Daily Kennebec journal., 1916-09-27

here today a captain without ship,
a sacrifice to government negligence"
said Levi Foran, master mariner with
a proud record Of 80 years on the seas
behind him. standing this morning on
the sloping deck Of the broken thing
on the rocks at Crescent Beach, that
had once been the palatial passenger
steamer Bay State.
The big hulk of her lay on the rocks
in exactly the same position where the
daylight found her Saturday morning.
when at 325 in one Of the densest fogs
this coast has experienced in years,
she rammed herself hard and fast
with 200 souls aboard her on what will
go down in coast history as her last
trip from Boston to Portland.
A captain without ship" he re-
peated "and this little piece of paper"
tapping the commission in his breast
pocket for which / haye worked 90
years. goes by the board My life ef-
fort has been for nothing" and ships
officers standing by recognized a note
in Captain Forans voice that neither
the fear of death or shipwreck or any
other emotion had ever put into it be-
fore.
The sunlight and the still sea made
the scene of the wreck little like that
of last Saturday morning with the
shadow of her big hulk showing faint
through the fog, as the Express-Ad-
vertiser reporter climbed aboard her
inc n fni ND
Chief Engineer Startling were on the
bridge and it was here, where he had
so many times safely seen the ship
through stress and storm that Captain
Foran told his story, the first author
ICED account OF the night, to break the
silence that has been maintained in If
ticial quarters since the wreck.
Buoys Responsible
To the style of buoys in use in the
vicinity of the wreck, Capt. Foran
lays the responsibility for the affair.
They are known as combination buoys
owing to the fact that they not only
show light but whistle. They lay so
low in the water. he says. and have so
little buoyancy. that they can be heard
but a short distance when there is a
Std, dIlu SdS tllGt oIi tiiC HIS III VI thC
wreck their lights could be caught
sight of but momentarily.
II could neither see nor near the
buoy that replaced the lightship. at
any time during the whole time we
were in this vicinity, and only heard
what now appears to have been the
buoy on Old Anthony, when l was
hard by it. It's signal came from close
by like little grunts in the fog" See
ing no other buoy, and his distances
having worked out as usual, he imme-
dately put in as he would had it been
the lightship buoy as it seemed to be.
and a few minutes later his vessel
piled up on the rocks.
Captain Foran's Story
Il left Boston on the usual sailing
time Friday night, the 22nd. with ia
vorable light southeast winds and clear
weather. When l got to Bakers Is
land off Salem dense fog shut In.
This was about $50 as nearly as l can
remember without my log.
II went into the pilot house at that
time and remained there all through
the night, and was there when the ves-
sci struck. l had two pilots with me.
First Pilot Jones and Second Pilot l..
Gilpatrick, both first class men in
every way. got down to Tatcher's Is
land, and from the Cape Ann whist
ling buoy took my usual course for the
lightship.
Stopped the Ship
Il threw my log regularly, and gave
my usual course for the lightship as
I have stated. I ran my time up for
the Cape Elizabeth buoy, that I knew
had taken the place of the lightship.
When sailing time was up. 1 stopped
my ship dead and listened for the
whistle of the buoy. For a time no
sound came at all out Of the black
ness, then after a minute or so the
sound Of a whistling buoy came from
just abeam close on my port side.
Il was then by ordinary reckoning
at the lightship's buoy, and put the
wheel to starboard and held my ship
in close to the buoy. while l threw
my seachlight and tried to distinguish
it. it was impossible to see 1t so
thick was the fog. 1 judged myself.
however, about a half a length from
the buoy. caught a glimmer for sec
ond of its light, and started ahead
again at 3.11 from the buoy. on a
nor-nor'west course as usual.
4 had full confidence after l heard
the whistle kept her off nor-nor'west,
I could hear no sound of Cape Eliza
beth whatever. not a sound OF any
thing, in fact. Just before I made this
buoy the steamer Camden passed
close to me on my starboard side, go
ing west.
This, as every other indication.
showed that 1 was in the right course
for the lightship.
Reversed Engines
Il remained with this buoy. as l
have said. for perhaps a minute and
then started the ship. heading her
nor-nor'west at 3.11. / struck the rocks
at s.25 after being IA minutes on this
course. At S.24 our lookout sang out
Breakers dead ahead I reversed the
engines. full speed. but it was too late
She had struck
"A minute after she struck got the
wireless working. and sent out Il call
for assistance at once I also kept
my warning signal going. as a fur
ther danger call. 1t seemed to me only
the matter Of a few minutes before the
lifesavers came alongside, although OF