the salvage, or about $50 900.
Task Like GiIiiat's. -. -.
| Those who have read Victor Hugo's
''ToiIers of the Sea" fancy they can
see comparison in Captain White
laws struggle with that of Gilliat
The motive Of the latter was love,
and in the case Of the former it is
struggle to save the hard earnings
of lifetime. IGilliat's task was fic-
tional Whitelaw's task is real-de-
cidedly real. S.
Whitelaw has powerful machinery
and men to help him, but the burden
of the great task rests on him. He
directs the work, the responsibility,
the reward of success and the penalty
of failure are his.
The wreck is regarded as a menace
| to navigation, and the army engineers
whose duty it is to remove such
menaces have served notice on the
wrecker that unless he removes the
wreck within given time they will
7 dynamite it.
The obstacle seems to have aroused
Tie anger vi IAS SSd. currents nave
moved the wreck while the gear has
been around it. The sharpness of it's
turnings have been favorable or I'M
! favorable, according to tide and wind
Beneath the surface are waves of
force which are invisible.
! Victory Near, He Says.
AS fast as his divers stanch one of
| the holes in the side of the schooner,
an unfriendly swell undoes the work.
The wrecking crew has been able to
work but few hours a day, some
days not at all
Captain Whitelaw is a man of stout
heart, and declares he will yet con-
quer. He claims to now have the yes
sci alright, and predicts that he will
have the schooner af1oat and on her
way to the drydOck within week.