Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1930-09-04
WIND STRIPS LINER,
But SHIP ESCAPES.
Vessel Is Tossed About Like
Cork When Caught in
Center of Hurricane.

BY the Associated Press.
SAN JUAN, Porto Rico, September 4
"A battered tropical passenger liner
linped into this port today after having
passed through the very center of ont
of the worst hurricanes the Caribbean
has known in many years. The ship
the Porti Rico liner Coamo. Capt
Thomas Evans, escaped humiliation
narrowly.
The Coamo turned back from Santc
Domingo, her destination, last night
and for a dozen hours no word came
of her fate. Her wireless failed early
in the evening and it had been feared
disaster had been visited upon the ship
and all on board.
Emerging from the great storm this
morning, the skipper, Capt, Evans,
brought the Coamo safely to anchor,
but he could not explain how the ship
missed being wiped out with the storm
at its height all about him, amid furious
seas.
. Full Speed, No Adg~Me.
Buffeted for more than seven hours,
the engineers raced the engines at full
speed but could make little or no head
way. The wind stripped the decks of
everything movable, tore off matches
@s5 threw the vessel so far over on
her side that the oiling machinery was
useless. At last Chief Engineer Nc
Cough was forced to stop the engines
entirely so that emergency oiling could
be done and fuel oil ballast could be
pumped from port to starboard bunk
ers to trim the ship.
In all of this maelstrom not life
was lost and only few passengers were
injured slightly.
to the bottom of the glass while his
ship was in the center of the storm
DR.. W.. F. Gray, ships surgeon who
made a further examination of all in
his charge, announced that their in
juries were trivial
Capt. Evans praised the conduct of
the passengers and crew and the pas
sengers drafted letter praising the
captain and crew.
With a good crew you can weather
any storm" the skipper declared. MY
crew behaved wonderfully"
Passengers Give Thanks.
The letter from the passengers said:
''The passengers of your boat are very
grateful to you, your officers and crew
for their superb courage and the
handled while passing through tOklays
storm. In grateful appreciation to you.
sir, and your men, to whom We all be-
Heve We owe our lives, with the bless
ing of divine providence, we are pleased
and proud to thus express in slight
way our gratitude"
The Coamo, due to sail Cor New York
today, probably win be held here at
least for "a hours
nj en- aSvarr ~
Coamo had deplayed sailing from San
Juan for Santo Domingo a full day.
During the early hours of yesterday the
barometer went on a rampage, rising
and falling and stopping at 27.75, be-
cause it could go no lower.
The ship then was 4 miles off Santo
Domingo Harbor The seas were rum
ming too high to permit anchorage.
Capt. Evans cruised about, hoping for
calm.
Wind and Rain Blot View.
Suddenly a strong off-shore wind and
rain blotted out the island before the
shippers gaze. From then until after
noon the storm rose in intensity. Just
before pm, the captain said, the ship
approached the center of the disturb
ance. ~
I'm all my years at sea never have
encountered more wind" Capt. Evans
said
Victor Braegger. representative of the
Maryland Casualty Co. of Baltimore in
Porto Rico and Santo Domingo, de-
scribing the storm. said: cat / o'clock,
all of a sudden, the wind subsidized as
If by magic. We had reached the center
OF the storm and an oasis OF compare
tive calm.
Mountainous Waves Roll.
Mountainous waves were rolling past
US The ship became a haven for all
kinds Of sea birds seeking shelter, cling
ing to the railing, ropes, canvas and
window sills of the cabins. The birds
seemed exhausted as IL from a struggle
of hours In the terrific gale.
ut was pitiful to see the birds making
their desperate efforts for life, losing
their strength at length and being
tossed again into the rising wind.
Thought Ears Would Burst.
''During this period of comparative
calm, the atmospheric pressure was so
great thought my ears would burst. I
had distinct taste OF blood in my
mouth. Others experienced the same
sensations. This lasted not more than
half an hour. We seemed then to re-
cover from the terrific strain, but with
no fear for the other half of the storm
through which we knew we must pass.
Surely enough, at 80 p M, with
terrific pounding and slamming of wind.
and waves, we were driven right into
the thick of 1t again. Only this time
the intensity of the storm and the howl
ing and Kissing of wind and rain to-
gether seemed greater than before.
Leaks Sprung in Ship.
1.-THE ship seemed to spring leaks
everywhere The water came in
through ceilings, doors, windows.
broken skylights-from everywhere and
nowhere. All you could see was here or
there flash of spray. The din was ter
rife. The ship would tip until 1t
seemed 1t never could right itself"
Braegger said that what they went
through until that dark hour had ended
was too terrible to describe. He said
that all on board the Coamo felt as If
they had received a new lease of life
when the wind began to slacken in mid