The Wyandotte herald. (Wyandotte, Mich.) 1879-1943, 1943-01-29
Nine Men on Yawl
Fight Hurricanes
And Seas Fl Days
Tell Epic Story of Battle
Against Mountainous
Waves on Atlantic.

NEW YORK-Nine coast guards
men, their uniforms wrinkled and
shrunk, from long immersion in salt
water, and their faces bearded, told
Of their Il day battle against noun
famous seas in a diSmasted yawl
that had once been racing yacht,
yet had the sturdineSS to outlive two
hurricanes and 10 gales in the wintry
north Atlantic.
They were rescued after an epic
search in which more than score of
planes of the United States army
and navy and the royal Canadian
air force and almost as many sur
face vessels of the United States
navy and coast guard and the British
and Canadian navies had fought
against storms, fog and bad visibility
to try TO help them.
Twice they were sighted and then
lost again in the bitter weather off
the Atlantic coast. Once a British
destroyer took them in tow, only to
have the hawser part in storm and
darkness. Again Flying Fortress
dropped provisions by parachute, but
the raging wages tore the wrappings
apart :;
Cover 3,l00 Miles.
Navigating almost entirely by
dead reckoning, they covered a dis
lance estimated by the navy at 3, 100
miles and were only 25 miles off the
North Carolina coast when they were
spotted by a navy blimp that how
cred over them for two days, drop
ping. food and cans of fresh water
and guiding cutters TO their assist
ance.
They had almost completed what
they had expected would be five
day tour of duty when a heavy storm
struck them between Martha s Vine
yard and Nantucket Shoals. They
hOve-to, trying to ride out the blow,
when on the second day the little
craft was struck by what Curtis Ar
nall, chief boatsWain'S mate, de-
scribed as tidal wave.
Tons OF sea water engulfed the
craft as she was tilted on her beams
ends by the shock
Edward A. Jabson and Theodore
Carlson. seamen. who were on deck
at the time, grabbed life lines and
held on until the slender yacht right
ed herself. Arnall, who was in the
chartroom, was foated bodily
through the cabin and into the gal
ley. The others were tossed about
the cabin like so many bowling balls.
Motor Is Useless.
When the men recovered enough
TO take stock of the situation, they
found the hold was a third full of
water. So much salt water had
seeped into the gasoline tanks
through the air vents that the yawrs
auxiliary motor was useless. Salt
water had also penetrated the radio
batteries, which rapidly grew weaker
md died.
, The seamen chopped the wreckage
G the mizzenmast loose and for
three days ran before the storm with
kaRe poles.
The British destroyer sighted the
yawl about 200 miles of Cape Cod.
The seas were so rough her COM
mander decided it was impossible &c
take the men off the yawl.
A week after the first storm a sec
end hurricane drove them southeast
for three days. The yawl was $50
miles east of Mays Head, N. c., when
she was sighted by a Flying Fort
ress. The plane dropped supplies by
parachute that landed so yards to
viDdward. 1t was long, hard battle
TO work to q position where they
could pick up the package. and the
disappointment on finding that only
the wrappings were left was great.
The men lost from IS 10 80 pounds
apiece during their ordeal.