Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1927-03-06

~ at sea, I fully believe that
"A ships are born, so to speak.
4 4 under lucky or unlucky stars,
just like human beings. Call
It superstitious nonsense, if you like,
but that is my firm conviction.
BY way Of evidence. let me tell you
the odd story of the luck that followed
a particular ship. I think you will
agree, after hearing 1t, that more than
the coincidence theory is needed to
fully account for it.
On the occasion OF the Moro s
launching she began her characters.
ito antics in her very cradle, 50 to
speak, before she took water at all.
Through somebody's miscalculation
OF distance, as she was gliding down
the ways" some projecting object on
her upper deck caught a scaffolding on
which 20 men were at work, bringing
the whole thing down with a crash.
Two Of the workmen were killed out
right and all the others were more or
less seriously injured,
The steamer next ran into and sank
her starboard tug, causing many
thousands Of pounds damage through
the consequent delay to the shipping
in the river, for the sunken tue lay
right across the fairway, and no vessel
of any size could proceed either up or
down stream until the wreck had been
blown up. The courts found that the
newly born Moro could not be held re-
sponsible for the damage, as she was
not under her own power at the time
OF the accidents, and not as yet in
charge Of her owners.
Then, on her maiden trip, she ran
ashore in the Channel while outward
bound, and two-thirds Of her coal
cargo had to be jettisoned to enable
her to float off again, which she did
with no damage at all to herself.
Again the courts found that the
stranding had occurred through IAN
act OF God," and not through any fault
OF the master or ship owners. So the
cargo insurance companies had to pay
up for the lost coal and look pleasant
over It.
Next she had a mutiny aboard on
the very same trip, and on her return
home I Joined her at Cardiff. We
were ordered to Java. All went we'll
until we entered the Celebes Sea and
were running down the east coast OF
Borneo.
About noon one Sunday the cape at
the entrance to Macassar Straits was
visible on the starboard bow. In the
opinion of the chief mate, we were
skirting the shore rather too closely,
but the skipper was supposed to know
what he was about.
X X X
TT was presently noticed that though
1 the propeller was still churning
away merrily, the ship was making no
Roadway through the water. We
speedily discovered that she was hard
and fast on the soft sand-and-mud
bottom. having taken the ground so
gently that no shock had been felt.
The engines were at once stopped, of
course, for every revolution was mere
ly driving her deeper into the shoal.
Then "full-astern" was tried for half
an hour, with no result except to
churn UP the dark-brown mixture of
the sea.bottom all round the ship.
should observe that the chart gave
no indication Of that particular shoal;
the Moro, with her usual chssedress,
had found II for herself.
BY four bells in the afternoon watch
the ship had developed pretty good
Hist to starboard; bringing theh water
TO within couple Of feet of the out
side edge of the trunk-deck on that
side.
so we settled down to wait either
for a ship or high tide, and mean
while the chief mate and one or two