Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1942-12-25

the shoreline In gentle arc anc
head us back toward open sea.
Ships jam Cove.
Butte tonight the little cove Il
damned with shipping. Mooree
within 500 feet Of our buoy there
are a couple Of good sized trans.
ports, unloading emergency cargo
There are barges and lighters all
over the place. There are three OF
four naval auxiliary vessels. In the
shallow water near the beach there
are several big barges and a num-
Der OF our own patrol planes AS
our searchlight picks up the planes
we see that they are less than SOC
feet away. Some one recalls aloud
that some of the enlisted crewmen
are living aboard the planes. Doubt
less these youngsters are snoring In
their hunks.
Our skipper has already deter
mined on the only course of action
that can possibly avert tragedy.
Our engines are backing full speed
astern. Will the propellers take
hold in time to save the PHYS?
There are so feet to spare when
the props grip, and our sidewise
motion halts. Slowly the ship
begins backing off.
Peril Follows Peril.
One peril averted is instantly re-
placed by another. There are two
ships, directly astern, between which
we must thread a course backward /.
The space between is not 100 feet
wide. Backing down fast, we are
now within a few feet of the narrow
gap between the freighter and the
schooner.
We make it with eight feet of lee
way. Comfortably clear, we put
our engines ahead and ride easily
again, bow into the wind.
We decide to rig a temporary
lashup to replace the broken moor
ing tackle-it had pulled right out
OF our deck-and then we run back
inside the cove, up the buoy and
tie up again.
Suddenly there is jolt, followed
by a long, shuddering, scraping
sensation. The ship seems to be
lifting right out of the water.
We all rush topside, to learn that
the whole drama of the earlier part
OF the night has been repeated, with
variations. We had run back to the
buoy all right, and our whaleboat
crew even succeeded in making
fast the end of the mooring cable.
No sooner had they done so than a
violent gust struck the ship. This
time we snapped the steel shackle
off the buoy itself. Again we drifted
broadside toward the planes, again
we missed them. But we dragged
part Of our bottom across a sand
bar. Our momentum carried us free
and clear and superficial investiga-
ton reveals no leaks, but there is
violent shudder when we rev up
our engines. One or both propellers
nave sustained considerable damage.
We back out again, and decide to
stay out till daylight. We put down
our 2,0o0-pound anchors in the
outer bay and they seem to be
noldlng.
Alarm Sounds Again.
have just settled into dreamless
slumber when the general quarters
alarm goes off again. I push out
INTO the passage. What goes on?"
l ask. A colored mess attendants
teeth CLEAN in the red light of the
blackout lamp. Ships afire, thass-
all, he grins,s and goes on up the
ladder, four steps at time.
ANY fire holds possibilities on a
ship whose principal cargo is avia-
ton bombs, bomb fuses and thou
sands of gallons of aviation gasoline.
But as grab for my pants a cry
comes down the main hatch.
The fire is out. The poor, ancient,
overworked anchor engine had just
gotten overheated and started to