Five Mile Beach weekly journal., 1918-04-19
OCEAN GOING BARGE
STRANDED ON BEACH

mond, cast adrift in the great storm,
had been deposited on our strand at
the foot OF Schellenger and Lincoln
n Much curiosity was aroused
by this unusual spectacle and every
body was anxious to know how and
why it was all brought about.
Some excited i~maginations, keyed up
to the top notch by the recent nerve
wracking storm experiences, may have
pictured an immense channel cut into
our shores, and Wild wood suddenly
converted into q port Of entry. But not
sol The barge came "over the top"
The force of the winds and the waves,
aided by the bullying tides, landed her
where she now lies, helpless and aban-
doned.
The Hammond, with two sister bar
ges, the Suffolk and Oak Hill, was run
ming light, enroute from Marblehead,
Mass, to Port Richmond, Philadel-
phia, In tow of one Of the fifteen hum
bred horsepower tug boats, owned by
the Philadelphia & Reading Coal &
Iron Co. The Northeaster overlook
the little fleet at II. 80 a. M. on Tues
day, April 9th, when midway between
Montauk Point, Long Island and Shin
necock lighthouse, which is not far
from Fire Island, l.. I. Then began
the battle with the elements, slow pro-
gress being made in the direction of
Co-Jx LIoot- NJ rtronof ond a h.
secon light, near Atlantic City.
Shortly after midnight on Tuesday,
the thick 1900 foot hawser connecting
the Hammond with the Suffolk, parted
and from hal moment the former drift
ed helplessly and almost hopelessly at
the mercy of the turbulent sea. One
2100 pound anchor WAS Immediately
cast, but this did not hold the boat,
and from soundings taken the captain
saw he was drifting. But this discov-
cry mattered not, for soon the strong
anchor chain was snapped asunder and
the fate of the barge appeared to be
sealed. The second anchor, weighing
1900 pounds was then hurriedly heaved
overheard, but availed naught. While
the chain of the second anchor did not
break, a rod on the anchor itself gave
way, and nothing then was left to the
unfortunate crew, in the way of the
boats management. and they longed
for aid and succor.
After being tempest-tossed for nearly
three days and three sleepless nights,
what a relief for these weary sailors to
find a rescue on our friendly shore,
having been taken off the doomed bar
ge In a lifeboat at 7 80 on Friday night,
under direction of Harry G. Sites, act
ing keeper of United States Coast
Guard station, No. 134, located at the
corner of Bennett and Pacific avenues.
These sailors we're cared for at the coast
station until Monday morning, when
three Of them went to their homes in
Philadelphia by rail, the captain re-
manning to accompany the head of the
salvage crew to New York, whittier all
the property recovered from the barge
was taken to be sold, on a fifty-fifty
basis.
Captain Charles Goldberg, of lao East
Montgomery avenue, Wildwood, who
was commissioned to undertake the
salvage work, began at once on Satur-
day morning to strip the boat of all
movable items, pursuing these opera
tions of course between tides. As the
vessel was rapidly filling aud settling,
the utmost haste was necessary, but
aver with all the speed manifested,
some valuable articles went into the
sand and sea with the boat. Among
those were two steam pumps, a steam
engine and q new heavy anchor chain
worth several hundred dollars. Per-
haps the most valuable single thing
taken off the boat was the remaining
section of the broken towing hawser.
This hawser was a new one, on its maid
en- trip as it were, and cost about $500.
This cable parted 240 feet from the Suf-
folk, leaving $50 feet to be taken In by
the Hammond. The weight of this
towing cable was 1900 pounds. Inclu-
ded in property recovered are numerous
coils of smaller cables and ropes, sails,
sail covers, hatch covers, windlasses,
pulleys of all kinds and sizes, and
many other things too numerous to
mention.
The Hammond was a two masted
barge, built in Baltimore in 1895, and
- 49,. 0An nnn nl.o Iannfb
of her keel was 1872 feet and width
of beam "a feet. She had a displsce-
ment of 693 tons, and her average car
rying capacity was 1000 tons.
The Reading Coal & Iron Co. own
eighty of these c~olliers and twelve