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26 EAST AND WEST COURSES. Probably no subject has been more widely discussed among vessel mas- ters than the recent recommendation of the auxiliary committee on aids to navigation of the Lake Carriers' As- sociation that east and west courses te established on Lakes Superior and Huron. Differences of opinion nat- urally arise, but the discussion of the subject cannot be other than benefi- cial.. A leading~ vessel interest sub- mitted the recommendation to all of its masters and asked their opinion. These letters are published below: In answer to your letter of the 20th in regard to the "East and West Courses on the Lakes," my opinion is that if such a plan were adopted it- would make navigation very unsafe, instead of more safe, for small boats. Bad weather seems to chase the most~ of them to the weather shore, and in a great many cases it would not be possible at all to get up or down the _lakes but for the shelter of the beach. A oat 12 miles off Thunder: Bay- island would get a pretty big sea in a westerly gale, while she could travel in comparatively smooth water by taking a shore course. ters of the lakes never affected by storms it would seem to me that the new plan would then be the correct thing. y Your letter referring to East. and West: Course, would say: that I. do net think iW practical to:.adopt: for this reason. Take a boat bound from Ashland to steer a course that would vin 14 miles. off Copper Harbor, would cross the Duluth course. You can always run safely in thick weath- et meeting boats head and head. Then shaping a course 14 miles off Copper Harbor for Whitefish, you would cross the Passage Island course. Replying to your favor of the 20th inst., will say I have .read the article in the Marine Review in regard to East and West sailing, and must ad- mit that I fail to see. much to com- mend in the article as a whole. In the first place, we have not the sear room and long courses of the West- ern Ocean, and too. many cross courses. It would not be policy for some of the small boats to come down the lake 14 miles off Eagle har- bor, as in case of wind coming from 5S. W. they would have that much more run to make shelter, and incon- venient, as.seas raise very rapidly on ijat dowe. in case of Lake Huron the same thing would work out there. 'the extra mileage. heads Were the wa-. THE. MARINE. REVIEW In case of the vessel to leeward keep- ing away. from the vessel to wind- ward, will. say. that' with. a. vessel making 12 or 14 miles 'an hour they would have to stop to find out which way the wind was blowing, as there is not as a usual thing much wind when it is foggy. The idea is undoubtedly good, as it will certainly reduce to a great extent the liability of collision. Some oppo- sition will be found on the part of masters, who will object. to running More opposition, I believe, will come from the fellow who will be afraid he will not get the fog whistles at the different points, but for this fellow there will be, al- most at all times, a. continuous . line of vessels. going the opposite direc- tion so that he cannot very well get lost. Of course,, weather conditions must be taken into consideration at -all times, and it does not take much wind or the prospects' of much. to make a certain class of tonnage pull one direction or the other, and mas- ters must not get the idea in their (providing these suggestions become a rule) that every vessel on the path they are following is going in the same direction they are. Per- sonally 1 think the idea 'is for the benefit of all. I wrote you a letter on the 22nd, giving you my opinion of the plan for establishing East and West Course on the lakes. Since writing that let- ter I have more thoroughly read the article in the MARINE REVIEW and find where it says that weather conditions' are to be taken:into consideration by masters. I. interpret this to mean that if the weather is not favorable the master can then use his own judgment..as. to whether he shall continue on the outer course or not. It would then appear that the east and west coursés would be adopted for fine weather, and in bad weather it would not be necessary to. follow them. But the master of the small boat would not consider fine weather in the same light that the master. of the big boat would. And I think the small boats have to be taken into consideration as--well. as the larger boats, because to make the new east and west courses: effective it would be necessary for all boats to adopt them. Masters of small boats use their barometers to a greater extent than do the masters of the big: boats. Masters of small boats often foretell a storm by their barometers and they get their boat in a better position to stand it. For example, I have often 'of; & ght seen a fleet of the smaller craft hug- ging the west shore of Lake Huron, bound up, and when they get to Sag- inaw Bay they would haul directly across for Point Au Sable and again take the west shore up toward Thun- der Bay. A gale was expected and they were ready for it. At the same time there might not have been a rif- fle on the water. The big boats would consider such weather as fine weather and at the same time would think that the smaller boat was vio- lating the new rule by keeping to the westward. Certain kinds of gales strike suddenly and' if the smaller 'ship had a long tow 'of barges and was. on the new outer course, he might get into trouble before he could get to the weather shore, espe- cially on the proposed course across Saginaw Bay.. The master of the small boat saves himself with his barometer by getting into an ad- vantageous position before the blow really. comes. Lake pilots seem to be: always "coast pilots,' and' do a great part of their piloting by land- marks and should correct their posi- tion by every landmark they see. The smoky season comes every year and it is often impossible to see land. farther than a very few miés.. It. would. seem to. me - that during this smoky time a boat leav- ing Port Huron, and using the new outer course, might not see land for the entire trip to the Soo: river. : His most valuable corrector--the land- marks--would be of no use to him. And fog whistles sometimes' cannot be -héard> very. 'far; in fact; -1t° is sel- dom that I have heard one 12 miles. There may be some features of the new plan that I do not understand and that might make it look differ- ent to me if it- were explained; but I have asked a good many masters to explain and they seem to have it just the way that I have. Having had no experience in the big boats, I am speaking from the knowledge I. have received while in the smaller craft. After. reading' the: article on: East and West Courses, and considering it, I cannot say that I am in favor of it. If these courses. could be follow- ed with a reasonable degree of safe- ty at the turning points, I entertain no doubt it would be an improve- ment. The course recommended by this committee down Lake Huron from Detour to Fort Gratiot by keep- ing to the eastward until arriving at the lower, end of the lake, I would endorse. But the course from the Straits of Mackinac suggested by them would* run a vessel across the