Evening star., 1933-08-28
DR.. Campbell Says He " as
Assured Good COndi-
tiOns at Sandy Hook.
Family and Tiro Guests
Rescued BY Collier as
Schooner Is abandoned.

H.
Washington physician. who
brought his wife and daughter
~ and the familys two guests
through the teeth of the At
lantic hurricane in his l-foot schooner
Bluejacket last week, was caught on
shore in the worst weather on record
because the United States Weather Bu-
reau at Sandy Hook assured him OF good
weather less than "a hours before the
northeaster broke, he said today.
d.. Campbell, now rested from the
terrific labors he went through from
week ago Yesterday to Friday to keep
his little ship and her people together
in the face of 10 to 80 foot seas, re-
yealed at his Sixteenth street home mere
TODAY that it was only an the assur-
ance Of the Sandy Hook experts that ne
took his boat to sea. Not only olo the
Weather Bureau station at Sandy HOOK
give him no intimation that a north
easter was nearing. but it assured MIN
that the West Indian hurricane wMch
its maps showed in the vicinity of the
Bahamas would not head up in the New
Jersey sector Of the seaboard for III
davs or So"
The doctor also revealed that, IRON
ically enough. his visit to the Sandy
Hook station on Saturday night, August
lo. was the first request he had ever
made to the Weather Bureau for
counsel.
. Abandons Schooner.
Relating the circumstances under
which he stood out to sea on the run
which ended when he abandoned his
schooner for rescue by the collier M. d
]. Tracey Friday, DR.. Campbell said he
was anchored in behind Sandy HOOK
Friday, August 18.
II sent Bill Sheehan, my hand, over
to the Weather Bureau station and the
Coast Guard station that Friday morn
ing to see what they thought OF the
weather, because I was apprehenslve
about 1t myself" the doctor said. Since
han came back aboard and SAID tney
had told him 'everything's lovely Well.
I didn't like it the next day-that was
Saturday-and at Z o'clock that night
I went up to the Weather Bureau sta
ton myself. You see we were planning
to sail at dawn the next day, because
in a sailboat you have to keep going
right along to make that l00-mile sea
run into Atlantic City where We were
headed for q stay of few days.
ITS the System That's Wrong.
well, at the weather station met
the forecastsr snd he was as hne ana
CO. operative as he could be. he was
thorough gentleman and I have no
criticism Of him at all; It's the system
that's wrong. He told me that the out
look was for a clear Sunday with q
breeze out of the East first then hauling
around. He showed me all over the
station and I was very much interested.
It was the first time I'd ever put my
foot in q weather station. Mr.. Hand
showed me his weather charts and I
noticed a low-pressne area around the
South there somewhere-around the
Bahamas, think it was-and I asked
him about it.
"'Oh. that won't bother YOU he told
me, that won't get up this way for 10
days or so anyway
"'Well that certainly Is f1ne,' said to
him. here you are able to tell me what
the conditions are now and just when
q storm will reach u.s. And then I
went back aboard the Bluejacket.
AT around 3 am. Sunday, got up.
The fog was thick enough to hang my
coat on and I went on back to sleep.
Later we fshed bit and when 1t had
lifted we sailed As We stood out to
sea we noticed no storm warnings were
being flown at the weather station"
Schooner Loses Mast.
It was when the Bluejacket was well
ON her way to Atlantic City that the
Northeester broke At Atlantic City,
DR.. Campbell said, no less than IS small
boats were hanging around at sea try
ing to get in. Some Of them piled up
on the beach and some lives were lost.
He, meantime, sought plenty OF searoom
as the only logical course OF safety.
From then on it was practically one
big storm, the tropical hurricane sweep
ing up the coast within 48 hours of the
time the, Weather Bureau at Sandy
Hook told him 1t would take 10 days
to reach that quarter. The BlueJacket
was Knocked down twice, weathering
the first blow well enough. but loosing
her masts. rlldder and bowsprit the
second time
-. While ct first DR.. Campbell was in
elined to think that perhaps his vessel
was dismasted when she was dropped
on the bottom, he now is convinced the
damage was wrought by q giant sea
that burst squarely aboard the little
ship because when the Bluejacket was
abandoned her hull was still tight. Her
only leaks were where her matches and
p8rC Oh OeT TAI were tOIu away hAlO
II she had been dropped on. the sea
bottom, the schooner probably would
have been smashed pretty thoroughly,
he figures.
The Bluejacket later was picked up
by q Coast Guard patrol boat and towed
into Cape May. Bill Sheehan, who ex-
perienced the 1000 to escape Of being
overheard during the storm and able to
climb back aboard by way Of the shat
tered rigging. now is at Cape May.
making q survey Of the Bluetacket's
damage.
Swells Caused Trouble.
r. H. Weightman Of the Weather
Bureau here, said today that the dis
turbances which je0pardized vessels at
Atlantic City Sunday. August 90. un-
doubtedly were the swells which are
the advance guard Of tropical disturb
ances and were not caused by gales IN
the Immediate vicinity. The statement
attributed by Dr.. Campbell 70 the
forecaster ct Sandy hook to tlae adsst