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TAE MARINE. REVIEW 19 STEAMSHIP ALAMEDA ON A REEF On Saturday, Sept. 30, the steamship Alameda, owned and operated by the Oceanic Steamship Co., with head- quarters in San Francisco, ran on the rocky reef just off Fort Point, at the Golden Gate, and bids fair to prove an almost total wreck. now lies helpless, the skeletons of four other steamers strew the bottom of the bay. These are the Rio de Janeiro, lost four years ago with the loss of 127 human lives; the City of New York, lost twelve: years ago; the steamship Grenada, lost some eighteén years ago, and the City of Chester, that ran The Alameda a short time before going on the rocks left her dock and steamed away bound for Honolulu. At the time a heavy fog prevailed, The vessel was in charge of Pilot C.. B, Johnson; 'who had run. in and out of the bay for many years, and had _ great experience, Capt Dowdell was the mast- er of the vessel. -- Sa very dense was the fog bank that the pilot lost his reckonings and veered half a mile or more from the chan- nel--going to the southern shore. With- in several hundred feet the. iain: 'land at Fort Point, the Alameda ran on the treacherous reef and stuck fast. All efforts to pull the vessel off have proved futile. Fortunately, all the passengers--about fifty--were taken off safely. The cargo valued at about $100,000 has been badly damaged--almost a total loss, being of a perishable nature. The vessel's damages thus far to the steamship is estimated at nearly $100,000. Both Pilot Johnson and Capt. Dowdell claimed that the fog whistles at Lime Point and at Fort Point were not blowing at the time the steamer went ashore. However, this is denied by the keepers, The question of the responsibility of the disaster will be very thoroughly investigated by the pilot commissioners, the marine underwriters, and the officials of the Oceanic Steamship Co. Constant efforts to pull the vessel off the reef are being made, but the final result is very problemat- ical. Submarine divers have been examining the bottom all along the hull of the steamer, yet the full measure of damages has not been determined. The hull is pretty well filled with water--in forward compartment--and the stern has settled deep into the sea. Several holes have been made in the forward part of the hull and the plates are bent in many places. It is claimed that otherwise the steamer has sustained no very serious damages; that the vessel has not been strained, as at the time of the grounding she was moving under a slow bell. The work of lightering the ruined cargo is progressing slowly, owing to many difficulties. It is hoped that when all the cargo is out, the vessel may be pulled off at very high tide with the aid of lighters. Several powerful pumps have been installed on board, and it is thought that with their aid, the inflow of the waters may be held in check until the craft can be beached and the rents in the hull temporarily closed. Though 22 years old, the Alameda has been pronounced a strong, staunch and sea-worthy vessel. This is the first accident that has happened during her long and useful career. Near the same point where thé stranded vessel STEAMER ALAMEDA ON A REEF, to her doom on the same fatal reef, more than fifteen years ago. All these ill-fated ves- sels found ocean graves 'by getting off of their course and running on the reef that extends for more than half a mile out from the point on which the old brick fort. stands. = A. bell buoy marks the point at the northern end of this reef, and the dan- ger is further guarded by. the light station at Fort Point, the 'tog whistle, and a large bell. . None of the ill- fated steamers named ever ran on the reef so very close to the shore as the Alameda. Only at the very lowest tides are any points of this reef visi- ble; at mean tide the rocks are all hidden, hence the great peril. : The Alameda was built in 1883, at Cramp & Sons Ship- yards, Philadelphia along with her sister ship the Mari- posa, by the Oceanic Steamship Co. (each at a cost of. $500,000). She was brought around in 1884, and, for many years ran on the San Francisco-Australian route, carrying mails. This vessel made a great record for speed and regularity. After the company had added several more giant liners, the Alameda and Mariposa were placed on ' the San Francisco-Hawaiian Line. Several years ago the Alameda was thoroughly over- hauled at the Risdon Iron Works, San Francisco. New engines and boilers were added. Recently the Alameda was equipped to burn liquid fuel. The Hamburg-American liner Amerika, which has just reached this country on her maiden trip, was dry docked at Southampton to be cleaned and painted after leaving the yard of her builders, Harlan & Wolff, Belfast, Ireland, The Woolston Works of Messrs. John I. Thornycroft & Co., Ltd., were asked to undertake the task of completing the job within twenty-four hours. Accordingly as soon as the water had been. pumped out of the dry dock an army of men swarmed into the dock. Stagings were erected and in a short time the air was ringing with the harsh scraping of the scrubbers. Subsequently the huge surface of hull below. the water line was coated twice over with Holzapfel's anti-fouling composition. The work was completed within the time specified. While the Cunard liner Campania was en route to New York last week she was boarded by a terrific sea on the po:t side and as a result twenty-eight steerage passen- gers were injured, none of them, however, fatally. The accident is one of the most serious that has ever befallen a Cunarder.