The Indianapolis times. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1922-1965, 1934-12-01
BRAVE 60-MILE-AN-H0UR GALE
TO RESCUE % FROM STEAMER
Coast GuardSman Loses His
Life in Daring
Attempts.
FIGHT 15-F00T WAVES
Crew of Storm Battered
WhaIer Taken From
Ship Safely.
BY United Press

BY United Press
MUSKEGON, Mich, Dec. 1.
Desperately battling their
way through a sixty-mile-an-
hour gale, coast guardsmen
today rescued all twenty-five
members of the crew of the
steamer Henry Cort as the
blizzard pounded the ship on
a breakwater outside Mus
kegon harbor.
With one coast guardsmen lost in
an earlier attempt to reach the
laundering steamer, the rescrers
bravely took to the seas again and
cheers rose from 1000 shivering
spectators as the coast guard surf
boat fought its way out to the wal
lowing whaleback freighter.
Members of the Henry Corts crew
had huddled in the cabin as the gale
pounded numerically at the ship
during the night and frustrated all
rescue attempts.
AS the tiny surfboat was launched
once again this morning, they came
on deck and grasped firmly to cables
to watch the guardsmen fight their
way out.
Lashed by 15-F0ot Wave
For thirty minutes, the guardsmen
struggled madly to keep their tiny
craft from capsizing in the flfteen-
foot waves. When they had reached
the lee of the breakwater finally,
they secured themselves with lines
hurled out from the Henry Cort.
The men on the Cort lowered
themselves hand over hand to the
bobbing Surfboat and we're carried
back to shore in another DEATH
defying ride through the waves.
The man lost in the desperate
battle during the night was Guards
man John Dipert of Frankfort. He
was thrown into the sea from the
lifeboat during one of the unsuc-
cessful attempts to put line aboait
the steamer for breeches buoy.
AS gray dawn lighted up the
storm swept Muskegon harbor shore,
the battered whaleback was barely
visivle through the raging blizzard,
rolling loggily in the giant waves.
Hundreds See Dramatic Battle
Spindrift from the riprap break
water flew over the cabin and pilot
house in which the crew were shell
tered. Snow made the ship invisi-
BILE except through occasional riffs.
Hundreds Of Muskegon residents
built bonfires along the shore and
remained through the night as the
drama developed
Soaked through his heavy sea
clothing but still laboring in the
biting cold to prepare a breaches
buoy for use at daylight. Captain
John A. Basch, commander OF the
Muskegon coast guard station, told
with tears coursing down his face
of the loss of Mr. Dipert.
1--WE had all kinds of trouble get
ting our craft launched" Captain
Basch said. Surf piled the boat
back on shore several times before
we got off.
I'VE finally got away and we're al
most out to the Cort when cable
parted. Our boat jumped like q
cork. Depcrt shot out into the lake
like bullet. I never even saw him
after that. A man couldn't live a
minute in that sea-"
LaShed to Seats
Captain BaSch himself, with two
other. crewmen, lashed themselves to
their seats after Mr.. Dipert's loss
and were washed helplessly ashore.
The Henry Cort has reputation
among lake sailors as bad luck"
craft. The ship sank in Livingston
channel just year ago, but was
raised and refltted. It's commander
is Captain Charles v. Cox of De-
troit.
So severe was the LAKE storm that
the Ann Arbor car ferry No. cam
celled its schedule from Manitowoc,
Wis, and another ferry bound from
Frankfort, Mich, for Kewaunee,
Wis, was forced back to the Frank
fort harbor.