Evening star., 1927-11-20
Fights Waterspout and Hurricane Off Carolina Coast

voice, roaring above the bowling of
the wind and the crash of rigging,
shouted, ''Out Of there. Gene. and give
q hand"'
Fighting my way through the tor
rent of water that poured through the
I reached the deck
Just as q tremendous wave struck our
starboard side. rose in a towering arch
above us, and collapsed over the
schooner. When I could see again, 1
was wedged in the companionway by
part OF the main boom. the captain was
hanging to the main sheets. and Eddie
was partly over the side. clutching
the boom. Barney was nowhere in
sight.
The captain began to try to take in
the main boom, and Eddie joined him.
Before the next wave came we had
pulled II over the deck and secured
some of the main sheet with STAYS.
The foremast and rigging had gone
with the first wave, or perhaps with
the wind. do not know, and we were
lying on our side. every now and then
rising to the crest of a wave and com
ing down hard upon solid earth.
With great seas breaking over US,
and a fierce wind that actually ripped
our clothes from our body, keeping us
all but submerged into the sea, we had
little hope of lasting for more than a
few minutes. The deck was entirely
under water. and even the mainmast,
where the three of us were dashed,
was beaten successfully by waves. If
the mainmast did not go soon. We
would in all probability be swept from
the reef we had struck into deeper
water and lost.
We chung together, with our faces
away from the wind 80 that we could
breathe, and shouted in one another's
ears.
Must be on a reef" beloved the
captain. Must be 20 miles OUT
II think hear breakersr' I shouted
back.
Cant be-cant be-" repiied the
OUT"
A HUGE wave swept down like an
avalanche. carried us up on its
mountainous crest and trampled over
US. We went down like O rocket and
struck the earth. For some moments
L was unconscious. The mainmast
was still fast; all of us were safe, and
discovered Barney lashed to the
broken stump OF the foremast. Our
only hope was that we might stay
upon the reef until the hurricane sub
sided.
AS time went on, became convinced
that / heard breakers, and that we
were near the beach; and Barney, who
had crawled over to our mast, agreed
with me. Somehow. Barney managed
to go forward again, and came back
with a box.shaped foghorn. He lashed
himself to the mast again, and began
to grind out dismal, believing sounds
that moaned like death knells above
the roar of the hurricane. Even then
il struck me 50 funny that l laughed,
for sometimes it sounded like a calf,
at other times like a branded bull
How long Barney kept grinding the
siren I do not know. 1t must have
been for at least an hour, for the
waves began to decrease In size. and
we began to pound less. Suddenly we
saw q flare Of light to windward.
steady flame appeared. THE life
saverst' screamed Barney. We all
cheered from pure joy; we were on
the beach, and help was coming!
For an endlessiy long time. 1t
seemed. there was no sound OF hu.
man aid-oniy high expectation in our
hearts. Then suddenly, out Of the
darkness. the white Of a life-boat ap-
peared above the crests Of the waves,
and IN it were the dusky forms of men
battling against the surf. With. SUI
perb seamanship they came alongside.
and we clanabered In. We reached the
beach to see crowd Of men, women
ana children gathered high on sand
dune In front of u driftwood fire.
The next morning the storm was
over, and we went down to the beach
to see the Sea Scamp lying on her
side in about a foot OF water. The
beach was Uttered with wreckage Of
the schooner, and OF other good ships
that had come to grief on Cape Look
out Far back from the beach was
yawi that had beeh thrown there by
waterspout the day before.
Lucky you weren't caught in IT,"
a lifeguard said to me.
Whether we were driven to the
beach by the. hurricane, or whether
the captain was misguided by the
lights, / do not know. l can only
thank the luck that put us on the
beach. And scarcely a hundred yards
away was a stone breakwater, extend
ing far out into the water. Driven in
from the south. we had missed it by
miracle. Had we struck it. this story
would never have been written.
But Fate was good all-around
sport. for in one short voyage she had
given me q full set of the most dan
gerous adventures that ever beSet
seaman. and left me alive to try them
again some time.
tCopyrirht 1927