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a SF <S <<“ SA Voyage Goes Down in a Heavy Storm in Midocean NABLE to weather the terrific 5 | storm that swept the Atlantic, the Accoma, the first standard wooden ship built for the Emergency Fleet corporation to attempt an overseas voyage, was abandoned in a sinking con- dition at noon, Feb. 11. Her fate has not stopped plans to demonstrate the ocean-going ability of such ships. An- other wooden boat now is scheduled to sail for Baltic ports as a demonstra- tion to aid the shipping board in its vigorous efforts to dispose of the wood- en boats. Six of the vessels have been turned over to the recruiting service and will be used to train seamen. The ALABAT, a Ferris-type ship built at Jack- sonville, Fhka., and put in commission last November, and the SturcEon Bay, a wooden boat built at Sturgeon Bay, Wis., have already been fitted up as training ships. The experience had with the Accoma, however, is probably the most interesting in recent maritime history. She was a Ferris-type wooden steamer, built on the Atlantic coast by the Foundation Co, She -had completed successfully several trips from. Philadelphia to Boston . and Portland, Me., with full cargoes of ¢oal before she was assigned to a transat- Yerris - developed. of locomotive tires, steel rails, provi- sions, etc. Captain Phillips, who had been’in charge throughout the coastwise service, said that on one of these trips, during ordinary weather, the teeth on the: steering engine pinion were stripped and he was obliged to steer the boat by thand from the vicinity of Marthas Vineyard to Portland, Me. At this time he recommended that the steering engine be placed further forward in the mid- ship deck house, and be connected by tiller chains and heavy springs with the rudder quadrant. The steering equip- ment, as installed, was too rigid, result- ing in excessive strain on both the rud- der and the engines. This recommenda- tion was carried out. Examines All Fastenings Having heard that the fastenings in some of the other wooden boats were insecure, as many as 9000 having been replaced in’ one of them, Captain Phil- lips made an examination of the AccomMa before undertaking the . transatlantic voyage and_ satisfied himself that the . fastenings were secure. During the three trips along the coast but little leakage He recommended,: however, rudder. and, the: installation of..a steel boat Lost First Vessel of This Class to Attempt a Transatlantic Sef Tiere f By V. G..Iden all its wooden boats. Owing to the de- lay in the delivery of this rudder, they installed a new wooden rudder rather than delay the sailing of the AccoMa at the risk of losing ther charter. The Accoma went along in good con- dition until Feb. 10, when the wind be- gan to freshen. The barometer dropped until it reached 28.50. Captain Phillips had seen the barometer as low as this on only two other occasions. He knew that a violent storm was coming. He capped the ventilators and made every- thing fast in anticipation of trouble. The gale, which was from the northeast, increased until he found it necessary to head the boat into the wind, although he had intended to keep in a more souther- ly latitude. He had oil discharged from the fore- peak tanks and was getting along fairly well when at 4:40 p. m., after a short lull, a hurricane of over 100 miles per hour struck the boat. It was not long before a heavy seawas raised but, in the meantime, he had brought his ship about and was running before the wind. The following sea pounded the stern of the Accoma so that at times he was afraid at would _be carried away.. About 8 o'clock, the man at the wheel reported lantic voyage. She sailed from New in fact, steel rudders have been ordered the vessel did not answer her helm and York Feb. 7 with a miscellaneous cargo -ly the Emergency Fleet corporation for the first mate went aft to investigate. ANAATVMTIUU TATE Ea =n i Cine (i iit tii ttt cn wa GEE uu et rt 193 Steamer Accoma, which recently sank in‘ midocean, Her difficulties ‘were due to a dis- ~ “abled steering gear and to the fact — that she’ made water faster than her could keep her free—The small illustration shows’ the vessel during a hurricane. er. “pumps just before she took her final plunge. She was the first standard wooden _vessel built for the Emergency Fleet | trans- corporation to attempt a atlantic voyage zal 0 0