Evening star., 1926-05-10
THOUSANDS GREET
ROTOR SHIP ARRIVAL
SWarmS of Tugs and Motor
Boats Gather About Baden
Baden in New York.
by GRANVILLE wmITTLESEY. jr

Special Correspondent ol The star and the
North American New spar"r Alliance
NEW YORK. MAY 10.--Sunrise YES
terday morning popped a surprise
on tho occupants Of quarantine, when
It revealed a strange newcomer ar
rived in the darl hours before dawn.
II was a small cratt, mounting huge
yellow r,H>vr st bow and stern. and
displa wing the word Flettner flung
along her sides i'm great red letters.
In the brisk morning air the mer-
chant faC of Germany fluttered over
her stern. and the house pennant of
the Flettner rotorship waved from her
wireless mast amidShips. Certainly
IT was the Strangest craft that Ger.
many has sent to these shores since
she visited them in 1916 with the
cargo submarine ptut Srhland. Ap.
parentiE the harhor craft thought $50,
too. Leaving their more pressing
business. sWumS of tugs and motor
boats hove alongside tu ScrutiniZe
this ugly duckling from overseas.
At 10 pm. Anton Ilettner. ac-
companied hN his wife and 4 flock
OF newspaper men and photographers
came down to the NarroWs in a
storm. capt CallSen swung the
bridge telegraph over TO fun speed
ahead and we were off To astonish.
end convince a crowd OF ScepticS sim
liar to that which over a 100 years
ago boned the first VOYAGE of Robert
Fulton'S CIermont in this same
harbor.
Runs Under Motor Power.
f9nt moment we're not d lSappointed.
No sooner had the vessel come abreast
Robinsons Reef. with q fresh breeze
on her port beam, than the engine
was shut off. and with fore rotor go
1ng 100 aud the aft l20 the Baden
Baden started. heading straight for
the WoolWorth Building at eight
knots. a speed officially verified by
her inventor. Pilot George Steiffe
who has been taking liners in and
out Of New York for the past II
years or more. was not the least
astonishei witness aboard.
Before saw her do this | didn't
believe ii possible" he declared. hut
now | sure do.
No sooner had the ship arrived off
the Battery and started Warping into
her slip alongside the New York fire
boat than thousands of people, seem
ing TO rush from the very heart of
the city, came down to line the old
sea wall and cheer the last step of
this epoch making voyage.
Flettner Is Elated.
Surrounded by a swarm of report
ers, Flettner declared: The rotorShip
has fully justified my confidence in
her. She has completely fulfilled my
expectations"
Pilot Stieffe summed up the i'm
pressions of his first trick on the
bridge OF a. rotorship. Coming mp
against a strong tide the ship made
all of six and a half knots over the
ground and speed through the wa
ter approaching eight, She's much
handler than a sailing VeSsel-even
n bit handler than a steamer he
cause in addition to the engines I am
able to use the rotors in getting her
into her berth against the wind" P"
Data Undetermined
Her log shows that the Baden Baden n
has covered 3.S40 miles from the ca.
narieS in a total Of - daES hours.
Two thousand of these miles were
done under rotor alone. Ten conSecu-
tive days were done solely with wind
power and four more alternately un-
der rotor and motor. The remainder
of the voyage was made with COmhina-
tion rotor and motOr-the sma Hest
part being made with motor alone.
What results will show in the way
of fuel savings neither Flettner nor
Chief Engineer Helmar Delamotte are
yet in a position TO official declare
hut when it is realized that with the
main engine running the ship con
Sumed one ton of fuel daily. il is ap-
parent that roughly II tons out Of a
total of % with which We sailed from
Das Palmas must have been con
served
The best days run was under rotor,
when. just after leaving Palma Island.
we made 207 miles The worst was
under motor and rotor in the storm
of May 9Th off Hatteras. when we
made almost no northing, progressing
eastward but 50 miles.
(Copyright 1926. by the North American
Newspaper Alliance