Ellsworth American. [volume] (Ellsworth, Me.) 1855-current, 1925-12-02
GOODS TUCBOAT"
A GLIMPSE OF THE SEACOAST
MISSION WORK.
The Sunbeam Carries Not Only
Gospel to Island Folk, but Real
Help in Time of Trouble.
(Katharine Crosby in Boston Tran
Script.)

All night our little boat had bump,
bump, bumped against the piers of
the government wharf at White
Head None of us had slept. The
glass was falling steadily and in the
words of the captain, ''it was going
to breeze on and blow" But there
was no sheltered anchorage near,
and we either had to take chance
of banging our sides in against the
dock or putting out into the storm in
search of a good harbOr. There had
been some ominously quiet discus
sions of the question before we turned
in, but we had decided to wait for
daylight and hope for a better wind.
At three o'clock in the morning
one of the men knocked at the door
of our cabin. I'VE want you women
to get up and dress. Don't want
you in your hunks when we start.
Yes, we're going to put out of here
just as soon as it's light"
Somebody made coffee, but it
seemed favorless. Nobody wanted to
eat. The men tried to reassure us.
cts only an hour and quarter run
make it all right-oh, sureW At
daylight we started
The Sunbeam is the boat in which
the Maine Seacoast Mission makes
its pastoral rounds among the islands
and lighthouses Of it's parish, which
extends, roughly speaking, from
Boothbay to Machias. She is fifty
seven feet over all, thirteen foot
beam, with two motors. Her nick
name in the family is the Holy
Roller That is as near denomina-
tional tag as anyone on the boat en-
joys, the mission being non-sectarian
She lives up to her name. She has
seen at least dozen years. of
strenuous service, winter and sum
mer, making forced trips for
emergency cases, breaking ice to get
into frozen ports where she was dire
fully needed, visiting harborless
lights, taking the storms as they
came.
The islanders call her Gods Tug
boat. | don't suppose we can realize
what she means to them. But she is
getting old, and a little feeble. With
no protecting bulkheads and with her
heavy engines, she doesn't like TAX
ing chances.
For a few minutes after we left the
wharf it was quiet enough. But then
the fun began. Ted went up to the
pilot house to see the waves come in.
BY the time we had got to Owls Head
she had seen enough, but she had to
stay because she couldn't get any
where else. There were three inches
of water on the pilot-house floor, but
she sat in it and held on. The cap
tain had to keep one of the windows
open to see where he was going. The
waves, of course, came in.
| stayed below in the cabin with
our chaperon, who was moored in
her bunk too sick to care what hap
pened, even though the books on the
shelves and the cold cream bottles
on the rack behind her were raining
upon her defenceless form. To pass
the time l interviewed the Parson,
who is an excellent sport. | even
made memoranda in my notebook OF
what he said. All the time | was try
ing to realize that waves aren't any
thing but state of mind and a
state of mind can't tip boat over.
But my arguments were not cOnvinc-
ing, at the moment.
Afterwards we asked him what he
was thinking of all that time, and he